GUWAHATI, Dec 18 – Writer and former Rajya Sabha member from Assam Dr Joyasree Goswami Mahanta and Bodo poet Dr Phukan Chandra Basumatary are among those who have been chosen for this year’s Sahitya Akademi awards. While Dr Goswami Mahanta has bagged the honour for her novel Chanakya, Dr Basumatary was selected for the award for his collection of poems Akhai Athumniphrai (From the Fist of Hand).
According to the press release issued by the Sahitya Akademi today, L Birmangol Singh of Manipur also bagged the award in the novel section.
Chanakya, the third novel of Dr Goswami Mahanta, is based on the life of philosopher, economist, jurist and royal advisor of ancient India, Chanakya.
Expressing her feelings after the announcement, Dr Goswami Mahanta said, “It is a very special moment for me. But I am not in a mood to enjoy it due to the current situation of Assam. We have lost a number of innocent youths in the past few days during the ongoing democratic protest against the CAA.”
Expressing his happiness after the announcement, Dr Basumatary said that his poems included in the collection Akhai Athumniphrai focused on the crisis of the human psyche in different contexts.
Dr Basumatary is a teacher in the Bodo Department of Bodoland University, Kokrajhar.
