Dainik Asam Literary Award conferred on Monalisa Saikia Staff Reporter GUWAHATI, Oct 22 - The Dainik Asam Literary Award for the year 2016 was today conferred on noted writer Monalisa Saikia for her novel Shankhaninad at a function held at the Kanaklal Baruah Auditorium of the Assam State Museum here. The award carries a citation, a memento and a cash prize of Rs 50,000. Shankhaninad, a novel set in the backdrop of the Assam Movement and its impact, was selected for the award by a two-tier jury comprising eminent litterateurs and literary critics of Assam. While speaking as the chief guest on the occasion, eminent litterateur Dr Nagen Saikia lauded the role of the Dainik Asam and the Assam Tribune Group for promoting quality literary activities in the State.
“Free flow of thoughts and a close connection with the characters the writer creates is a must for any creative piece to strike a chord with its readers. Creative literature cannot come up with pre-conceived notions and without going deep within one’s own heart. The writer need not be told about what to write. Unless something stirs up the writer from within, an authentic piece cannot be created,” he added. In her acceptance speech, Monalisa Saikia shared with the audience her personal experiences that brought her to the world of writing. “I have lived in my stories and all the characters of my stories and novels are real,” she said, adding, “Assam is a land of stories. Today we all speak about the magic realism and Latin America. Back home, we have masterpieces like Burhi Aair Sadhu that spin together mythical element and realistic fiction.” Giving an overview of the contemporary Assamese novel, noted literary critic Arindam Barkataki said issues like the Assam Movement, rapid globalisation, high-handedness of political agenda over social reality and growing consciousness among tribal communities have their impacts on the new-age novels and their plots. “The struggles of the middleclass have found a prominent place in the novels of Assamese writers. The writings of Arupa Patangia Kalita, Dhrubajyoti Bora, Purabi Mudoi, Tilottama Misra, Anuradha Sarma Pujari, Rita Choudhury and Dilip Chandan give us a glimpse of a wide gamut of subject matters incorporated into the world of Assamese novel. “But again, we need to introspect whether enough is being done to reflect the stories of different tribes of the region. Though the works of writers like Mamoni Raisom Goswami, Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi, Suniti Sonowal and Ratna Bharali Talukdar deal with such issues, more is needed to be done on this front,” he added. Prominent litterateur and Editor of Gariyoshi Dr Lakshmi Nandan Bora, while presiding over the meeting, said Assam has no dearth of subjects, but for writing novels, a strong connection with the society is needed along with presentation of facts. “However, so far as thematic variety is concerned, we do not see much experimentation in Assamese novels,” he said, adding, “while reading Love in the Time of Cholera, I had a feeling that we still have a long way to go,” he further mentioned. Earlier, Munin Bayon, Executive Editor of the Dainik Asam, delivered the welcome speech. (The Assam Tribune,23.10.2017) http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/spat.asp?id=2017/oct2317/BigPage5.jpg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ সমাজৰ কাৰণে ভাল কাম কৰাজনৰ পৰিচয় ৰাইজৰ আগত দাঙি ধৰিব লাগে আৰু ভাল খবৰবোৰ যিমান পাৰি ৰাইজৰ মাজত বিলাব লাগে। ---- বুলজিৎ বুঢ়াগোহাঁই _______________________________________________ Assam mailing list [email protected] http://lists.assamnet.org/listinfo.cgi/assam-assamnet.org
