Assam: Jnanpith Award Winner Eminent Assamese poet Nilamani Phookan (নীলমণি ফুকন) passed away at GMCH at 11: 55 am on Thursday.
In 2021, Nilamani Phookan, a well-known Assamese poet, has received the highest literary honour, the Jnanpith Award. Nilamani Phookan received the 56th Jnanpith Award for his contribution to Indian literature, while Konkani short story writer and novelist Damodar Mauzo received the 57th Jnanpith Award.
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Phookan is the third Assamese poet, author, and writer to receive the prestigious award, following Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya and Mamoni Raisom Goswami.
Nilamani Phookan’s work is full of symbolism, inspired by French symbolism, and is typical of the genre in Assamese poetry. She was born on September 13, 1933, in Dergaon, Assam’s Golaghat district.
In 1990, he was awarded the Padma Shri, and in 2002, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship. In 1998, the Cultural Department of the Government of India appointed him as a ‘Emeritus Fellow’ for a two-year term. He was also named a ‘Sahityacharya’ by the Assam Sahitya Sabha. Among Phukan’s notable works are ‘Xurjya Henu Naami Aahe Ei Nodiyedi,’ ‘Kabita,’ and ‘Gulapi Jamur Lagna.
Nilmani Phookan is Assam’s third Jnanpith Award recipient, following Mamoni Roisom Goswami and Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya.
Some of his best-known works include Surya Heno Nami Ahe Ei Nadiyedi (The sun is said to come descending by this river), Manas-Pratima, Phuli Thaka Suryamukhi Phultor Phale (Towards the Blooming Sunflower), and Gulapi Jamur Lagna.
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Phookan has received numerous awards for his work. He received the Sahitya Akademi Award in Assamese in 1981 for his poetry collection Kavita (Kobita), and he was also awarded the Padma Shri in 1990. In 1997, he received the Assam Valley Literary Award, and in 2002, he was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship.
Principal works of Nilamani Phookan :
Phuli Thoka Suryamukhi Phultor Phale (To a Sunflower in Bloom, 1972), Golapi Jamur Lagna (The Raspberry Moment, 1977); Kobita (Poems, 1980); Nrityarata Prithivi (Dancing Earth, 1985)
