GUWAHATI, Aug 8 - The young Assamese novelists are making laudable efforts and their predecessors can very confidently pass on the baton with the hope that these young writers would carry it to greater heights, said noted critic Prof Gobinda Prasad Sarma, while delivering the Chandra Prasad Saikia Memorial Lecture, 2016, on the Assamese novels of the past two decades at the Kanaklal Borooah Auditorium of the Assam State Museum here this evening.
Assamese monthly literary magazine Gariyoshi, published by the Assam Tribune Group, organised the lecture in memory of Late Saikia, who was the founder editor of the magazine. The function was presided over by its present editor Dr Lakshmi Nandan Bora.
While focusing on the sources of inspiration for the new-generation Assamese novelists, Sarma, regarded as an authority on Assamese novels, said that for the fact-based novels like Makam of Rita Choudhury, Moriahola of Jayanta Madhab Bora and Kazirangar Ballad of Dilip Chandan, the writers seemed to have drawn inspiration from Late Chandra Prasad Saikia�s Tore More Alokore Yatra and Dr Lakshmi Nandan Bora�s Jakeri Nahike Upam.
While Chandra Prasad Saikia tried to delve deep into the inner self of Jyoti Prasad Agarwala in his Tore More Alokore Yatra (1992), Dr Lakshmi Nandan Bora tried to focus on the essence of the life and deeds of Srimanta Sankaradeva through his Jakeri Nahike Upam (1993). These two novels are based on the history and societies of the times of Jyotiprasad and Sankaradeva, Sarma said.
Jibanar Batot by Birinchi (Bina) Barua, which is based on humanitarian issues brought forth by the conflicts in the changes in the societal ethos following the rise of the middle class, has also become a source of inspiration for many new-generation novelists like Arupa Patangiya Kalita and Anuradha Sarma Pujari. Patangiya Kalita, in her Mriganabhi, narrated the story of a woman who was reduced to a schizophrenic by the oppression of society, while Anuradha Sarma Pujari narrated a story of a dementia-affected character in her Jalchabi.
Postmodernism has also penetrated into Assamese literature, and particularly, Assamese novels. In 2005, Debabrata Das with his Dhusaratar Kabya very successfully tried to defamiliarise the familiar situations/conditions. Pradipta Bargohain with his Americak Bichari has also left a mark in this respect, while in 2013, Harekrishna Deka also very successfully tried to deconstruct the known and certain situations with his Yatra.
Among the several attempts to deconstruct the certain conditions, two attempts were made by Pankaj Bikash Medhi with his Madhumita Mohan and Monalisha Saikia with her Sankha Ninand. Prarthana Saikia with her Jatadhari and Dipali Bora with her Buddha Jaya also made significant attempts. But the works of Debabrata Das, Harekrishna Deka and Pradipta Bargohain can be regarded as true models in this respect, said Prof Sarma.