DIBRUGARH, Sept 4 - Bharat Borpujari, a Shilpi award recipient, artist and dramatist, passed away at the Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) here today. He was 93 and was suffering from old-age ailments.
Borpujari was known for his drama skills, as a playwright and for writing screenplays. He had directed the full-length feature films, Kacha Sona and Ratanlal, during his stint as the secretary of the Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha (ACMS). He had also co-acted with late Tulsi Govinda Baruah, the former Chairman of the Assam Tribune Group of Newspapers while enacting stage plays.
Borpujari, a former director of the cultural department of the INTUC (Indian National Trade Union Congress), was also the editor of the ACMS monthly bulletin, Chah Mazdoor. Borpujari was the president of the Dibrugarh RG Baruah Smriti Rakhya Sammittee till the time of his demise. He was an accredited artiste of All India Radio too.
Borpujari was also associated with the Amolapatty Natya Mandir here, and was also the president of the Dibrugarh Art Players� Society. He was an important activist of the Bharatiya Gana Natya Sangha.
Former Union minister and present president of the ACMS, Paban Singh Ghatowar recalled Borpujari�s past association with the INTUC and Assam Chah Mazdoor Sangha and said that Assam and the tea garden communities in particular had gained immensely from his contributions to the field of culture and cinema.
INTUC member and Forest Minister Atuwa Munda said that Bharat Borpujari would be remembered as a great asset to the State. He was not only an artist and dramatist, but also an able administrator and trade union leader, Munda said.
Borpujari was admitted to the ICU of the Cardiology department of the AMCH on September 1. He breathed his last at around 2:20 pm today, family members said. His last rites were performed in the evening at the Chiring Chapori cremation ground. Borpujari leaves behind his wife, two sons and a daughter.
