GUWAHATI, Oct 30 - The 82nd birth anniversary of Dr Jogendra Narayan Bhuyan, retired professor and one of the most outstanding literary critics and chroniclers of Assamese literature, was observed at Panjabari on Thursday evening.
DN Chakravartty, founder president of the Brihattar Panjabari Sahitya Sabha (BPSS), spoke on the literary contributions of Dr Bhuyan � both as a critic and a chronicler and narrated his contributions towards the glorification of the BPSS as one of the best branches of Asam Sahitya Sabha.
�During his decade-long association with BPSS, Dr Bhuyan raised the stature of the Sabha to an enviable position with his contributions both through writing and his speeches of eloquence,� Chakravartty added.
Stating that Dr Bhuyan who specialised as the pioneer chronicler of the 19th century Assamese intellectual renaissance, discovered many of the hidden treasures of Assamese literature and society by ransacking the archives of Nagaon and other districts of Assam, Chakravartty said that the scholar who wrote around 25 books and edited several magazines including the Asam Sahitya Sabha journal, made valuable revelations about the undiscovered facts of the lives of great figures of Assamese literature and social life like Anandaram Dhekial Phukan, Gunabhiram Baruah, Hemchandra Baruah, Lakshminath Bezbaroa, Padmanath Gohain Baruah and others.
�Dr Bhuyan who was a dispassionate critic of modern Assamese writings, also contributed substantially towards the proper understanding of the literary and spiritual contributions of Srimanta Sankaradeva, Sri Madhabdev and other stalwarts of the great Vaishnavite era. It was Dr Bhuyan who established Srimanta Sankaradeva as the chief architect of Assam�s intellectual and spiritual renaissance,� Chakravartty said.
As an editor with wide experience, Dr Bhuyan contributed immensely towards scientific recording of the great events of Assamese intellectual and literary life from the 15th century to the 20th century.
Dr Bhuyan would be remembered, Chakravartty added, for his discovery of gems of history of Assamese literature. Besides being a serious writer, he excelled in the field of humorous literary writing and in his untimely death, Assamese society in general and Assamese literature in particular has become poorer, he said.
Retired bureaucrats DB Chetri and Sankar Prasad Kakoti Bora recollected their association with Dr Bhuyan and described him as a scholar of outstanding calibre and a personality with immense charm.
Mahendra Bora, former BPSS president, and Dr. Bhabendra Nath Deva Sarma, president of BPSS, also spoke.
Aradhana Bhuyan Bora, secretary of the Jogendra Narayan Bhuyan Memorial Trust presented the report of the secretary.
