GUWAHATI, July 2 - �Nirmalprabha Bardoloi was an exceptionally gifted writer who had contributed immensely to the all-round development of Assamese literature in the modern period. A humanist of the highest order, she was an extraordinary poet, a lyricist par excellence, a focused essayist, an insatiable researcher, a biographer and a highly sensitive children�s writer whose story � including that of the challenges she so bravely fought � need to be taken to readers across the globe,� eminent litterateur Hare Krishna Deka has observed.
Releasing a book titled �Nirmalprabha Bardoloi� written in English by Dr Tapati Baruah Kashyap at the Guwahati Press Club on Saturday, Deka described Bardoloi as �one of the five or six particular poets� who had given a new dimension to modern Assamese poetry.
�She began like any other romantic poet of her time, but she soon acquired tremendous authority on the usage of Assamese language and vocabulary. Look at her use of metaphors and imagery in describing the six Indian seasons through her poetry. She definitely may not be Kalidasa, but she was no less than Rabindranath Tagore in that,� Deka added.
Pointing out that Nirmalprabha Bardoloi was not a typical feminist of her times, despite having successfully fought all odds in a male-dominated world, Deka described her as a true humanist. �She had a very strong sense of feminism in her. Most feminists have a tendency not to even recognise the existence of males. But Nirmalprabha was not like that. She did not get swayed by typical feminism. That is why her story is important and needs to be told to the world,� Deka said.
Appreciating Dr Tapati Baruah Kashyap for her painstaking effort to throw light on the life and works of Nirmalprabha Bardoloi, Deka also described her book as a �must read� for those who want to know in detail about her.
Two other eminent scholars Dr Garima Kalita of Cotton College and Dr Liza Das of IIT Guwahati also spoke on the occasion. The book is the fifth in a series of books in English on modern Assamese authors brought out by Purbanchal Prakash, a leading Guwahai-based publishing house.
