GUWAHATI, Jan 22 - Mor Jeevan-Sowaran, the much-admired autobiography of the doyen of modern Assamese literature Sahityarathi Lakshminath Bezbaroa, has been translated into English by Navamalati Neog Chakraborty, daughter of scholar of oriental studies Prof Maheswar Neog.
Neog Chakraborty is a former guest professor of comparative literature at Calcutta University.
Releasing the book, Prof Nagen Saikia, former president of Asam Sahitya Sabha, said the vision of Lakshminath Bezbaroa is still relevant for the Assamese society. Bezbaroa�s vision was the product of his intense responsivity to the language and cultural heritage of the Assamese people.
He developed a modern language that had the expressive words from other languages embedded into it. This has made the translation of his literary works a challenging job. But translator Navamalati Neog Chakraborty has been able to do justice to Mor Jeevan-Sowaran, said Prof Saikia.
Speaking on the occasion, Geeta Barooah, a former teacher in the Department of English at Handique Girls� College, described Mor Jeevan-Sowaran as a priceless literary work of Lakshminath Bezbaroa. Navamalati Neog Chakraborty has been able to keep the spirit of Bezbaroa alive while translating the book, said Barooah.
Neog Chakraborty said she did the translation to introduce Assamese literary treasures to people in other parts of the globe. This book takes the readers close to the ideals espoused by the Sahityarathi. A polyglot himself, the Sahityarathi tried to create a written language that could express modern ideas, she said.
