MIRZA, June 15 � It is fulfilment of a wish and realisation of a long-cherished dream of a great father and of his prominent daughter. Yes, the dream of setting up a hospital to fulfil the wish of her late father has come true for internationally acclaimed author Dr Mamoni Roisom Goswami.
With the Amranga Borihat-based PHC all set for inauguration, the Jnanpith awardee who donated to the tune of Rs 40 lakh for the hospital, is on cloud nine. �Materialisation of a long-cherished dream of rendering welfare service gives me immense pleasure,� the distinguished litterateur told The Assam Tribune. The pathetic sight of a lopez who reportedly used to sleep in the shade of a huge tree, moved the tender heart of an eight-and-a-half-year-old girl and ever since, she has been honouring a desire to set uo a health centre. That dream has now come true for Dr Goswami.
The then road network of Amranga, the ancestral village of the prolific author being not motorable, they used to roam the entire area under Palasbari and West Guwahati constituency on elephant back. That experience of the writer has found expression on her literary work.
�Childhood experience still engraved in my mind is a great source of creative output,� disclosed the reputed author. She added that the leper, a virtual social outcast, often came to her mind. But her inability to provide medical aid to the leper formented her and the desire to set up a hospital grew stronger.
Meanwhile, recognition of her cultural and development work in the form of Prince Claus Award of Netherlands in 2008, has made it possible for her to fulfil the wish of her father. But the reported curtailment of Rs 27 lakh had reduced the donated amount to Rs 40 lakh.
The newly constructed 12-bed PHC renamed after her father and uncle � Umakanta and Chandrakanta Goswami PHC, Amranga, Borihat was earlier set up as a State dispensary in 1961, the plot of land for which was reportedly donated by her ancestors. In 1998 it was upgraded to a mini PHC and finally a PHC. The hospital is to be inaugurated shortly.
