TEZPUR, Aug 1 - Remembering Natasurya Phani Sarma on his 46th death anniversary, organised by the Tezpur Sahitya Sabha at the Sahitya Sabha Bhawan here, son of the cultural icon Ajit Sarma on Sunday said that among the three cultural icons, Natasurya Phani Sarma, Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha and Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Agarwala, Natasurya Phani Sarma is yet to achieve adequate recognition. Expressing his total dissatisfaction over the negligence shown towards the noted playwright, he also said that though in memory of Bishnu Prasad Rabha and Jyotiprasad Agarwala, a lot of work has been done till date, Phani Sarma who was by no means lesser than the duo, is yet to be honoured in the real sense.
�The proposed Phani Sarma crematorium is yet to come up only because of the alleged negligence towards him,� Ajit Sarma rued. Urging the authority concerned to do the needful for keeping alive the memory of the noted playwright, he also stated that Natasurya Phani Sarma had an unmatched contribution towards the cultural world rising through tough challenges of poverty.
President of the Tezpur Sahitya Sabha, Hemanta Baruah paying rich tributes to the cultural icon said that people of the State have been trying to confine him within plays and acting. �It is felt that we have always been insincere towards giving adequate recognition to his literary creations. Phani Sarma who began his journey of acting at the age of 11 years old had sacrificed everything only for the sake of drama,� he said adding that he had done a lot including writing eight plays, directing five short films etc. �It is our immense pleasure to mention that Phani Sarma who couldn�t even pass the HSLC stage, his popular play Siraj is studied by students in the Degree course today� he mentioned.
Dolphin Kala Niketan, presented a nagara naam on the occasion. The students of Sonitpur Silpa Sangam paid rich tributes to the cultural icon at the proposed crematorium of the �Natasurya�.
On the other hand, the Baan Theatre family also paid rich tributes to the cultural icon. Meanwhile, an audio-visual CD comprising a few special scenes from plays by the Natasurya and songs created by the Assam Reparatory and with the arrangement of lyrics, music by Pulak Kumar Deka was also released.
