TEZPUR, Aug 31 - �Books or literature do not help the writer, but they are helped through the route or link maintained with the common masses,� opined Padma Shri Award winning noted litterateur Dr Lakshminandan Bora recently while delivering his lecture at an oration on the subject, �Hundred years of Sonitkonwari� organised in memory of late writer Debendranath Bora by the Tezpur Sahitya Sabha at its campus in the heart of the town.
In his long discourse, the prominent litt�rateur said that Sonitkonwari is a successful play by Jyotiprasad Agarwala which has crossed hundred years. �Truly it is a distinctive addition to the history of Assamese drama revolution. However, the creator of this play was only a 14-year-old school going boy. This play provided a new dimension to the Assamese literature for which its historic link is an important one. Most probably, Jyotiprasad was the youngest person of the world literature who wrote a successful play. Time has not damaged its 100-year-old glory.�
He added that after Srimanta Sankardev, the Assamese drama revolution was given a push by Jyotiprasad Agarwala. The 11 songs composed for the play during such a young stage are often sung still today. Saying that elements of basics of the creativity and thoughts can be found in the presentation of Sonitkonwari he said that the secret of Usha-Aniruddha�s love is the main point of the play which is derived from the ancient story. �Assamese literature has link with many ancient stories. And it can be assumed that Jyotiprasad chose elements from such stories which is possible only for a person with exceptional quality like him.�
�In this case we see there are three types of criticism, viz., academic, criticism by the literature loving people, and the critics who discuss other creative works. Sonitkonwari is not only the first play of Jyotiprasad, rather it was his first creation. During that period, the nature of the acting made Jyotiprasad write the play and stage it according to his own thinking and choice. Till that moment, plays of Padmanath Gohain Baruah and Lakshminath Bezbaroa were the basic plays, but these plays were not successful in the true sense of the term and for the Assamese people, plays were few in number as plays translated from Bengali to Assamese were staged. The songs of the plays were also sung in Bengali tune.� Dr Bora added that Sonitkonwari was successful in creating a romantic environment. He also mentioned that Bihu songs, Bongeet, Ainaam, Biya naam and the Tukari geet attracted Jyotiprasad from a young age and he used these in his plays in a new form in the new age.
Before delivering his lecture, he released a children�s book. Releasing the book, he said that in comparison to other parts of the world, child and drama literature is weak in Assam. In his speech, he also mentioned the contributions of noted writer Late Debendranath Bora. The august occasion was presided over by the president of the Tezpur Sahitya Sabha, Hemanta Baruah and moderated by the secretary of the Tezpur Unit Sahitya Sabha Pankaj Baruah. It was graced by the son of Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha, Prithiraj Rabha besides other noted dignitaries.
Hemanta Baruah in his welcome address besides speaking about the unmatched contributions of literary and cultural icons like Rupkonwor Jyotiprasad Agarwala and Debendranath Bora, also highlighted the contributions of Lakshminandan Bora towards Assamese literature and culture.
