Rita Chowdhury

Dr. Rita Chowdhury
Born (1960-08-17) August 17, 1960
Tirap, Arunachal Pradesh
Occupation Novelist, Poet, lecturer
Nationality Indian
Ethnicity Assamese
Citizenship Indian
Education M.A, LLB, Ph.D
Period 1981-present
Literary movement Assam Movement
Notable awards
1981: Axom Xahitya Xabha Award,
2006: Kolaguru Bishnuprasad Rabha Award,
2008: Sahitya Akademi Award
Spouse Chandra Mohan Patowary
Website
ritachowdhury.in

Literature portal

Rita Chowdhury (Assamese:ৰীতা চৌধুৰী) (born 17 August, 1960) at Nampong of Tirap District in Arunachal Pradesh is an established poet, novelist and Sahitya Akademi Award recipient in the world of Assamese literature.[1][2] She has been working as an associate professor in Cotton College, Guwahati, Assam in Political Science Department since 2001. Prior to that, Chowdhury had worked as lecturer from 1991 to 1996 and as senior lecturer from 1996 to 2001 in the same college. She started her teaching career as lecturer in Political Science in Diphu Government College, Karbi Anglong from the year 1989 to 1991.[3] She is currently the Director of National Book Trust, India.[4] She is also the wife of Ex-minister Chandra Mohan Patowary.

Literary career

Dr Chowdhury’s first novel was Abirata Jatra (English: Incessant Journey) in 1981[3] which won the first prize in a competition held by Asom Sahitya Sabha on the contemporary Assamese situation. She wrote this novel while she had to go underground during the Assam Movement.

In 1981, her debut novel ‘Abirata Jatra’ (Incessant Journey) was published and truly reflecting the name of the novel her relentless journey into the Assamese literary world has also been started. Accolades bestowed on her and she was awarded the Asom Sahitya Sabha award in 1981 for this very first novel. Even after holding a responsible post of senior lecturer in Political Science in the historic Cotton College in Guwahati, Chowdhury, through her sheer talent, dedication and perseverance, has been able to carve a niche and establish herself as a successful litterateur.

After Abirata Jatra, Chowdhury never looked back. She wrote a series of popular novels namely Tirthabhumi (The Shrine) in 1988, Maha Jibanar Adharshila (Foundation Stone of Great Life) in 1993, Nayana Tarali Sujata in 1996, Popiya Torar Xadhu (Tale of a Meteor) in 1998, Rag-malkosh in 1999, Jala-Padma (Water-Lotus) in 1999, Hridoy Nirupai (The Helpless Heart) in 2003, Deo-Langkhui (The Divine Sword) in 2005, Makam (The Golden Horse) in 2010 and Mayabritta (The Circle of Worldly Illusion) in 2012. It is noteworthy that each of her novels is depiction of some significant aspect of the society and significantly all are best-sellers with universal appeal. Her lucid style of writing is appreciated by all.

She received the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 2008 for her novel Deo Langkhui (published in 2005) which was based on the Tiwas of Assam. Partly history and mostly legends, the plot of this novel is constructed in a manner that can easily be demarcated as a departure from traditional one although traditions and reality merge into a complete whole.

Makam is a landmark creation in her literary career. ‘Makam’ or ‘The Golden Horse’ truly helped her literary fame run in a horse’s pace. Ten editions of Makam were published in the year it was released. It is itself a record in the history of Assamese novel.

Chowdhury’s fiction reflects the harsh reality of life and the society. Sometimes it is contemporary and sometimes it is historical. This reality takes her to the core of her reader’s heart. She never does any injustice to her characters. Although there is a subterranean flow of feminism in some of her novels, she is only reflecting the reality. She is unprejudiced. Most of her novels are research-based and outcome of her extensive study. Close observation of human nature moulded her characters making them popular among the readers barring caste, creed, gender, religion and most importantly of the age. People of all age-groups love her fiction.

She was the founder editor of Adharxila, a monthly literary magazine, published from Guwahati from 2001 to 2002.

Books

Poems

Recent releases

English works

Production works

Awards

Chowdhury has been awarded with a number of literary awards and recognitions. Among those, the major awards are as follows:

Special felicitation

Posts held

Research

Early days

Daughter of renowned writer late Biraja Nanda Chowdhury and Social-Worker Shri Molina Chowdhury, Rita Chowdhury was born at Nampong in Tirap District of Arunachal Pradesh. She did her schooling in Upper Haflong L.P. School and Higher Secondary in Margherita Public Higher Secondary School. She passed her B.A. in political Science from Cotton College under Gauhati University in 1982. She is double MA in Political Science and Assamese from Gauhati University with LLB(1990) and Ph.D.. She did Ph.D. from Gauhati University on Comparative Literature in 2005. Her thesis was on Society and Women psychology depicted in Nirupama Borgohain and Ashapurna Devi's Novels: a Comparative Study.

She had joined Jatiyatabadi Juba Chatra Parishad, a leading student organization of Assam at the age of only eighteen and became one of the prominent members of it during the Assam Agitation and was imprisoned continuously in Guwahati, Dibrugarh and again in Guwahati Jail for almost three months.

Family Life

She is wife of former president and senior leader of Asom Gana Parishad, Chandra Mohan Patowary, who is a former cabinet minister of Assam. She has a son and a daughter for whom she is a friend rather than a mother.

References

  1. 1 2 Bhattacharjee, Subhamoy (2009-01-26). "Royal allowance to community kings of Assam". Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  2. 1 2 "Literary feats lauded". The Assam Tribune. December 29, 2008. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Chowdhury, Narzary given Akademi award". The Assam Tribune. February 18, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-22.
  4. ↑ "Chowdhury new NBT Director". 2015-07-16. Retrieved 2015-07-17.
  5. ↑ Editor, Assam Times (2008-12-23). "Sahitya Academy award to 2 Assamese litterateurs". Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  6. ↑ "Sahitya Adademi Awards for Choudhury, Narzary". 2008-12-23. Retrieved 2009-07-08.

External links

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