Ramping up Assamese Literature

Just as we say, that we cannot live without drinking water and without breathing, I cannot live without writing. Sometimes I have written under pressure, like I wrote many books for my students. When I felt that some things are not available for the students to read, and they do not understand, I wrote books for them.

Dr Karabi Deka Hazarika is a prominent writer, lyricist, novelist and an eminent educationist. She was the founding director of Dr Bhupen Hazarika Centre for Studies in Performing Arts in 2008. Since its foundation, the centre contributed substantially in shaping the foundation of performing arts as an academic discourse. For the first time in Northeast India, the centre began offering BA and MA programmes in fields such as Music, Dance and Theatre. Professor Hazarika is credited with bringing academic purview into art forms like classical dance prevalent for over five centuries in Vaishnavite Monasteries (Xatras) in Assam by adding them to the M.Phil. and Ph.D. syllabus. Excerpts from an Interview:

Tell us about yourself and your family. Can you tell us about your educational background?

If I have to speak about myself, I will have to start from my childhood which was very beautiful. I was born at a small mining town called Borjanat NagaPahar, which in the present day we call Nagaland. My father Dr Minakanta Hazarika was a doctor. The society was a culmination of Assamese, Bengali, Nepali, Naga, Oriya and tea garden community, which was very beautiful. The place was also very beautiful as it was surrounded by jungle and mountains. The Dikhow river flowed just below our house and the view was breathtaking. My love for nature and forests can be traced to my childhood. I love forests and maybe that is why in all my writings, forests play a very important part. In one of my novels, Aranyar Shan, I have forests as the background. My mother was from Guwahati and she was the sister of eminent author Atul Chandra Hazarika. When I was small, we came back to Sivasagar and I completed my education here. I went to Gauhati University for further studies and completed my PhD under the famous scholar Maheshwar Neog. There I met my husband Dr Kandarpa Kumar Deka, who served as Vice-Chancellor of Dibrugarh University. When I was pursuing my PhD I got a job at Dibrugarh University as Assistant Professor. I got promoted to Associate Professor and then to Professor. Later I became a distinguished LakshminathBezbarooah Chair Professor in the same department. After that I became the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Dibrugarh University. I was also officially in the charge of Vice Chancellor for around 600 days.So, most of life was spent around my students.

I have two sons, my eldest son, Dr Kaustav Deka, also writes and my elder daughter-in-law is Dr Kevi Tepa and my granddaughter Keteki, who is now one and half years old. My younger son Krishanu Deka stays at Mumbai and works in a multi national company and his wife Nilankana is pursuing her PhD in English. So that is a brief background of my family.

Why did you decide to become a writer. Who was your inspiration behind choosing writing as a career?

I feel that I have this inner zeal to write. I mostly write poems and I do not know how but poetry seems to flow through my veins. When I was in class 5, my first poem was published in the newspaper Assam Bani and my mother had a big role to play. My mother was very talented and used to write beautiful poems. My mother is my first inspiration and my maternal uncle Atul Chandra Hazarika was my second inspiration. He was a great writer and most of my childhood was spent at his home in Guwahati. Seeing my uncle’s home and his library, seeing him write and seeing how he was loved by many people, inspired me a lot. Afterwards my interest in poetry and writing grew as I began publishing frequently in the children's corners of newspapers and magazines likeAsom Bani, Dainik Asom, etc.

When I was pursuing further studies, I met many people who loved my writings. I got to meet eminent persons like Maheshwar Neog, Nabakanta Barua, and HomenBorgohain and I got inspired from these people. My heart knew that I was meant for writing.My world of imagination and my world of writing has no boundary. If I get time, I can write a lot more I feel.

What do you love the most about writing

I have no answer as to why I love writing, because I cannot stay without writing. Just as we say, that we cannot live without drinking water and without breathing, I cannot live without writing. Sometimes I have written under pressure, like I wrote many books for my students. When I felt that some things are not available for the students to read, and they do not understand, I wrote books for them. Writing under demand is a different thing. But my poems, novels, students’ literature and songs are something I have to write. I feel at peace.

You have written so many poems, novels, travelogues, children’s books, etc. What is your favourite genre of writing and why?

I love to write poems and it stays with me like my breath. Just the way people write and maintain a diary, I write poems. I also write diaries, poemsare from my heart. I loved to write children’s literature, and I feel sad that I could not give time to these. I feel that had I given more time and focused only on children’s literature, I could have done very well. I also love to write songs and I can write these in one minute. But,what I have seen is that my travelogue and my stories of travels are very popular. Poems are my first love.

You have also written songs and your songs were played at All India Radio. Can you tell us about it.

When I was studying at college, my songs were sung by singers like Mihir Bordoloi at Akash Vani. Nobody knew that the songs were written by a small girl. I wrote the song and sent it to All India Radio and it got accepted. Many senior singers used to sing my songs and this gave me the confidence that I could also write a song. Earlier I did not even consider it, but one day when I heard the song BoroxaRitubhal pau moi, protistrutiase tat, Seujirohonhaneheixukangosorpaat, of NirmalprabhaBordoloi, I realised that songs also can convey a lot of meaning.I have written many songs, and many great artists have sung them. Even now I have the confidence that I can write a song in a minute.

You are also an academician. Can you tell us about your experience

My teaching jobin the University is very interesting as I never got to teach in a school or a college. I got my first teaching job at a very young age at Dibrugarh University. I have worked 42 years in Dibrugarh University. It is a very beautiful experience. I got to spend time with my students and it gave me an opportunity to read a lot. My students are like my children. I feel that as a PhD supervisor I have become very successful, as 45 students got their doctorate degrees under me and the number of students who got MPhil I have lost count. My PhD and M.Phil Research scholars have opened an organisation, named Doksori which is the name of a traditional necklace of the Misingcommunity. My research scholars are a part of my world. My academic life has given me many joys of life. And these 45 PhD research scholars, have 45 different topics and I studied along with them, so my research scholars gave me a lot of opportunity to learn. I am very satisfied with my academic life and it saddens me a lot that a part of this life has come to an end. And so, I am doing some small projects as I cannot give up on this academic life.

You were also a part of Dr Bhupen Hazarika Centre for Studies in Performing Arts. Can you tell us more about it.

I was the founding director of Dr Bhupen Hazarika Centre for Studies in Performing Arts. The centre was established in 2008. Initially we started with the Bachelor degree course of dance, drama and music. After seeing the good response, we opened the master degree course in Xattriya Dance, which was a first of itskind course in the world. After that we have started the course for vocal music, theatre, art, music and there are so many students who have passed out with flying colours and have made a name for themselves in the performing arts. I am now working on opening a course of Performing Arts in a college in Dibrugarh and the session will start this year in August.

You have travelled across the country for works related to Sahitya Akademi. Can you tell us about your experiences

I love travelling and it is one of my hobbies. I got the opportunity to travel to various parts of the world. I once got the opportunity to travel to Beijing, Jiang and Shanghai in China, as a part of my work for Sahitya Akademi. I also went to Latin America. After returning from my travels, I wrote a book. As such my travelogues are very popular among the people. I once went to Florida for an international seminar, and post my return I wrote my first travelogue NilaSagoraru Sonali Desh. I also wrote about my travels to China titled Seujia Chin. I travelled to a lot of places like London, Singapore, Bhutan and Bangladesh. I have also travelled to almost all parts of India. Travelling teaches a lot, freshens up your mind and when I come and write about my experiences, it gives me immense pleasure.

Can you tell us about your awards and achievements

I got the Basanti Devi award from Assam Sahitya Sabha for the best women writer of the decade. I also got the Best Women writer award by All Assam Women Writers’ Association. I was also honoured with PrabinaSaikia Award by the All Assam Women Writers’ Organisation. I was also honoured with the KabyaHridoy Award, KabyaRatna Award. I was associated with Sahitya Akademi for 10 years as convenor.

Are you working on a new book or a new project. Can you share with us about your upcoming works

I write regular columns for various newspapers and it takes a lot of time. Currently I am translatingMaheswarNeog’s PhD thesis, Shankardev and his Times into Assamese language. Without reading it, many people are projecting Shankardeva in a wrong way. In this thesis, there is scientific research about the life of SrimantaShankardeva. I am also working on writing my autobiography.

What would be your advice to the new generation of writers and aspiring writers

Devotion is very necessary. If you are devoted, you will get everything. And specifically in creative literature, the new generation wants to gain fame very easily and quickly, but their research is very less. And those who want to become academicians, around 80 percent have moved forward just by reading their course of study. Their research and their study beyond their books are very less and it is very saddening. And those who are writing poetry, some of them are doing very good jobs. But they have this mentality that writing poetry is very easy, without thinking that it is the toughest thing to do. We have so many poetry books, but I feel the new generation does not read the works of others. Had they read it, they would have known how to frame the sentences for a poetry. It goes the same for the novels. I did love reading the works of the new writers, from 10 years ago. But in the last twoto three years I have noticed, that the writingsare not up to the mark. If they read the work of others and literary works from other states they will know about the status of their own literature.

Lastly, any words for our readers.

Very selected people read The Sentinel newspaper. I will just say that the readers should be aware, and appreciate the works of the writers, which will give the writers encouragement. And the readers should also point out any mistakes. In the column for letters to the editor, the readers should write about their demand, what they want and what type of writing they want to read. When the readers are aware, only then a paper can grow beautifully. So, I will just say that the readers through this paper should learn about Assam, the culture of Assam and learn about the Assamese people at large, and also our North East. And most importantly, a newspaper can play a big role in maintaining the friendship of the North Eastern states, which is now a days seen to be cracked. So, the readers should point out when they feel that the paper is not doing justice by writing misleading headlines. I wish Sentinel a very good luck in their endeavours and hope it continues with its good work.