Anandaram Dhekial Phukan
| Anandaram Dhekial Phukan | |
|---|---|
| Born |
24 August 1819 Guwahati, Assam |
| Died | 16 June 1859 (aged 39) |
| Occupation | writer |
| Language | Assamese |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Period | Orunodoi era of Assamese literature |
| Children | Padmawati Devi Phukananki |
| Relatives | Haliram Dhekial Phukan (Father) |
Anadaram Dhekial Phukan (Assamese: আনন্দৰাম ঢেকিয়াল ফুকন ; 1829–1859) was one of the pioneers of Assamese literature in the Orunodoi era who joined in the literary revolution initiated by Missionaries with his heart and soul. He was remembered for his efforts on the up-liftment of Assamese language. He took a major role to replace the Bengali language by the Assamese language as the official language in Assam.[1][2] He was called as "Father of Assamese prose" for his contributions towards Assamese literature.[2]
Early life and education
Phukan was born in 1829 at Guwahati in the 'Dhekial Phukan' family. His father Haliram Dhekial Phukan wrote and published 'Asom Buronji' and 'Kamakhya Yatrapaddhati' in Bengali language and distributed those freely. He also contributed in the Bengali magazine 'Samachar Chandrika'.[2][3]
Anandaram started his school life in Guwahati. In 1841, the then commissioner Jenkins sponsored him to go to Calcutta and study in Hindu College. After studying for 3 years there, he came back to Guwahati and took further lessons in English from Mr. Blend. He also took up some lessons in Sanskrit and Urdu.[3]
He got married in 1846 followed by joining in a government job in the subsequent year. He served as Dewan of the king of Bijani, Munsif, Junior Assistance Commissioner etc.[1]
Literary life
Anadaram Dhekial Phukan started his literary life at the age of 17.[1] From then until his death his sole aim was the development of his land and its people never caring about his own health due to which Col. Hopkins compared him to the great Raja Rammohan Roy of West Bengal.
In 1847, Anandaram published Englandor Biwaran (Description of England) in Orunodoi. In 1849, he published Asomiya Lorar Mitra (Assamese children's friend) in two volumes containing almost 400 pages which is considered as a milestone in the history of Assamese literature.[2] In 1853, when Moffat Mills came to Assam to review the economic condition, Anadaram Dhekial Phukan by his presentation report written in lucid English which described the political and administrative scenario of Assam, in-depth analysis of problems faced by Assamese language and education system, reasons and solution to the poor economic condition of Assamese people etc. He published another book titled A few remarks on Assamese language in English in 1855[4] in which he discussed the independent criteria of the language and the grievous outcome of imposing Bengali as official language in Assam. This book mentions about 62 religious books and 40 plays. In addition, he started working on two dictionaries (Assamese to English, English to Assamese) and sent some part of those to Orunodoi but their fate remains unknown.[1]
His love for motherland can be assumed from the following passage taken from his essay
Englandor Biworon(Account of England): "O Almighty Lord; enlighten them, so that they can learn their misery and wretchedness; with your magical powers, civilize them! Make them capable so that they can recognize your power and come under your sway. O dear lord! hasten and bring in a new era - when jungles of Assam will turn into flower gardens, when river boats will give way to steam ships, when mud houses will turn into concrete homes, when thousands of schools be established in villages, when gjan sabhas and hospitals will aid the poor, when violence will wither away and people will live in peace, love and harmony forever. |"
Death
Anandaram Dhekial Phukan died at the age of 39 in June 1859.[5]
See also
- Assamese literature
- List of people from Assam
- List of Assamese-language poets
- List of Assamese writers with their pen names
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "Anandaram Dhekial Phukan". Vedanti.com. 8 August 2011. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Arun Bhattacharjee (1993). Assam in Indian Independence. Mittal Publications. pp. 17–. ISBN 978-81-7099-476-3. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Anandaram Dhekiyal Phukan – Pioneer of assamese language revolution". Onlinesivasagar.com. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ↑ Sujit Mukherjee (1 January 1998). A Dictionary of Indian Literatures: Beginnings-1850. Orient Blackswan. pp. 18–. ISBN 978-81-250-1453-9. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
- ↑ sharma,satyendranath. "Axomiya sahityar samikshatmak itibritta". Orunodoi press, 1996. p.258
External links
- Anandaram Dhekial Phukan at WorldCat.
- Anandaram Dhekial Phukan from Library of Congress Name Authority File.
- Jayeeta Sharma (1 August 2011). Empire's Garden: Assam and the Making of India. Duke University Press. pp. 263–. ISBN 978-0-8223-5049-1. Retrieved 23 June 2013.