Mamoni Raisom Goswami - a noted Assamese writer

An eminent writer, poet, scholar, litterateur, novelist and professor, Mamoni Raisom Goswami was a renowned personality in the field of literature not only in Assam but all over the country. Also known as Indira Goswami, she is the 2nd Assamese to receive the ‘Jnanpith Award’, which is the highest literary award in India. She is also known for the efforts she had put to initiate peace process between Government and ULFA, a terrorist organization in Assam.

Mamoni Raisom Goswami

Mamoni Raisom Gowami was born on 14th November 1942 in Guwahati to Umakanta Goswami and Ambika Devi. Her father Shri Umakanta Goswami was a brilliant academician and educationist. Mamoni Raisom Goswami is her pen name by which she preferred to write. She did her primary schollong Pine Mount School, Shillong as her father was posted there and later passed her matriculation exam from Tarini Charan Girls’ High School, Guwahati. Her first collection of stories Chinaki Morom was published when she was just 13 years old. She graduated in Assamese Literature from Cotton College, Guwahati and enrolled in Guwahati University for post graduation. She had a chaotic childhood because when she was born some astrologer predicted that she was a problem child that will bring bad name to the family and should be killed. However, her mother, who was a strong-headed lady, did not do so. Mamoni Baideu as she is popularly known among the Assamese fans, persistently resisted melancholy and was on the verge of depression after the demise of her father and since then, writing became a refuge for her solitary life.

While Mamoni Baideu was still at the university, in the year 1962 she met Madhavan Raisom Iyengar, who had come to Guwahati as a specialist in structural engineering of bridges to work on the Saraighat Bridge, which was under construction at that time and stayed opposite their house. He was from a well-respected family of Mysore, settled in Malleswaram in Bangalore. Mamoni Raisom Goswami had several passing-by relationships before she met Madhavan, with who she fell in love and in the year 1965, despite the objection from her family, they got married and soon left for Runn of Kutch, where he was posted by the company. Later, they moved to Jammu and Kashmir, which provided her the theme of her first novel, Chenabor Srut. Madhavan not only encouraged her continuously to write, but also provided exposure to innumerable of experiences. It was his love that changed her life but sadly, just after two years of their marriage, Madhavan died in a road accident, which again created a void in her life. His limitless love for her had completely wiped out the anguish and tumult in her mind that beleaguered her so much during her early years that she had even attempted to kill herself. This has been very well narrated in her autobiography Adhalekha Dastabez (An Unfinished Dossier).

Trying to cope with the sadness and void Madhavan’s demise left her in, Mamoni Baideo even spent a brief stint as a teacher in the Goalpara Sainik School. But in August 1969, she left for Vrindavan, to begin her research on the timeless Indian epic Ramayana at the Oriental Institute of Philosophy under the guidance of Upen Chandra Lekharu. Leading an austere rigorous life, Vrindavan uncovered for Mamoni Baideo the brutal, oppressive and exploitative face of religion and social ostracism in plight of the Hindu widows, which she mentions in her novel Nilakanthi Braja. During her stay at Vrindavan Indira Goswami was motivated by her mother along with other family members to apply for the post of lecturer at the Department of Modern Indian Language in the Delhi University. In the year 1970, she joined Delhi University as a lecturer.

One of her famous novels, Dontal Hatir Uie Khuwa Howdah (The Moth Eaten Howdah of the Tusker), was made into a film named Adajya by Shantana Bordoloi in the year 1996. In the year 1982 she was awarded Sahitya Akademi Award’ for her novel ‘The Rusted Sword’. Pages Stained with Blood is a first person account of the Sikh-riots of 1984 in Delhi and The Man from Chinnamasta, is her most controversial and revolutionary novel which is a protest against the practice of animal sacrifice in the Kamakhya Temple, in Guwahati are some of the most popular novels by the author. ssam Sahitya Sabha Award 1988, Bharat Nirman Award 1989, Sauhardya Award from Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan of Government of India 1992, Katha National Award for Literature 1993, Kamal Kumari Foundation National Award 1996 and in the year 2000 she won India’s highest literary prize the Jnanpith Award. She was the recipient of the honorary D.Lit. degrees from several universities, namely Rabindra Bharati University, Indira Gandhi National Open University and Rajiv Gandhi University Arunachal Pradesh. She was awarded the International Tulsi Award by Florida University for her incomparable scholarly work in the field of Ramayani Studies. During her life time, she wrote 12 novels and 9 short stories along with a collection of poetry named 'Pain and Flesh'. Mamoni raison Goswami left for her heavenly abode on 29th November 2011 leaving all her fans grief stricken.

Image Courtesy: The Hindu