The heart mists over even as I bid a silent goodbye to a poet Colossus. The man who anchored my own love for poetry. With those affection I was blessed through the past five decades and more.
True, poetry has been my enduring passion since childhood. True also that I first absorbed the art of words from the myriad sights and sounds of our land. However, it was Navakanta Barua’s verses that inspired me to choose the difficult path of modern poetry. He was, after all, the pathfinder, the stalwart of post-war modern Assamese literature.
As students we used to often discuss Navakanta Barua’s poems. His poems His poems charmed us all, especially the famous Endhar Ratir Elegy, Palas and others written in the Fifties. I used to read the poems over and over again, captivated by the lyrical flow of the verses. No wonder they won the hearts of people all over the country!
Navakanta Barua dominated the realm of modern Assamese poetry. His verses blended the traditions of Assamese, Indian, nay even world poetry. He was by far the true representative of modernism and will forever remain one of the all-time greats of Assamese literature.
A monumental poet has passed into another world, casting a pall of gloom on the literary scene. But even now I see reflected in my mind’s eye his smiling, affectionate face and the memory of that affection that he had for all will, I am sure, give us all the strength to endure the loss.
