Bezboroa and Few Others
INTRODUCTION Dr. Minoti Sarmah (From "The heroic Spirit, Assam Tribune" 26-3-2000] Lakshminath Bezboroa was indebted to nature for his literary outlook, he was still more so to his father who instilled in him the zeal for spirituality and traditionalism; and the formative influences included the eventful, lingering days of his school life at Sivasagar. Dinanath Bezboroa, his father, was a deeply religious and pious Viaishnava in the strict sense of the term. Visiting stares, entertaining monks and arranging Kirtan sessions were the main activities of his life in his advancing years. He had set-up a Namghar adjacent to his house where prayers and kirtans became regular events. Son Lakshminath followed his illustrious father in these traditional practices of the devotional cut and limbed deep into the fountains of Vaishnavism in this way. Later on, Lakshminath went to Calcutta for collegiate education with a view to becoming a lawyer. At Calcutta he was profoundly influenced by the prevailing at mosphere of renaissance. He delved into the vast treasure house of English literature. The impact of New Awakening inspired him so much that he determined to embellish his own mother language with creative writings. In Calcutta the Assamese students were deeply pondering over the upliftment of the Assamese language; soon an Asamiya Bhasa Unnati Sadhini Sabha sprang up as a result of the weekly discussion sessions. It need be mentioned here that all the enlightened of the Assamese youths in those days had developed a dislike for the Bengali language as a result of the fact the the Bengali language and culture had usurped Assames language and culture and the Asamiya Bhasa Unnati Sadhini Sabha originated from a desire to preserve Assamese language and culture from being swamped by Be ali. The result of these efforts was the publication of Jonaki in 1889 under the editorship of Chandrakumar Agarwala, with whom Lakshminath was closely associated, Jonaki was read every where in Assam as a vehicle of liberation. To Lakshminath it was more than that - it was the fulfilment of a dream and ecstasy filled his soul. His first drama Litikai appeared serially in Jonaki from its very first issue. Gradually Lakshminath was so much involved in the affairs of the journal that he had to take up the task of its editing and publication as well. At the outset of his literary career Lakshminath had doubts about his penmanship. However he gained confidence soon after. While he was the editor of Jonaki he attempted a novel Padumkuwari. During the
