Birendra Nath Datta (born 1 March 1935) is an Indian academician, a linguist, a researcher of folklore, a singer and lyricists of Assam. In his career, he mainly worked as a professor in different colleges of Assam. He also wrote scholarly books. In 2009, he was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, the fourth highest civilian award, in the "Literature and Education" field and in 2010 he received the Jagaddhatri-Harmohan Das Literary award. Datta was elected as the president of

Asom Sahitya Sabha The Asam Sahitya Sabha (; Literary Society of Assam) is a non Government, non profit, literary organisation of Assam. It was founded in December 1917 in Assam, India to promote the culture of Assam and Assamese literature. A branch of the organi ...

for North Lakhimpur Session, 2003 and Hojai Session, 2004

Early life

He was born on 1 March 1935 at

Nagaon Nagaon (previously Nowgong; Assamese নগাঁও), is a town and a municipal board in Nagaon district in the Indian state of Assam. It is situated east of Guwahati. History This division was organised on the both banks of Kalang river by ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

to Kalpanath Datta, a school teacher and Mandakini Datta. Their original home is in Panera village, near

Baihata Chariali Baihata Chariali (Pron: baɪˈhɑ:tə ˈʧɑ:rɪˌɑ:lɪ) is an out growth urban centre of Guwahati City in Kamrup Rural district of Assam, India; situated at norther site of the river Brahmaputra. The place is called Chariali as it is a major r ...

. He started his education at Chenikuthi L.P. School at Guwahati and then studied at

Goalpara Goalpara, Pron: ) is the district headquarters of Goalpara district, Assam, India. It is situated to the west of Guwahati. Etymology The name Goalpara is said to have originated from the word "Gwaltippika" meaning Guwali village, or The villa ...

. In 1933 Datta secured ranks among the top 10 in both Matriculation and I.Sc examinations under

Gauhati University Gauhati University, also known as GU, is a collegiate public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established on 26 January 1948 under the provisions of an Act enacted by the Assam Legislative Assembly. It is the oldest ...

. Then he came to

Visva Bharati Visva-Bharati () is a public central university and an Institution of National Importance located in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, India. It was founded by Rabindranath Tagore who called it ''Visva-Bharati'', which means the communion of the w ...

Santiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...

to study

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and later studied

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

from Gauhati University in Economics.

Career

In 1957, He started his career as a lecturer at

B. Borooah College B. Borooah College , established in 1943, is one of the oldest degree college situated in Guwahati, Assam. It was named after Bholanath Borooah a businessman from Nagaon. This college is affiliated with the Gauhati University. Departments Scie ...

. In 1964, he joined Pramathesh Barua College at Gauripur in

lower Assam Lower Assam division is one of the 5 administrative divisions of Assam. It was formed in 1874, comprising Undivided Kamrup district of Western Assam, undivided Darrang and Nagoan districts of Central Assam and Khasi & Jaintia hills of Meghalaya ...

as the founder principal. He worked as the principal in two other colleges as well, which were named Goalpara College and Pandu College. In 1974, he obtained his Ph.D degree in folklore under the supervision of Prafulla Dutta Goswami. In 1979 he joined

as a reader and there he also became the Head of the Department of Folklore Research. He retired from Gauhati University in 1995. But, upon request, he again joined

Tezpur University Tezpur University is a Central University located in Tezpur in the North-Eastern state of Assam, India, established by an act of Parliament, in 1994. History The establishment of Tezpur University is considered to be one of the outcomes of t ...

as a professor in the department of Traditional Culture and Art Forms.

Literary career

Datta also wrote a number of scholarly books. One of his books, ''Cultural Contours of Northeast India'', was published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

. For his book ''Sankar Madhavar Manisha Aru Asomar Sanaskritic Uttaradhikar'', he won the 12th Jagaddhatri-Harmohan Das Literary award.

Music career

Datta was also a singer and lyricist. Songs written by him include: "Monor Khobar", "Bahudin Bokulor Gondh Poa Naai", "Meli Dilo Man", "Rohimalaa Uronir Maajere", "Sou Sirish Daalat", "Tomaar Kaarane Jaau", "Aahinak Kone Anane", "Mou Daaponar", "Sita Banabaash", "Bogoli Bogaa Phot Di Ja", "Jilir Maate", "O Ghan Chirikaa", "Barashaa Tomaar", "Aakaashe Botaahe", "Aakaash Aamaak Akani Aakaash Diya " etc. He also sang song for an Assamese language film, Smrtir Parash, which was directed by Brojen Barua.

Awards

(2009) * Jagaddhatri-Harmohan Das Literary award (2010)

External links

* '
Few Songs of Birendra Nath Datta
on YouTube. {{DEFAULTSORT:Datta, Birendra Nath 1935 births 20th-century Indian educational theorists Living people People from Nagaon district Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education Indian folklorists Gauhati University alumni Visva-Bharati University alumni Academic staff of Gauhati University Asom Sahitya Sabha Presidents Poets from Assam Musicians from Assam Assamese-language poets 20th-century Indian poets