Jyoti Prasad Agarwala (2 July 1903 – 17 January 1951) was a noted Indian playwright, songwriter, poet, writer and film maker from
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 ...
. He was considered as
Assamese cultural icon, deeply revered for his creative vision and output and is popularly called the ''Rupkonwar'' of Assamese culture. In fact, he is regarded as the founder of
Assamese cinema
Assamese cinema, also known as Jollywood, is an Indian film industry of Assamese-language motion pictures. It is based in Assam, India. The industry was born in 1935 when Jyoti Prasad Agarwala released his movie '' Joymoti''. Since then the As ...
for ''
Joymoti'' (1935). His death anniversary (17 January) is observed as ''Silpi divas'' (Artists' Day) his honor.
Biography
![Entrance of Poki or Jyoti Bharati](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Entrance_of_Poki_or_Jyoti_Bharati.jpg)
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala was born on 02 July 1903 to an
Agrawal
Agrawal (anglicised as Agarwal, Agerwal, Agrawala, Agarwala, Agarwalla, Aggarwal, Agarawal, Agarawala) is a Bania community found throughout northern, central and western India, mainly in the states of Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, Chandigarh, Hi ...
family, to Paramananda Agarwala and Kiranmoyee Devi at Tamulbari Tea Estate. His uncles were renowned Assamese poets
Chandra Kumar Agarwala and
Ananda Chandra Agarwala
Ananda Chandra Agarwala (1874–1940) was a writer, poet, historian, translator and administrative officer from Sonitpur district of Assam. He is known as Bhangoni Kunwor (ভাঙনি কোঁৱৰ) for his translation of several Engli ...
. His forefather, Nabrangram Agarwala, had come to Assam in 1811 from the
Marwar
Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. The word 'maru' is Sanskrit for desert. In Rajasthani languages, "wad" means a particular area. English tran ...
region in
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...
. After completing his studies in various schools in
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 ...
and
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
, he matriculated in 1921. He went to
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
in 1926 to study economics, but returned in 1930 before completing his course. On his way back, he spent seven months at the
UFA studio in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
learning film-making.
![Joymati production](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Joymati_production.jpg)
After his return to Assam, he continued his activities for Indian independence that had disrupted his studies earlier and in 1932 he was imprisoned for fifteen months. He established the Chitraban Studio at the Bholaguri Tea Estate and began filming the movie ''Joymoti'' around the end of 1933. This was the first film from
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 ...
.
The film, released in 1935, was based on a play by
Laxminath Bezbarua
'
Lakshminath Bezbarua (, 14 October 1864), was an Assamese poet, novelist and playwright of modern Assamese literature. He was one of the literary stalwarts of the Jonaki Era, the age of romanticism in Assamese literature when through his ess ...
about the heroic
Ahom Ahom may refer to:
*Ahom people, an ethnic community in Assam
* Ahom language, a language associated with the Ahom people
*Ahom religion, an ethnic folk religion of Tai-Ahom people
*Ahom alphabet, a script used to write the Ahom language
* Ahom kin ...
princess
Sati Joymoti imprisoned and tortured by a repressive Ahom swargadeo. In 1936 he married Devajani Bhuyan. In 1941 he participated in the freedom movement, and in 1942, he went underground to escape British repression. Toward the end of his life he moved from a romantic to a more radical vision, which was reflected in his works.
He died of cancer on 17 January 1951 at his residence Poki in
Tezpur
Tezpur () is a city and urban agglomeration in Sonitpur district, Assam state, India. Tezpur is located on the banks of the river Brahmaputra, northeast of Guwahati, and is the largest of the north bank cities with a population exceeding 100, ...
,
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 ...
, India.
Works
Short Stories
* Rupohi(ৰূপহী)
* Bogitora(বগীতৰা)
* Xontora(সন্তৰা)
* Xuntir Abhimaan(সোণটিৰ অভিমান)
* Zuzaru(যুঁজাৰু)
* Xotir Xuworoni(সতীৰ সোঁৱৰণী)
* Xondhya(সন্ধিয়া)
* Xilakuti(শিলাকুটি)
* Neelasorai(নীলাচৰাই)
and more.
Novel
Amar Gaon(আমাৰ গাঁও)
Other books
* Jyotidhara(জ্যোতিধৰা)
* Chandrakumar Agarwala(চন্দ্ৰ কুমাৰ আগৰৱালা)
* Background of Assamese Architecture(অসমীয়া শিল্পকলাৰ ইতিহাস)
Children literature
He wrote about thirteen children's poems, among which ''Kampur Xopon''(কামপুৰ সপোন) is noteworthy.
Songs
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala had written around 300+ songs, many of which he had set to music himself. Collectively, these songs are called ''Jyoti xongit''(জ্যোতি সংগীত).
Plays
*
Sonit Kunwori(শোণিতকুঁৱৰী) (1925)
*
Karengar Ligiri(কাৰেঙৰ লিগিৰী) (1930)
*
Rupalim(ৰূপালীম) (1938)
*
Nimati Konya
Nimati is a village in the Alipurduar district of West Bengal. It is about away from Alipurduar and is a tourist destination. It is part of Buxa Tiger Reserve
, photo = Buxa Tiger Reserve forest 2014.jpg
, iucn_category = II
, map = Indi ...
(নিমাতী কইনা) (1964)
*
Khanikar(খনিকৰ) (1977)
*
Lobhita(লভিতা) (1945)
*
Perfection of me
Perfection is a state, variously, of completeness, flawlessness, or supreme excellence.
The terminology, term is used to designate a range of diverse, if often kindred, concepts. These have historically been addressed in a number of discrete a ...
(মোৰ পূণ্যতা)
Incomplete Plays
*
Kanaklata(কনকলতা)
*
Sundarknowar(সুন্দৰ কোঁৱৰ)
*
Sonpakhilee(সোণপখিলী)
Film
Agarwala is lauded as the creator of Assamese
cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image
** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking
* ...
. In a period that saw the beginning of Indian Cinema, with.
* ''
Joymoti(জয়মতী)'' (1935)
* ''
Indramalati
''Indramalati'' is the second Assamese language film, directed by the great Assamese poet Jyotiprasad Agarwala. It was released in 1939.
Background
Director Jyotiprasad faced a major financial crisis after his first film '' Joymoti'' (1935) f ...
(ইন্দ্ৰমালতী)'' (1939)
Poems
* ''Jyoti Raamaayon''(জ্যোতি ৰামায়ণ) – Poetry Collection
* ''Luitor Paaror Agnixur''(লুইতৰ পাৰৰ অগ্নাসুৰ) – Poetry Collection, 1971
Stamp
In honor of Agarwala's contributions to Assamese literature and film, the
Government of Assam
The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam, a state of India. It consists of the Governor appointed by the President of India as the head of the state, currently Jagdish Mukhi. The head of government is the Chief Minister, ...
issued a commemorative stamp of "Agarwala" in 2004. It was pushed for by the
AGP and approved by the Prime Minister of India in mid-2004.
Centre clears stamp on Jyoti Prasad
NENA – 22 July 2003
See also
* Jyoti Chitraban Film and Television Institute
Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Regional Government Film and Television Institute, formerly known as the Jyoti Chitraban Film and Television Institute, is the only government-owned film institute in northeastern India located at Sila, Changsari in Assam. It ...
* Assamese literature
Assamese literature ( as, অসমীয়া সাহিত্য, translit=ɔxɔmiya xaɦitjɔ}) is the entire corpus of poetry, novels, short stories, plays, documents and other writings in the Assamese language. It also includes the liter ...
* List of Assamese writers with their pen names
Assamese literature is the entire corpus of poetry, novels, short stories, documents and other writings in the Assamese language. It also includes popular ballads in the older forms of the language during its evolution to the contemporary form. T ...
References
External links
Rupaliparda.com – About Jyoti Prasad Agarwalla
{{DEFAULTSORT:Agarwala, Jyoti Prasad
1903 births
1951 deaths
Musicians from Assam
Assamese-language poets
Dramatists and playwrights from Assam
Assamese-language film directors
20th-century Indian film directors
People from Sonitpur district
20th-century Indian poets
20th-century Indian musicians
20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights
Film directors from Assam
Poets from Assam
Writers from Assam
Writers from Northeast India
Assamese-language lyricists