Indira Goswami (14 November 1942 – 29 November 2011), known by her pen name Mamoni Raisom Goswami and popularly as Mamoni Baideo, was an Indian writer, poet, professor, scholar and editor. She was the winner of the

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

(1983), the

Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian ...

(2000) and Principal Prince Claus Laureate (2008). A celebrated writer of contemporary

Indian literature Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India has 22 officially recognised languages. Sahitya Akadem ...

, many of her works have been translated into English from her native Assamese which include '' The Moth Eaten Howdah of the Tusker'', '' Pages Stained With Blood'' and '' The Man from Chinnamasta''. She was also well known for her attempts to structure

social change Social change is the alteration of the social order of a society which may include changes in social institutions, social behaviours or social relations. Sustained at a larger scale, it may lead to social transformation or societal transformat ...

, both through her writings and through her role as mediator between the armed militant group United Liberation Front of Asom and the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO 15919, ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of States and union t ...

. Her involvement led to the formation of the

People's Consultative Group The People's Consultative Group (PCG) was a citizen's group in Assam, India, comprising 11 members and established by the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) on September 8, 2005. Its objective was to initiate the peace talk process as mediat ...

, a peace committee. She referred to herself as an "observer" of the peace process rather than as a mediator or initiator. Her work has been performed on stage and in film. The film '' Adajya'' is based on her novel and won international awards. ''Words from the Mist'' is a film made on her life directed by

Jahnu Barua Jahnu Barua (born 1952) is an Indian film director. He has written and directed a number of Assamese language, Assamese and Hindi films. Some of his notable films are ''Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai'' (1987), ''Firingoti'' (1992), ''Xagoroloi B ...

Early life and education

Indira Goswami was born in

Guwahati Guwahati () the largest city of the Indian state of Assam, and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the seat of the Government of Assam. Th ...

, British India to Umakanta Goswami and Ambika Devi, a Vaishnavite

Brahmin Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

family that was deeply associated with Sattra life of the

Ekasarana Dharma ''Ekasarana Dharma'' () is a Vaishnavism#Later medieval period, Vaishnavite religion propagated by Srimanta Sankardeva in the 15th-16th century in the Indian state of Assam. It reduced focus on Vedic ritualism and focuses on devotion (''bhak ...

. She studied at Latashil Primary School, Guwahati; Pine Mount School, Shillong; and Tarini Chaudhury Girls' School, Guwahati and completed Intermediate Arts from Handique Girls College, Guwahati. She majored in

Assamese literature Assamese literature is the entire corpus of poetry, novels, short stories, plays, documents and other writings in the Assamese language. It also includes the literary works in the older forms of the language during its evolution to the contempor ...

at Cotton College in

and secured a master's degree from

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 and is the oldest un ...

in the same field of study. Indira goswami impressed by

Akka Mahadevi Akka Mahadevi (c. 1130–1160) was an early poet of Kannada literature and a prominent member of the Lingayatism founded in the 2011 . Her 430 '' vachanas'' (a form of spontaneous mystical poems), and the two short writings called ''Mantrogopya ...

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

vachanas as she said in

Bengaluru Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

Career

In 1962, she published her first collection of short stories, "Chinaki Morom", when she was a student. Popularly known as Mamoni Baideo in Assam, she was encouraged by editor Kirti Nath Hazarika who published her first short stories — when she was still in Class VIII (thirteen years old) — in the literary journal he edited.

Depression

Goswami has suffered from depression since her childhood. In the opening pages of her autobiography, ''The Unfinished Autobiography'', she mentions her inclination to jump into Crinoline Falls located near their house in Shillong. Repeated suicide attempts marred her youth. After the sudden death of her husband, Madhaven Raisom Ayengar of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

, in a car accident in the

Kashmir Kashmir ( or ) is the Northwestern Indian subcontinent, northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term ''Kashmir'' denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir P ...

region of India, after only eighteen months of marriage, she became addicted to heavy doses of sleeping tablets. Once brought back to Assam, she joined the Sainik School, Goalpara as a teacher. At this point she went back to writing. She claims that she wrote just to live and that otherwise it would not have been possible for her to go on living. Her experiences in Kashmir and

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

Indian states India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 districts and smaller administrative divisions by the respe ...

where her husband had worked as an engineer, were used in her novels ''Ahiron'' and ''The Chehnab's Current'', respectively.

Life in Vrindavan

After working at the

Sainik School The Sainik Schools () are a system of Military high schools in India established and managed by the Sainik Schools Society () under Ministry of Defence (MoD). They were conceived in 1961 by V. K. Krishna Menon, the then Defence Minister of Indi ...

in Goalpara, Assam, she was persuaded by her teacher Upendra Chandra Lekharu to come to

Vrindavan Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj, Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance for Hindus who believe that Krishna, one of ...

, Uttar Pradesh, and pursue research for peace of mind. Her experiences as a widow as well as a researcher finds expression in her novel ''The Blue Necked Braja'' (1976), which is about the plight of the Radhaswamis of Vrindavan who lived in abject poverty and sexual exploitation in everyday life. One of the main issues that the novel touches upon is the plight of young widows for whom companionship beyond the confines of their

ashram An ashram (, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery in Indian religions, not including Buddhism. Etymology The Sanskrit noun is a thematic nominal derivative from the root 'toil' (< Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

, a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

– inviting criticism of Goswami from conservative sections of the society. It remains a classic in modern

. It is autobiographical in character as she says the anguish of the main character Saudamini, reflects what she had gone through after her husband had died. It was also the first novel to be written on this subject. The novel was based on Goswami's research on the place as well as real-life experience of living in the place for several years before she joined the

University of Delhi The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

as a lecturer. In Vrindavan she was involved in

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

studies. A massive volume of

Tulsidas Rambola Dubey (; 11 August 1511 – 30 July 1623pp. 23–34.), popularly known as Goswami Tulsidas (), was a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava (Ramanandi Sampradaya, Ramanandi) Hinduism, Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. H ...

's ''

'' purchased during her stay there for just eleven

rupee Rupee (, ) is the common name for the currency, currencies of Indian rupee, India, Mauritian rupee, Mauritius, Nepalese rupee, Nepal, Pakistani rupee, Pakistan, Seychellois rupee, Seychelles, and Sri Lankan rupee, Sri Lanka, and of former cu ...

s was a great source of inspiration in her research. This finds expression in her book Ramayana from Ganga to Brahmaputra, an unparalleled comparative study of Tulsidas's ''Ramayana'' and the fourteenth-century Assamese Ramayana written by Madhava Kandali.

Life at the University of Delhi

Goswami relocated to

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, India, to become Professor of Assamese in the Modern Indian Languages & Literary Studies (MIL) Department at the University of Delhi under the guidance of her lifelong mentor Prof. Bhabananda Deka, who was subservient in the introduction of Assamese Language in MIL Department of Delhi University (DU). While at the university, she wrote most of her greatest works. Several short stories, including ''Hridoy'', ''Nangoth Sohor'', ''Borofor Rani'', used Delhi as the background. During later part of her life, after she became Head of the MIL Department in Delhi University, she, in collaboration with award-winning Assamese popular short-story writer and novelist Arnab Jan Deka made efforts and persuaded Delhi University to set up a Chair in the name of Middle Age Assamese saint-philosopher-littérateur-artist Srimanta Sankardev. They also convinced the Chief Minister of Assam to make a contribution of Rupees One Million to Delhi University to create the corpus for the proposed Chair. However, Dr Goswami could not see the fruits of her effort during her lifetime. Her two classics – ''Pages Stained With Blood'' and ''The Moth Eaten Howdah of a Tusker''— were also written during this period. The other books completed while she lived in Delhi were '' Ahiron'', '' The Rusted Sword'', '' Uday Bhanu'', '' Dasharathi's Steps'' and ''The Man from Chinnamasta''. In ''Pages Stained With Blood'' she writes about the plight of

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

s in the

1984 anti-Sikh riots The 1984 anti-Sikh riots, also known as the 1984 Sikh massacre, was a series of organised pogroms against Sikhs in India following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards. Government estimates project that about 2,800 Sikhs w ...

following the

assassination of Indira Gandhi Prime Minister of India, Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated at 9:30 AM on 31 October 1984 at her 7 RCR, residence in Safdarjung Road, New Delhi. She was killed by her bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh (assassin), Be ...

, the

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...

. Goswami had witnessed the riots while staying in the Shakti Nagar area of Delhi. She visited many of the other sites to complete this novel. She even went to G. B. Road, Delihi's

red-light district A red-light district or pleasure district is a part of an urban area where a concentration of prostitution and sex industry, sex-oriented businesses, such as sex shops, strip clubs, and adult theaters, are found. In most cases, red-light district ...

, to depict the lives of the prostitutes who lived there which forms a part of her novel. In ''The Moth Eaten Howdah of a Tusker'' she writes about the plight of Assamese Brahmin widows in Satra, religious institutions of Assam. This novel was anthologised in '' The Masterpieces of Indian Literature'' and was made into a film, ''Adajya'', which won several national and international film-festival awards. The novel was also made into two television

mini-series In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

;

Nandita Das Nandita Das (born 7 November 1969) is an Indian actress and director. She has acted in over 40 feature films in ten different languages. Das appeared in the films ''Fire'' (1996), ''Earth'' (1998), '' Bawandar'' (2000), '' Kannathil Muthamittal' ...

played the role of Giribala in one of the mini-series. At the peak of her literary career she wrote the controversial novel ''The Man from Chinnamasta'', a critique of the thousand-years-old tradition of

animal sacrifice Animal sacrifice is the ritual killing and offering of animals, usually as part of a religious ritual or to appease or maintain favour with a deity. Animal sacrifices were common throughout Europe and the Ancient Near East until the spread of Chris ...

in the famous Hindu

Shakti Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...

temple to Kamakhya, a

mother goddess A mother goddess is a major goddess characterized as a mother or progenitor, either as an embodiment of motherhood and fertility or fulfilling the cosmological role of a creator- and/or destroyer-figure, typically associated the Earth, sky, ...

, in Assam. Goswami reported that there was even threat to her life after writing the novel. In this novel she quotes

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

s to authenticate the argument she puts forward in the novel – to worship the Mother Goddess with flowers rather than blood. She said in an interview, "When the novel was serialized in a popular magazine, I was threatened with dire consequences. Shortly after this, a local newspaper, '' Sadin'', carried an appeal about animal sacrifice, which resulted in quite an uproar—the editor was gheraoed and a tantrik warned me. But when the appeal was published, the response was overwhelmingly in favour of banning animal sacrifice. I also had to contend with rejection from a publisher who was initially keen and had promised me a huge advance, but who later backtracked, offering instead to publish any other book of mine. But the rest, as they say, is history and ''Chinnamastar Manuhto'' went on to become a runaway bestseller!" Another major piece of her fiction during the period was ''Jatra'' (''The Journey''), based on the problem of militancy/

secession Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

ism that has affected almost the entire

North-East India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political administrative division of the country. It comprises eight states—Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, M ...

frontier A frontier is a political and geographical term referring to areas near or beyond a boundary. Australia The term "frontier" was frequently used in colonial Australia in the meaning of country that borders the unknown or uncivilised, th ...

ever since Indian independence. Mamoni Raisom Goswami died at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital on 29 November 2011.

Literary works

Novels

* 1972 ''Chinavar Srota'' (''The Chenab's Current'') * 1976 Neelkanthi Braja (''The Blue-Necked Braja''), translated by Gayatri Bhattacharya; Zubaan Books, 2013) * 1980 ''Ahiron'' * 1980 ''Mamore Dhora Tarowal aru Dukhon Uponyas'' (''The Rusted Sword and Two Other Novels'') * 1980 ''Budhosagor Dhukhor Geisha Aru Mohammed Musa'' * 1988 ''Datal Hatir Une Khowa Howda'' (''The Moth Eaten Howdah of a Tusker'' translated by the author, Rupa Publications) * 1989 ''Udaybhanur Choritro'' * ''Nangoth Sohor'' * 2001 ''Tej Aru Dhulire Dhusarita Prishtha'' (''Pages Stained With Blood'') * ''Dashorothir Khuj'' (''Dashorothi's Footsteps'') * 2005 ''Chinnamastar Manuhto'' translated as (''The Man from Chinnamasta'' translated by Prasanta Goswami, Katha) * 2009 "Thengphakhri Tehsildaror Tamor Taruwal" ("The Bronze Sword of Thengphakhri Tehsildar") translated by Aruni Kashyap, published by Zubaan Books, 2013)

Autobiography

* ''An Unfinished Autobiography'' ( Assamese: আধা লেখা দস্তাবেজ) * biography's new pages ( Assamese: দস্তাবেজ নতুন পৃষ্ঠা) * biography's new pages ( Assamese: অপ্সৰা গৃহ ) * ''Adha Lekha Dastabej'' ()

Short stories

* ''Beasts'' * ''Dwarka and His Gun'' * ''Parasu's Well'' * ''The Journey'' * ''Sanskar'' * ''To Break a Begging Bowl'' * ''Udang Bakach'' * relive

Poetry

* ''Pain and Flesh'' * ''Pakistan'' * ''Ode To A Whore''

Non-fiction

* ''Ramayana from Ganga to Brahmaputra'', Delhi 1996. (Research work on Saptakanda Ramayana)

Online works

"The Journey"
(short story)

Awards

* 1982 –

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

Award (for ''Mamore Dhora Tarowal'') * 1989 – Bharat Nirman Award * 1992 – Sauhardya Award of Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan of Government of India. * 1993 – Katha National Award for Literature * 1996 – Kamal Kumari Foundation National Award in 1996 * 2000 –

* 2002 – D Litt Degree from Rabindra Bharati University, West Bengal * 2002 – Mahiyoshi Jaymati Award with a citation in gold by Ahom Court of Assam * 2002 –

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), 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. In ...

(She refused to accept) * 2007 – D Litt Degree from Rajiv Gandhi University

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeast India. It was formed from the North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and India declared it as a state on 20 February 1987. Itanagar is its capital and la ...

* 2008 – D Litt Degree from

Indira Gandhi National Open University Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) is a National university, public Open university (concept), open & Distance education, distance learning university located in Delhi, India. Named after the former Prime Minister of India, prime ...

* 2008 – Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar Gold Plate from

Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is an organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of " Oriental research" (in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions). It was founded by the philologist Will ...

* 2008 – Principal Laureate Prince Claus Award * 2009 – Krishnakanta Handique Award, Asom Sahitya Sabha * Awarded the Ambassador for Peace from the Inter Religious and International Federation for World Peace * The International Tulsi Award from Florida International University for her book, ''Ramayana From Ganga To Brahmaputra'' * Asom Ratna – the highest civilian award in the State of Assam, India

References

External links

* The 'Peace-Mediator' rests in peace: Indira Goswami (1942–2011)

Amitav Ghosh on Indira Goswami

Obituary in The Hindu : A beloved daughter of Assam, writer, peacemaker

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goswami, Mamoni Raisom 1942 births 21st-century Indian women writers 21st-century Indian novelists Indian women activists Indian women academics Recipients of the Jnanpith Award People from Kamrup Metropolitan district Writers from Guwahati People from Mathura Academic staff of Delhi University Indian women poets Women writers from Assam Assamese-language poets 2011 deaths Cotton College, Guwahati alumni Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Assamese 20th-century Indian poets 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian novelists 21st-century Indian poets Activists from Assam Assamese people Novelists from Assam Women educators from Assam Educators from Assam Writers from Assam Writers from Northeast India People associated with Shillong