Nalini Bala Devi (23 March 1898– 24 December 1977) was an Indian writer and poet of
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 ...
, known for nationalistic as well as mystical poetry.
[ Das, p. 197] She was awarded the
Padma Shri
Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
by the
Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
in 1957 for her contribution to literature, and 1968 she won 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 ...
given by
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 of ...
(India's National Academy of Letters) for her poetry collection ''Alakananda''. She is the first woman Assamese poet to be awarded with Padma Shri and the first lady to the chair the Assam Sahitya Sabha.
Biography
She was born in
Guwahati
Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest 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 ...
,
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 ...
in 1898. Her father, ''Karmaveer''
Nabin Chandra Bordoloi
Nabin Chandra Bardoloi (1875–1936) was an Indian writer, politician and leader of Indian National Congress party from Assam. An Indian independence movement activist, he was a prominent leader from Assam in the Non-cooperation movement (1920 ...
(1875–1936), was an Assamese
Indian freedom movement
The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947.
The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged from Bengal. ...
activist and writer. She wrote her first poem, ''Pita'' at age 10, and was married at age 12, but her husband, Jeeveshwar Changkakoti, died when she was 19. Two of her sons also died early in her life. She began writing poems, with emotion, tragedy, patriotism and devotion as central themes, which are still acclaimed in Assamese literature.
[ Natrajan, p. 31]
Her first book of poems ''Sandhiyar Sur'' (Evening Melody),
[ Barua, p. 15] published in 1928, was later adopted by
Calcutta University
The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...
and
Guwahati 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 ...
as a textbook in 1946 and 1951 respectively. Her other works include ''Alakananda'', ''Sopunar Sur'' (Melody of Dreams), ''Porosh Moni'', ''Yuga Devata'' (Hero of the Age), ''Shesh Puja'' (The last worship), ''Parijator Abhishek'', ''Prahlad'', ''Meghdut'', ''Suravi'', ''Rooprekha'', ''Shantipath'' (Essay anthology), ''Sheshor Sur'' (The last Melody)m
[ ''Smritir Tirtha'' (Biography on her father), ''Biswadeepa'' (A collection of biographies of famous women), ''Eri oha Dinbur'' (The Days Passed, Autobiography), ''Sardar Vallavbhai Patel'' are some of her biographical works. She had to her credit one drama titled ''Meerabai''.
In 1950, she established ''Sadou Asom Parijat Kanan'' which later become famous as ''Moina Parijat'', the children organisation in Assam. She was the president of 23rd Jorhat session of ]Assam 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 ...
(Assam Literary Society) in 1955.
She died on 24 December 1977, but is remembered in Assamese literature by the last four lines of her famous poem ''NaatGhar'' (The theatre)
....''Kun Kar Jogotor / Kun Kar Moromor / Chokur Chinaki Dudinor // Sasimor Rooprekha /Asimot Bur Jabo / Khohi Gole Jori Moromor''
(Who's for whom in this world / Who's under whose care / Temporary acquaintances, eye-to-eye contacts these are with // Bounded facial outlines / That get dissolved in the infinite oblivion / If the thread of love that binds them snaps.)
The Cotton College, Guwahati
Cotton University (formerly known as ''Cotton College'') is a public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established in 2017 by the provisions of an Act from the Assam Legislative Assembly which merged Cotton College Sta ...
named its girls hostel after her as 'Padmashree Nalini Bala Devi Girls' Hostel' in 1986. The Sadou Asom Lekhika Samaroh Samiti literary organization has published ''Mahasweta'', about her works.
Works
* ''Sandhiyar Sur'' (Evening Melody, 1928)
* ''Sopunar Sur'' (Melody of Dreams, 1943)
* ''Smritir Tirtha'' (Biography, 1948)
* ''Paroshmoni'' (Touchstone, 1954)
* ''Jagriti (Awakening, 1962)
* ''Alakananda'' (1967)[
]
Awards and recognition
She was awarded with 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 ...
for her poetry anthology ''Alakananda'' in 1968 and conferred Padma Shri
Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...
in 1957 by the Government of India
The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
.
References
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Devi, Nalini Bala
1898 births
1977 deaths
Assamese-language poets
Writers from Guwahati
Indian women poets
Indian women essayists
Indian autobiographers
Indian women non-fiction writers
Asom Sahitya Sabha Presidents
Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Assamese
Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education
Women autobiographers
20th-century Indian poets
Women writers from Assam
20th-century Indian essayists
20th-century Indian women writers
20th-century Indian biographers
Poets from Assam