Veteran Assamese literary luminary Dr Basanta Kumar Bhattacharyya passes away at 83

Eminent Assamese writer, poet, academic, and critic Dr Basanta Kumar Bhattacharyya died this Wednesday morning at his residence in Nalbari. He was 83 and had been grappling with prolonged illness, family sources confirmed.

Born on February 1, 1942, in Nalbari district, Dr Bhattacharyya emerged as a towering presence in Assam’s literary landscape. A master of multiple literary forms, he authored acclaimed short-story anthologies including Protest, The Sky Is Blue, Unattached Voices, and Fragments of Dreams and Nightmares. His poetry collections—Your Heart’s Warmth and Sometimes Alone in the Desert—were lauded for their lyrical richness and emotional resonance.

His early education began in village schools before he advanced to Cotton College and Gauhati University. He briefly studied medicine at Guwahati Medical College but withdrew due to poor health. Pivoting to literature, he earned a Master’s in Assamese and began his teaching career at Barnagar College, before joining Nalbari College in December 1968. There, he served as Head of the Assamese Department until his retirement in January 2002  .

In his role as educator and mentor, Dr. Bhattacharyya supervised 15 doctoral scholars and was instrumental in establishing several junior colleges. Post-retirement, he continued contributing as a visiting faculty member until 2011  .

He held prestigious honors such as the “Sahityacharya” bestowed by the Asam Sahitya Sabha and the “Nalbari Ratna” by the district’s literary body  .

Well into his final years, Dr. Bhattacharyya remained a vibrant voice in Assamese letters. His passing is mourned as a profound loss to literature and academia in Assam.