Hiren Bhattacharjya
27th Aug 2011
Hiren Bhattacharjya was born in 1932 at Jorhat. Hiren Bhattacharjya is one of the most read and loved poets amongst Assamese. Assamese poetry lovers call him Hiru da.
Hiru da is a well-loved and extremely popular Assamese poet of our time, whose body of work has contributed substantially to Assamese poetry. Hiru da started writing poems at a very early age, with his first poem being published in 1957. His first anthology of poems, Mor Desh Mor Premor Kabita were published only in 1972. His ability to convey complex emotions through his writings and his direct communication with the readers through a remarkably lucid and simple style makes him one of the few popular poets of the contemporary Assamese literary world. Drawing positively from life, love and humanity, Mr Bhattacharjya is a man of rare vision, insight and intellect. Hiru da, as he is popularly known, considers all his poems to be a part of the same poem, in continuum, reminiscent of the work of the American poet, Walt Whitman. Sugandhi Pokhila (selected poems, 1981) and Saichar Pathar Manuh (collected poems 1991) reaffirmed his poetic beliefs, even as he made his very unique contribution to Assamese literature with two collections of nursery rhymes in 1991 - Lora Dhemali and Akon Dhemali.
Hiru da has innumerable publications in Assamese and achieved many prizes and accolades for his poetry.Among the various honours that have been bestowed upon him, the more prominent ones are the Bishnu Rabha Award (1985), Soviet Desh Nehru Award (1987) and Sahitya Akademi Award (1992), and Assam Valley Literary Award for the year 2000.
Hiren Bhattacharyya has been the editor of several magazines and newspapers.