Hemalata
Dutta was born on 18th of Phalguna, in 1318, Saka (1908) in the
historic Golaghat town. She was the first daughter born to the linguist of
Assam, late Debaanada Bharali and late Kanchanlata Bharali. Hemalata�s
grandfather, Ishananda Bharali was the first B.A in Assam. He wrote an
invaluable book named �Prakrit Bhugol� about the planets and stars.
Hemalata�s father was a learned scholar and a researcher in Assamese
language. The fundamental search for Assamese language and �China Luiter
Pare Pare�, a novel based on the theory of language were his worth
mentioning contribution. Hemalata�s great grandfather, Paramananda Bharali
not only passed the Entrance Exam from the first English School in
Sibsagar but also became the Head Master of that school. He wrote many
books useful for children. There was a library in Hemalata�s house stuffed
with Begali and Assamese books. As she grew up in such an intellectual
environment, so she developed literary feelings since childhood. It was
natural for Hemalata to have interest in education as she was born and
brought up in an educated environment in Bharali family, pioneer in the
field of education in Assam. Though Hemalata started her primary education
in Dibrugrah,she was admitted into Nagaon Mission school during tenure of
her father in Nagaon as sub �Deputy Magistrate. The school was managed by
three American teachers named Miss Chrishen Berry, Miss Florence and Miss
Sweet. Hemalata was made to believe in God with firm faith and much
devotion by the prayer sung in melodious voice in disciplined order in a
beautiful order in a beautiful neat and clean environment. She heard
�Lechari Ghosha� �Kakuti Ghosha� and stories of Ramayana and Mahabharata
from her mother. The new environment in the Mission school and the stories
of great men heard from her mother had influenced the tender mind of
Hemalata. But the social barriers created hurdles for Hamalata�s `craving
for knowledge. Hemalata was taken away from school at the age of 11 while
she was studying in class VI in Nagaon Mission school on the pretext that
she was grown up. Hemalata�s mother was not convinced though Miss Chrishen
Berry tried to explain it to her. Being helpless Hemalata�s father though
started teaching her English at home, yet Hemlata�s teenage mind was
shattered. At last she had to confine herself to weaving, sewing knitting
lace, spinning pat, Muga and Ariyarn, cooking delicacies and all according
to her mother�s advice. She became skilled in all artistic work at an
early age.
The wave of non-cooperation movement of Mahatma swept
away entire Assam. People boycotting foreign clothes publicly burnt it
all. Hemlata with the sentiment of nationalism also joined in this
activity. About two years after this movement Hemlata was married to a
famous lawyer. Girin Dutta from historical Sibsagar. Hemlata getting
married to a huge family comprising of eight brother in laws, four
sister-in-laws, mother-in-law and father-in-law, served them and she could
win over their hearts. Hemalata brought up three daughters. Nirmali,
Anjali, Sewali and two sons. Birin and Jiten very well in her married
life.
Their home became the centre of congress workers as her
brother-in-laws Sonaram Dutta was MLA from Congress and rest of the
members of their home were associated with congress since the time of
freedom movement. Coming into contact with Mrs. Pushpa Lata das, Ms Amal
Prabha Das and many other women workers Hemlata also participated in the
meetings or the development of women. Her hospitality fascinated Gopinath
Bordoloi, Amiya Kumar Das, Sankare Barua, Fakaruddin Ali Ahmed, Debakanta
Baruah and many such illustrious sons of Assam. When Jawaharlal Neheru
came in Assam in the month of January in 1946, he even came to Sibsagar.
Tasty food prepared by Hemlata pleased Jawaharlal Nehru and he also
praised her for hand woven �Muga Chader� and �Gamocha�. Though she always
regretted by saying, �I could not do anything in social sector, �yet she
pioneered �Jonali Chara�, a Woman�s organization in Sibsagar after
shifting from their old home to new home in Phukan Nagar. Though Hemlata
had started her literary venture towards the later part of her life amidst
her busy family life and social schedules yet she acknowledged with
respect in her �Atitak Suwaro� that her husband was the inspiration for
her literary venture. Hearing about the tragic death of Bapuji in 1948,
came out a heart rendering poem of sorrow.
�Oh the great man
You are the angle of sacrifice
A great hermit
For the welfare of all motherland
You sacrificed all happiness
You have undergone so much torture
O� great man �heavenly death.�-
Her husband encouraged her to read out this poem in the
condolence meeting. This was the first literary creation of Hemlata. When
she broke down due to the death to her husband in 1963, her younger
brother-in-law Radhacharan Dutta took her to visit the holy pilgrimages of
South India. After that her eldest son-in-law Debakanta Kakoty took her to
visit the pilgrimage in Himalaya. Her mind and soul was filled with the
natural beauty of the pilgrimage and the architecture of the temples. So,
immediately after coming back she wrote. �Alakananda para Sagartiraloi� in
simple language and expression about whatever she had seen with her own
eyes. Of course prior to this she had written �Aryabarttar sati� a book of
stories of Shaibya, Damayanti, Sabatri and Chintamoni and this was
published by Suresh Goswami.
Though �Alakanandar Para Sagartiroloiu is a travelogue,
yet it is an excellent contribution to Assamese literature. She wrote in
the eye catching lovely natural beauty of the holy places like Kedarnath
and Badrikashram and thus arriving in a dreamland devoid of attachment.
She had been carrying this wish since childhood. This travelogue is
divided into four sections named as, a) �Alakanandar tirat� (On the bank
of Alakananda), b) ��Mandakinir tirat" (On the bank of Mandakini), c)
�Bhagirathir tirat� (On the bank of Bhagarathir), d) �Sagarar Trait� (On
the bank of Sea). Her excellent expression has attracted the readers.
In the author�s own language �"I saw on the road of
Kedarnath as if the Goddess Nature had given the offerings of different
colored flowers on the feet of 'Kedarnath�, Shiva. The rivers from the
mountains came down to provide water to Shiva. Washing the feet of
Kedarnath, Mandakini had come down with the pride of happiness of the
self. There is no language to give expression to that exquisite beauty.
There is no ritual to worship that holy beauty. So like an attempt of a
lame person to climb the mountain, I offer the magnanimity of pilgrimage
in a little way to the people��.
One can identify the loveliness of Hemlata Dutta�s
language from the narrative of the foreword. She has written in �Sagar
Tirat Abhumuki� "When I remember the great mighty hero Shivaji�s land,
Tanjore city, I think in my mind, will there be sacrificing men like those
heroes of the independent states of those days"? With the stories of
Bhisma, Drona, Karna she wrote another book named, "Aryabarttar Bir" (Hero
of Aryabartta). This was followed by �Pancha Pandavar Sadhu� (The story of
Pandavas), a book for children. �Bisdesar Bate-Pathe is her second
travelogue. She has nicely narrated the experience that she gathered while
staying with her youngest son Dr Jiten Dutta in abroad. She has given
exact description starting from the proximity of various Assamese families
staying in abroad, their behavior and manners of the people in abroad,
their sense of duty, natural beauty and all. It is significant that this
woman with nationalistic sentiment remembers her country in each moment.
She remembered the Dikhou Bridge constructed during the time of British in
Sibsagar seeing the �tower bridge� which is lifted by a machine during the
commuting of ships. She has beautifully compared the Negro Women�s tying
of hair with lot of care with the daughters of snake God. The writer has
taken the readers to a familiar world with the description of Bhim�s
journey to the land below the earth bring life saving beads. She has
compared the calm blue multitudes of ocean which seems to be merged with
the big void to "Nabanil Jaladhar Shyam Sundar". She has given a realistic
description of �Brindavan Dham� with the herd of white, bluish-black,
stout cows grazing in the field. Her heart was filled with pride seeing
the most invaluable goods of India in the British museum. She said that
the saying �kukur srigal gardharvar atmaram� (animals are alike with human
beings) by our great man is appreciate in abroad. She said that by seeing
people�s love for animals in abroad. Sri Biren Barkakaty, the former
president of �Assam Sahitya Sabha� had written in the preface of her book
�Bideshar Bate Pathe�, with mind excited by the beneficial form of Ganga
sourced at Gangotri, by the beauty of the magnitude of ocean, respected
Hemalata Dutta who had visited the main places of India has narrated her
feelings through her writing in �Alakanandar Para Sagar Tiraloi�. The wish
to go to the far-off land was an at least partially fulfilled in the later
part of lie. Once Mrs. Dutta went to London to meet her son,
daughter-in-law and grand children who were in Scotland. She wrote
�Bideshar Bate Pathe� out of the experience of her short stay in abroad
and visit to a few places in abroad. This is her second book as a
travelogue.
Hemlata Dutta�s sense of nationalism has appeared in
each book. Seeing the laying of yarns length wise for the purpose of
weaving �Cheleng" cloth by the wife of Bishnuram Medhi, then governor of
Madras, she had written in �Sagar Tirat Abhumukhi�-�wise for the purpose o
weaving in the forecourt of the Governor House in Madras", She had written
in another place- "remembering Mysore town, known as the Kingdom of
Mahisashur, remembering Brindaban the place of sports for Radha-Krishna, I
have filled my mind. In such land India, desired by god, the great men
appearing in ages have been destroying the despicable and unholy ones and
promoting the religion the truth "(Sagar Tirat Abhumuki )�Atitak Suwaro�
(Remembering the past) written in the later part of life is another
milestone of Hemlata�s literary life. "I have been able to engage myself
in writing books only after being free from domestic bindings. Now at this
stage of crossing eighty years, I have taken out time to write remembering
all those things in the past which are playing hide and seek in the mind",
saying this Hemlata has talked about purpose of writing this memoir,"Let
the up coming boys and girls understand how was the society of our time,
the attitude of people towards woman�s education, the difference between
the social rules and tradition".
It is indeed beyond comparison how beautifully she
portrayed the state of the society and culture of Assam of that period in
such a simple and easy language. At the end she wrote, "Those days and
these days! That age and this age, How it differs! I keep on thinking how
much learning and education has widened the minds of people? How much
kindness and affection has increased? How much peace is there in people�s
living? It is true that we have not got the light of education well. The
society was merged with superstition and evil practices. But the periphery
of the mind was not narrow. People knew how to sacrifice. There was love
and affection among people and there was peace and harmony". This is very
significant saying in Hemlata�s memoir.
In 1979 a hand written magazines named �Puberun� was
published on the occasion of children year by �Joonali Chara�, a Woman�s
organization in Sibsagar, which was edited by Mrs. Phuleswari Dutta Mrs.
Mandira Baruah. Hemlata had written an article named �Bapujir Kalpnar
Bharat� (India of Bapuji�s Dream) and a poem titled �Lakhmi Asomi Asomi
Ali� (Prosperous Mother Assam) in �Puberun�
"We are Indian we are Assamese
The country is our home
Of our country all are dear
No discrimination as such
Dear of all is motherland
Forever loving mother
The land where I am born
That�s my mother Assam"
The last stanza was written like this
Not forgetting the self not forgetting the state
Don�t abandon national costume
Own language must keep clean
Don�t act as foreigner
Being respectful to Assamese folk culture and rituals
Hemlata Dutta wrote an article in 'Dainik Asom� on �Raslilar Tatparya�
(significance of Raslila), and she also wrote a series of article about
Assamese art form, Brass metal Sarai (a beautiful tray with a foot),
Safura( a tray with a lid for serving betel nut) Dunari (a kind of fine
basket with a rim like stand) and such other art form. She wrote a few
articles even in �Asom Bani� about the �Hand-loom art and craft�. She
wrote �Apurba Ashirbad Biyanam�(songs of wedding) apprehending that such
songs sung in the Assamese wedding and the rituals performed on the
occasion would be otherwise lost in due course of time.
Hemlata was large heart-ed despite being respectful to
own customs and rituals and own language and culture. According to her
�Only worshiping God is not religion, service to mankind is religion�.
Hemlata dutta who selflessly served the Assamese literature and culture
left foe for heavenly abode on 19th February, 1991 in Guwahati.
Hemalata
Dutta