Karabi Deka Hazarika

Early life

It was in the historic town of Sibsagar where Karabi Deka Hazarika’s spent her formative years, here she attended school as well as college education. In the year 1969 she secured first class (11h position) with highest marks in Assamese in the higher secondary examination from Phuleswari Girl’s Higher Secondary School. Three years after, in 1972 she became the first student ever to secure first class in Assamese under Dibrugarh University by receiving first class honours in Assamese from Sibsagar Girl’s College. In 1974 she post graduated in Assamese topping her batch in Gauhati University and went on to do doctorate from the same institute under the guidance of famed scholar Maheshwar Neog. The title of her doctoral research completed on 1983 was : Madhavdeva : His Life, Art and Thoughts. In 1980 she married educationist and fellow academic Dr. Kandarpa Kumar Deka. She is a mother of two sons.

Academic life

Dr. Deka Hazarika joined the Assamese department of Dibrugarh University on 24 September 1976 as an Assistant Professor and went on to become Associate Professor and Professor subsequently. Later she became the chair-professor in the distinguished Lakshminath Bezbarooah Chair in the same department. Besides this she is also presently acting as the Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences at Dibrugarh university and as the advisor to Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Centre for Studies in Performing Arts. The establishment of the centre for Performing Arts can be considered a significant milestone in Prof Hazarika’s career. The centre was established in 2008 with Prof. Hazarika as the founder director and has contributed substantially in shaping up the foundation of performing arts as an academic discourse. For the first time in Northeast India the centre began offering B.A and M.A programs on courses like Music, Dance and Theatre. Prof. Hazarika did the commendable task of bringing the academic purview into art forms like classical dance prevalent for over five centuries in Vaishnavite Monasteries (Xatras) in Assam by making their studies part of M.Phil and Ph.D syllabus.

Prof. Hazarika is an accomplished educationist. A substantial number of researchers have worked under her supervision. Her contributions from 1991 as the coordinator to lead the Department of Assamese into a centre of excellence under the University Grants Commission’s (UGC) and the Department of special assistance along with Centre for Advance Studies-II initiative is definitely praiseworthy.

Literary life

Dr. Deka Hazarika’s literary flair is multifaceted. Although she likes identifying herself primarily as a poet. Her first poem ‘Anjali’, with patriotic fervour based on Indo-China war of 1962 was published in the news paper ‘Asom Bani’ when she was in class five. Afterwards her interest in poetry and writings grew as she began publishing frequently in children’s corners of news papers and magazines like ‘Asom Bani’, ‘Dainik Asom’ ‘Asom Batori’, ‘Deepak’ and so on. Her mother Hiraprobha Hazarika and maternal uncle Atul Cahndra Hazarika were constant source of encouragement. Witnessing of the literary meets and get togethers of Assam’s literary glitterati of the time in uncle Atul Hazarik’s house had left an impact on the young girl’s literary pursuits.

In the 1970s Hazarika entered the new world of Assamese poetry with her own style. Her publications in magazines like ‘Nagarik’, ‘Prakash’, ‘Saptahik Nilachal’, ‘Prantik’ etc. soon captured attention of both the readers as well as critiques. Since then, through a sizeable contribution, both in quality and quantity, Hazarika has made for herself a special position in the annals of Assamese poetry. Her poems are expressions of tender self immersed musings tinged with sharp insights into social discourses. Her poems of the early youth are charming in their moorings on love and separation. Mostly her poems are made of brief stanzas thick with emotions. The imageries drawn from nature imparts shades of intoxicating green in her poetic lines. River, night and dew, these three are her usual and favourite motifs based on which she has crafted some beautiful narratives with resonance to both personal and collective utterances. Although primarily a poet of personal musings, her poems also brilliantly lifts up the veils on many social issues, of which a very good example is the poem, “Suli Nebandhiba Jagyasini (Don’t plait your hair Jagyasini). A poem that has already occupied a seat of distinction in the records of Assamese poems. Similarly poems like ‘Sita’, ‘Raj Pothto Draupadi’ ‘Jwalamukhi’ have echoed empathy and solidarity with the social cause of women. Poems like ‘Neel Junaki’ (Blue Firefly), ‘Porir Banhi’ (Fairy’s Flute), ‘Jol Kunworir Saa’, ‘Buku Jurai Aanhe’ ‘Bakhyahin’, ‘Jonmo Nuhua Sualijoni (Unborn Daughter), ‘Siyang’ etc. on the other hands delights the readers through their universal aesthetics, an appeal to the tender senses that enthrals all.

In the world of lyrical ballads Hazarika’s is a deft hand too. She has created a considerable fan base as a lyricist often played by the All India Radio. Tender with layered meanings, her songs portrays the bitter sweet feelings of love and its absence, one’s interaction with the nature around as well as issues pertaining to society at large.

Karabi Deka Hazarika’s most significant contribution to the contemporary trends of Assamese literature, however, has been the initiation of a new trend of travel literature in Assamese. Through a corpus of five travelogues, accounts of her forays into the lands of Americas, China, Maldives and Greece, she has refined the art of travel writing in Assamese. In her travel accounts she often brings in the cultural and historical contexts of the places and puts them in the contemporary socio-political-ecological perspectives. Dotted with interesting anecdotes and entertaining back stories, her travel books thus has become happy reads across the ranges and also unique in its nature.

Deka Hazarika is also an accomplished literary critique. She has published a number of books on the ancient as well the evolving and modern aspects of Assamese literature. Many of her research papers and journals on similar themes are spread across different volumes. Poetry is her favourite topic of discussion. Bools like “Asomiya Kobita’, ‘Asomiya Kobi Aru Kobita’, ‘kobitar Rup Chaya’, ‘Adhunikotar Puhorot Asomiya aru Bangla Kobita’ etc. reflects her unique insights into the trends of Assamese poetry. Her scholastic work on ‘Madhavdev , Kola Aru Dorxon’ bears special importance in the field of religious research in Assam.

Some of her prominent works that establishes her as a illustrious editor are ‘Ehajar Bosoror Asomiya Kobita’, ‘Bezbaroar Rachna Chayan’, ‘kirtan Gosha aru Naam Gosha’ , ‘Seemar Poridhi Bhangi’ ‘Bangla Suti Golpo’ ‘Ramayanar Saneki’ etc.

One of Deka Hazarika’s favourite genre of writing is children’s literature. She has authored a bunch of stories and poems that resonates well with the language and psyche of the children and adolescents. These writings brings alive the esoteric life-worlds of children made up of fantasies and adventures, frequent forays into the animal kingdom and the other extravaganzas offered by a bountiful nature. A simple language, sufficient wit and portrayal of the familiar-every day life in a new light that connects with the children’s minds, these are the qualities of her writing that sets apart her children’s literature.

The novel ‘Aranyar Cha’ (The shades in the forest) is an fictional autobiographical account of the author. A sensitive and able portrayal of the complexes of men cohabiting with nature, the novel has been well appreciated. ‘Anupama. Aruna, Kusum, Ityadi’ is a unique testament to the struggle of Assamese women for equal rights and recognition. The narrative revolving around the main character Kusum portrays the different evolving stages in the battle for equal status by Assamese women, both within and outside the household, in the larger social realm. The novel ‘Junakor Akhor’ is a story told with tenderness and yearnings about nuances and trivialities of family lives.

Prof. Hazarika is also a well admired name in the genre of translation literature in Assamese. Her Assamese translation of the award winning Konkani novel ‘Karmeline’ has been well received. Translations of poems done by her from languages like English, Hindi, Oriya, Bangla has been put under different compilations. Besides Hazarika’s poems have been translated to Spanish s well.

Sahitya Akademi and Karabi Deka Hazarika

In 2003, Karabi Deka Hazarika got elected as the advisor and coordinator to the Assamese language Advisory Board of Sahitya Akademi. After successfully completing five years in that position, she got reelected to the position for another term in 2012. She had also performed the role of Coordinator for the Northeastern Zone of the Akademi besides successfully performing her duties as member to the Committee on Oral Literature of the Akedemi. During her tenure, programs of the Akademi has for the first time, spread to the nooks and corners of the state away from the few fixed centres of activities like metros and big towns, thus connecting the Akedemi more and more to wider public.

Travels and participations

She has attended literary meets and conferences in different parts of the globe including the United States of America (Florida, New York, Orlando), Latin America (Peru, Cuba), Greece (Athens, Santorini), China (Beijing, Zhiang, Shanghai), Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh and Maldives.

Awards

Works

Literary criticism:

Children's literature

Travelogue

Novel:

Poems and lyrics

Translated books

References