Asom Sahitya Sabha felicitated Sadin-Pratidin Chairman Jayanta Baruah at an event organized on Thursday in Guwahati for the Braille version of the prestigious Assamese dictionary ‘Hemkosh’ etching its name in the Guinness Book of World Records.
The president of Asom Sahitya Sabha, Dr Surjya Kanta Hazarika felicitated Baruah with gamosa, seleng sador and japi.
At the event, Baruah inaugurated the first monthly newspaper of Asom Sahitya Sabha, ‘Asom Sahitya Sabha Sangbad’.
Meanwhile, the newly renovated Lakshmiram Baruah Sadan auditorium was inaugurated by Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) chairman Narayan Deka where the event was organized today.
It may be mentioned that the first Assamese language dictionary, ‘Hemkosh’, was compiled by Late Hemchandra Baruah in the last part of the 19th century, and was published four years later after his demise. The subsequent editions, of the dictionary were published by the next generations of his family, particularly from fourth edition to 14th edition, was compiled and edited by Hemkosh Pran Debananda Baruah, the father of Mr. Jayanta Baruah, who currently owns the media conglomerate of Assam, 'Pratidin Media Network'.
In a bid to continue the ‘Hemkosh’ legacy, Jayanta Baruah as the grandson of Late Hemchandra Baruah, conceptualized, and published the Braille edition of ‘Hemkosh’. This edition of ‘Hemkosh’ comprises of approximately 10,000 pages comprising more than 15 volumes.
On May 1, Jayanta Baruah received the official certificate from the Guinness World Records team for the record-making achievement of Hemkosh as the largest bilingual Braille dictionary.
