Guwahati: Noted Litterateur Lakhsminandan Bora Dies of COVID

Noted Litterateur and short story writer Lakhsminandan Bora succumbed to COVID-19 on Thursday morning. He was under treatment at Excel Care Hospital in Guwahati and breathed his last today at around 11 AM.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma condoled the death of the noted litterateur. The Chief Minister also instructed to perform his last rites with full state honour.

Although he was tested COVID-19 negative, he was under treatment as he was a patient of heart, diabetes and blood sugar. He was admitted to the hospital on May 20 after being detected with the virus and died today morning.

Lakshmi Nandan Bora was born on 15 June 1932 at Hatichung of Kudijah village, a small hamlet in Nagaon district in the Northeast Indian state of Assam to Phuleswar Bora and Phuleswari as the youngest of their five children. He did his schooling at Nagaon High School, graduated in Physics (BSc) from Cotton College State University, Guwahati and secured his master's degree (MSc) from Presidency College, Kolkata.

Lakhsminandan Bora pursued doctoral studies in meteorology at Andhra University from where he secured a Ph.D., the first person to be awarded a doctoral degree in meteorology by the university. For most of his career, he worked at Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat as a faculty member and stayed with the institution till his retirement as a professor and the head of the department of physics and agrometeorology in 1992. He has also served as a visiting professor at the Johannes Gutenberg University for two terms.

Bora married Madhuri in 1961 and the couple has one daughter Seuji and two sons Tridib Nandan and Swaroop Nandan. The family lives in Ganeshguri, a satellite town of Guwahati, Assam. Seuji Bora Neog is a Professor of Genetics and Plant breeding at Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Tridib Nandan Bora is a Senior State Government Official while the youngest son Swaroop Nandan is a Professor of Mathematics at Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati.

Bora wrote his first short story, Bhaona, in 1954, which was published in Assamese magazine, Ramdhenu. His first book, Dristirupa was published in 1958 and the next one, Nishar Purabhi in 1962. He published his first novel, Gonga Silonir Pakhi, in 1963, which is reported to have earned critical acclaim, has been translated into 11 languages and was made into a film, under the same name, by Padum Baruah in 1976. The succeeding years saw him active in the political milieu of Assam and was arrested once, in 1981, under the National Security Act. His novel, Akou Saraighat, written during this time and published in 1980, reflects his political leanings to a certain measure. He also founded a weekly, Rangpur, and stayed as its editor till 1996 when he resigned from the post, reportedly due to ideological differences with the owner of the publication.

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