By our Staff Reporter
GUWAHATI, March 27: Dramatist, playwright, essayist, radio artiste and novelist Arun Sarma passed away at Medanta The Medicity, Gurgaon today. He has left an oeuvre that will make people remember him forever.
Born at Senduri Ali in Dibrugarh on November 3, 1931 as the son of Tilak Chandra Sarma and rmada Kumari Devi, he passed matriculation from Tezpur Government High School in 1948. He scripted his first complete drama – Urukha Ponja – in 1952 when he was doing his I.SC from Cotton College, Guwahati. He had his graduation in Education from Cotton College in 1954. He had a brief stint each as a proofreader and as a sub-editor in an English daily in Guwahati. After that he joined Borongabari MCD High School as the assistant headmaster. In 1959 he entered the wedlock with Arati Sarma of Uzan Bazar, Guwahati. In 1960 he joined Guwahati Radio Station as a programme producer. He received the best dramatist award from the Axam Xahitya Xabha (AXX) in 1967 for his drama – Sri Nibaron Bhattacharya. He had a six-month training on radio programme production in BBC in 1969. While in Guwahati Radio Station he had authored as many as 47 dramas, besides a number of radio documentary for All India Radio’s programmes at Guwahati and Delhi. It was this period when he bagged as many as three intertiol awards. He had been the Director AIR Station, Dibrugarh from 1986 to 1989 and then superannuated in 1990 as the Director of North East Service, AIR, Shillong.
Sarma had an equally busy life even after his retirement from government service. From 1990-1992 he had been the Editor of Purbachal, an Assamese weekly. Ashirbador Rong, a novel, brought him the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1989. UNO radio centre had broadcast his interview for an hour in 1999. In 2001, he was hounoured with Asom tya Sanmilan Bota. It was followed by an assignment given to him. He was made the president of Asom tya Saimilan for a two-year term. His life-time association with drama brought him Sangeet tak Akademi Award in 2003. He bagged the Assam Valley Literary Award, 2005. Padmashree was the last feather in his cap in 2010.
Chief Minister Sabanda Sonowal condoled the death of Sarma. In a condolence message, Sonowal said, “Contributions of Arun Sarma towards society through drama and novel are immense”. His death is an irreparable loss to the society who enriched the literary landscape through his literary creations. Sarma made notable contributions to enrich literary and cultural firmament of Assam.
Meanwhile, Media Advisor to Chief Minister Hrishikesh Goswami also condoled the death of Arun Sarma. Former Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Leader of Opposition of Assam Legislative Assembly Debabrata Saikia, Cultural Affairs Minister ba Kumar Doley, APCC president Ripun Bora, State BJP president Ranjit Kumar Dass, AIUDF president Barduddin Ajmal, AGP president Atul Bora, leaders of the Axam Xahitya Xabha, AASU and other organizations condoled his death.