Four distinguished translators, artists, researchers, and social workers were conferred the ‘Golok Samman’ at a solemn function held at the Alumni Hall of Cotton University on 23rd April 2023. The honours were presented by Dr. Dinesh Chandra Goswami, a prominent writer, translator, and editor of Assam. At the beginning of his speech, Dr. Dinesh Chandra Goswami paid tribute to Golok Chandra Dutta and recalled his merits, especially his contribution to translation literature.
Dr. Goswami congratulated the recipients on receiving this high honour and urged them to continue to pursue their desired goals throughout their lives. Dr. Goswami also gave brief informative discussions and comments on the four subjects of translation, music, painting and social service. This is the first year of the award launched by the UD Foundation, a local NGO. The award was given to Binita Rajput, a teacher working for the promotion of education in the tea gardens of Titabor. In his acceptance speech, he remembered his mother for her social work and thanked all those present. She also throws light on the problems in the education sector of Tea Gardens. Manjit Rajkonwar, who received the award in the music category, said the honour has boosted his confidence and enthusiasm. He said he will spend more time recovering undiscovered chapters in the history of music. Dr. Pranjit Bora, who received the award in the translation category, said, “We are blessed to receive the ‘Golok Samman’ This recognition of our little work in the field of translation in recent days will inspire us to move forward in this field. Having been involved in the field of translation for a long time, we are convinced that translation is not just a linguistic thing, it is essentially a huge cultural business. Through translation, people from all walks of life with their own cultural characteristics shine with their own dress and dignity, and thus the foundation of unbroken human thought and identity is formed. Translation is for me the pursuit of unbroken human thought and identity. Sourish Mitra, an established painter and animation filmmaker from Kolkata, who has designed the cover pages of many books and film posters in Assam, received the award in the art category. “I have a long association with Assamese literature and cinema and I have been enriched by this relationship This honour is not just an encouragement or inspiration to me, it is much more than that. This honour has made me even more responsible,” he said.
The awards ceremony was hosted by renowned recitation artist Aboni Bora and began with a tribute speech by eminent writer and short story writer Jayanta Kumar Chakraborty. “Golok Chandra Datta was optimistic about the new generation and studied the writings of new writers with deep attention. This award to encourage the young talents, named after him is truly appropriate,” said Shri Chakraborty, referring to his personal experiences with Golok Chandra Datta.
Before the awards ceremony, Dr. Dinesh Chandra Goswami was greeted by painter Dhanjit Das on behalf of the Foundation. The U D Foundations believes that a man or an woman cannot excel in work without the support from his or her other-half. The husbands and wives of the recipients were requested to receive the certificates on behalf of their spouses and they happily received these certificates from the chief guest.
After the awards ceremony, Anand Kumar Dixit performed Bhupali Raag on Sitar and Debashish Bhattacharya played Tabla with the artist. The meeting concluded with a vote of thanks by Aboni Bora.
Photo Courtesy: Rituraj Gogoi
