Famous Assamese poet and Jnan Peetha awardee Nilamani Bhukan died at the age of 89 due to ill health on 19th January 2023. Nilamani Bhukan was born on 10th September 1933 in Tergaon, Kolagat district. He was one of the most celebrated poets of Assam and received the country’s highest literary award, the 56th Jnanpith for the year 2021 on 11th April 2022. His notable works are ‘Xurjya Henu Naami Aahe Ei Nodiyedi’, ‘Kabita’, and ‘Gulapi Jamur Lagna’.
- In 1981, He was awarded Sahitya Akademi Award in Assamese for his poetry collection, Kavita (Kobita).
- In 1990, He was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India and received the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, the highest literary honour in India, given by Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters in 2002.
- In 1998, he was elected as an ‘Emeritus Fellow’ for a period of two years by the Cultural Department, Govt. of India
- Assam Sahitya Sabha also conferred the ‘Sahityacharya’ honour to the renowned Assamese poet Nilamani Phookan.