This is a tribute to my great grandfather Lakshminath Bezbaruah on the occasion of his 157th birth anniversary. His middle daughter Ratna Baruah was my grandmother and her second daughter Ira Ghosh is my mother.

I have always been impressed by his prolific writings in Assamese Literature in numerous genres including short stories, novels, poetry, drama, and essays – as well as his Assamese state anthem: O Mur Apunar Desh. I admire this enormous contribution to Assamese literature and his pioneering single mindedness in putting it on the literary stage. But I also truly respect his character and many of his personality traits.

He was a fighter – not only for himself but for everyone and everything he believed in. He always felt bad (which he mentions in his autobiography) about failing his law exam, but did not let it deter him and kept pursuing his goals and ideals. He wanted to go overseas to further his education, but was not able to do so because of his parents’ disapproval. Again, he just got on with life as he followed alternate goals. He fought tough resistance again from his conservative family and those around him, when he wanted to marry Pragyasundari Devi, daughter of Hemendranath Tagore. He was brought up in the strict Vaishnavite tradition and his relatives were totally against the liberal Tagore family. This time however he was successful in his desires.

I believe that he was an ideal addition to the Tagore family as like them, he was a modern, liberal, rational person. He was not political nor did he believe in the religious traditions of those around him. Many of Bezbaruah’s beliefs are found in his literary works. When younger and writing a series of essays, he wrote under the pseudonym Kripabar Barua. Through satire and humour, he exposed the many foibles of Assamese society. He showed up the inequality between the Assamese castes. 19th Century Assam was economically unstable and many Assamese were portrayed as being under the influence of alcohol and lazy. Bezbaruah, through his writings, encouraged them to cast off this stereotype and to believe in their own strengths and capabilities.

I am particularly delighted by my great grandfather’s children’s literature. Assam has a strong tradition of folklore and this was illustrated in ‘Grandmother’s Tales’ (Burhi Air Xadhu). Each story has a moral. Again, he Challenges the weaknesses of Assamese society at the time. He also has strong female characters and being a modern, rational man, advocated for women and their education, and he disapproved of widow discrimination and the overall suppression of women.

Bezbaruah, as an adult, spent more time outside Assam, but his loyalty and devotion to Assam was always strong. He roamed the forests of Assam as a youth and this, and the stories from his elderly caretaker, Rabinath, were two major influences in his writings. Although a strong loyalist of Assamese culture and literature (So much so that his outpouring and deluge of Assamese writings abolished Bengali from being the foremost language in schools- which had bewildered the Assamese), my great grandfather was strongly oriented in both Eastern and Western literature and culture and other aspects of life. He was inspired by the 18th century Brothers Grimm and their fairy tales as well as other international writers. He was never prejudiced by other cultures or literature. He was a product of the Bengali renaissance and the romantic idealism of the western world.

His legacy to me and what I hope to pass on to my daughter are qualities that I aspire to:

• Fighting for what is believed to be right
• Persevering despite obstacles
• Embracing broader ideals
• Speaking out against prejudice and inequality
• Supporting the value of education

I feel honored to be a descendant of a person who has so significantly contributed to Indian culture and history.

Gargi Barooah
New Jersey
USA