How Assamese literature is making a bid to go pan India

In October, when the Assamese community residing in Bengaluru celebrated Durga puja, they decided to host a “mini book fair exclusively on the regional literature” on the sidelines of the festivities. The maiden Assamese book fiesta in the city was an “impromptu decision”, but proved to be a “smart one”. Around 1,200 books shipped from Assam to Bengaluru were almost sold out during the five-day-long event.

The featured books represented various genres like fiction, poetry, history and collected works of legends like Jyoti Prasad Agarwala and Bishnu Prasad Rabha, to name a few.

The book fair hosted at Shri Surya Narayana Swamy Kalyana Mantapa in Bengaluru’s Domlur was unveiled on October 20. Dr R Ananta Padmanabha Rao, former deputy director general of Doordarshan, and Ramendra Kumar, author, were part of the inaugural day event.

The idea was mooted by the Assam Association Bangalore — the umbrella organisation of Assamese-speaking people in the city — to celebrate Assamese literature and language outside the state. Speaking to The Federal, Dr Monideepa Das, vice-president of Assam Association Bangalore, said, “It was a matter of great pride and privilege for us to host the book fair in Bengaluru. Our attempt has always been to preserve and promote Assamese art, culture and literature in Bengaluru. The book fair is one such attempt.”

Logistically and financially, it was not an easy proposition, nonetheless, the All Assam Publishers and Booksellers Association (APBA), which represents more than 500 booksellers and publishers from Assam, with the help of the Assam Publication Board, a government-run body, decided to curate the fair.

“The reaction from book lovers was beyond our expectations. We sold books and made a decent profit. The biggest learning, however, was the immense interest in Assamese literature among Kannada, Telugu and Hindi-speaking people who visited the stalls,” said Dhiraj Goswami, secretary of the APBA. As the APBA plans to host a similar book fair — the scale of which will be bigger — in Mumbai in the coming months, it is going to apply “the learnings from Bengaluru”.

“We plan to take as many translated works (mostly in English) of Assamese literature as possible to cater to non-Assamese readers in Mumbai. The book fair in Bengaluru has given us an impetus to translate more Assamese literature into English,” added Goswami. The organisers say the main target audience of book fairs outside Assam is Assamese people living, working and studying outside their homes.

A lot of Assamese novelists and poets feel that they are bereft of a wider readership as publishers are hesitant to translate their work into English or other regional languages. A best-selling Assamese author, on condition of anonymity, said that except for two or three authors and books, very little is known about Assamese literature outside the state. “These days, we see a lot of Bengali, Tamil and Malayalam books — getting translated into English. The same is missing in the Assamese language. There is no dearth of good books but a dearth of intent and ambition from the regional publishers,” she added.

National award-winning film critic and writer Utpal Datta said that translation is a tricky business as priority is given to best-selling authors and books. “I feel writers themselves should take the initiative to translate and publish their work. It will change the whole ecosystem of publishing and translation,” he added.

Outside Assam, the APBA was part of several book festivals like the New Delhi World Book Fair in Delhi and the Kolkata International Book Fair in Kolkata.

“To host a book bazaar on Assamese literature (like the one in Bengaluru) is a welcome move. It’s an introduction to Assamese literature for many who don’t know the language. For those who do, they can browse, read and buy the books. Such initiatives are good for business as they increase book sales. A book fair anywhere always provides a good amount of visibility to authors and publishers,” Datta said.

On a cautionary note, Datta added that a book fair does not necessarily reflect the literary quality of any language or place. “Literature goes beyond marketing and sale of books.”

The positive response to the maiden Assamese book fair by readers — who speak different languages like English, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Bengali and Assamese — is the best possible success the organisers of the event could have received. “We are planning a bigger book fair on Assamese literature during Durga Puja in Bengaluru next year,” informed Dr Das.

Kumar, an award-winning author of children’s books, shared his experience of being a part of the book fiesta with The Federal. “It was a wonderful experience for me. The warmth and hospitality of Assamese people floored me. It was great interacting with the readers and I learned a lot about Assamese literature from them,” said Kumar, who attended the inaugural ceremony as a guest of honour.

The children’s author from Bengaluru, who has written 49 books in English, added that the Assamese book festival is a “mini-revolution and will have a ripple effect across India”. “It was a small but beautiful event bringing people from the far-flung Northeast India together. I am hoping similar literary events in Gujarati, Bengali, Odiya, Urdu, Punjabi, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam and other languages are organised across the country.”

Kumar’s book, We Are Different, published by National Book Trust, India, has been translated into Assamese. The author is delighted that his work has been read by boys and girls of Assam. “It is the power of translation that is giving me a chance to reach out to young readers across Assam and India,” the author said. Several books of Kumar have been translated into different regional languages.

Back in Assam, the APBA in collaboration with the Assam Publication Board is expanding its reach by hosting book fairs in small towns like Dhemaji and Haflong. Asom Book Fair in Guwahati remains the APBA's biggest annual event. The next one is scheduled for December. In its last edition in 2022, Asom Book Fair saw participation by publishers and sellers from Bangladesh and Delhi. Around six lakh bibliophiles attended the fair resulting in an earning of Rs 5 crore by the organisers. Most sellers make a profit during book fairs in Assam as several bookshops are on the verge of closure. The selling of books online is slowly picking up.

Bengaluru is estimated to be the home of around three lakh Assamese people. Most of them have come to the city seeking employment opportunities and to pursue higher education. The Assamese community feel that “Bengaluru is home away from home”.

Along with celebrating the Assamese way of life in Bengaluru, the community also celebrates local Kannada art and culture to bring both communities closer. Recently, the Assamese community celebrated Kannada Rajyotsava — the Karnataka State Day — on November 1.

The biannual Assamese magazine Uruli — an Assamese word which loosely translates into a teeming sound individually or collectively produced by women during any auspicious ceremony — published by Assam Association Bangalore now has a Kannada version too. Initially, it was published in Assamese and English. “Now, we also have a Kannada version of the magazine,” informed Dr Das, who is a trained physician and a writer.

Assamese people in Bengaluru strongly felt the need to come together during the coronavirus pandemic 2020. The lockdown and denial of services at that time made the community people stand with each other. During that period, online meetings were regularly conducted to share and address issues faced by the fraternity members. Bhogjora — an Assamese food festival — is another popular annual event of the community members where local Assamese dishes — like masor tenga (the tangy fish curry) to kheer (porridge) are cooked and relished.