Pabitra Kumar Deka

Pabitra Kumar Deka (29 January 1940 – 5 January 2010) is a novelist, humor writer, publisher and editor of a monthly magazine, film critic and script writer living in Assam in India. He is the winner of the Best Film Critic Award in 1988 from the Eastern India Motion Picture Association. The Government of Assam has instituted the State Best Film Critic Award in the name of ‘Pabitra Kumar Deka Award’ from 2010 after his death.

Pabitra Kumar Deka

Early life and education

Deka was born in the small town of Haibargaon in the district of Nagaon (Assam)[1] to Shri Mahendra Nath Deka and Swarnalata Deka. His father was a government officer in the Agriculture Department. The family settled in Guwahati in the early 1960s. After his retirement from office, Mahendra Nath Deka started M.N. Deka Films, a film distribution company, which released many Assamese and Bengali films.

His eldest son Pabitra Kumar Deka attended Nagaon Government High School and earned a degree in Commerce from Nowgong College. During his college days, he acted in and directed a number of one-act and full-length plays in Nagaon. In the one-act play competition held in Nagaon Natya Mandir in 1960, he was given the best actor and best director awards for the play ‘Adarsha Homeo hall’, written by Deba Kumar Saikia. The play ‘Mara Sutir Jiya Saku’ (Writer: Deba Kumar Saikia) also received the best direction award in many drama competitions.

During the same period, Deka began to translate short stories of foreign writers in Assamese for the magazines ‘Manideep’. His first published work was an Assamese adaptation of Edgar Allen Poe’s story published in ‘Manideep’.

Middle years

In Guwahati, Deka worked at Assam Tribune group of Newspapers as Advertising Manager, beginning in 1965. In the 1980s he joined the new Sadin-Pratidin group and he remained in this job till his death in 2010.

In the 1960s, Deka was hired as assiciate editor of the magazine Amar Pratinidhi, published from Kolkata by Shri Bhumi Publishing Company. Working in Guwahati under editor Dr. Bhupen Hazarika, he wrote a column ‘Dhananjayor diary’ in which, influenced by leftist thinking, he wrote many humorous critiques of society and people. He also wrote and translated many social and science fiction novels during this period, some of which were also published in the form of, including ‘Sihote Sar Paise’, ‘Vietnam’, ‘Mexicor pora aha gabhorujani’, ‘Operation Momba’, ‘Frankenstein’ etc. Deka also wrote many humor articles under the name of Pranpriya deka for the magazine Cartoon, another Shri Bhumi publication.

From 1975, Deka he shifted his focus to film and theatre. He published and edited a film and cultural magazine called ‘Roopkar’, the first of its kind in the Northeast India., which was published until the early 1990s. Simultaneously, he also started an amateur theatre group called ‘Aikyatan’ where he produced plays for two decades, including ‘Janani’, ‘Surjastak’, ‘Sinhasan Khali’, ‘Panchatantra’, ‘Hewers of Coal’, ‘Upahar’, ‘Night of 16th January’, ‘Putala Ghar’ etc. Many young artists and technicians who participated in this group are established names in Assam today. A music school named ‘Aikyatan Sangeet Vidyalaya’ was also started in the premises of the club for providing Hindustani classical vocal and tabla and western guitar, violin and mandolin classes for the youths.

In the field of literature, Deka wrote a regular humor and satire column called ‘Rasheswar Hazorikar Tukabahi’ for the Assamese weekly ‘Asom Bani’ in late 1970s and early 1980s.

Marxism and literature

During the 1960s and 1970s, Deka was influenced by Karl Marx and drawn to leftist thoughts and activities. In 1967, he along with two other employees of the Assam Tribune group published a magazine called ‘Samakalin’ edited by Amulya Barua and later by Padma Borkotoki. After the magazine closed down, Deka along with Nitya Bora published and edited a little magazine called ‘Naxa’ in 1970 where the chief adviser was writer and thinker Dr. Hiren Gohain. The magazine ‘Naxa’ was controversial at that time and also ceased publication after a few years. During this period, he also started an amateur theatre group called ‘Naxa Natya Parishad’ where he produced plays, including Maxim Gorky’s ‘Enemies’, ‘Surjahara’ and Bertolt Brecht’s ‘Maa’. The play ‘Maa’ based on Gorky’s novel ‘Mother’ staged in 1974, with music direction by Dr. Bhupen Hazarika. The Little Theatre Group of Kolkata performed some of their plays in Assam under ‘Naxa Natya Parishad’.

Film critic and script writer

Deka joined the Sadin-Pratidin group of newspapers in the late 1980s as a freelance writer on film, stage and theatre.[2] He was the cultural editor of weekly paper ‘Saadin’, and he also wrote columns for the daily paper ‘Ajir Batori’, ‘Dainik Agradoot’ and the film journal ‘Chitra Sambad’. He wrote two film related books, ‘Bhabendra Nath Saikiar Chalachitra’ and ‘Satuta dosokor Asomiya Chalachitra’, a history book about Assamese cinema.

Deka formed the Assam Cine-Journalist Association, and was its president until his death. Film and theatre conferences, press meetings, seminars, film shows, and other events were regularly held in the office of the Association.

During this time, he wrote many scripts for films, including ‘Surjya Tezor Anya Naam’, ‘Hastir Kanya’ (Winner of National Award in 1997 for Best Biographical Film), ‘Jakham’, ‘Tyag’ etc. and TV serials like ‘Aie Saharate’, ‘Tadanta’, ‘Dhaniramor Dhan’, ‘Sahu Aie’, ‘Hanumanor Sadhu’, ‘Nishar Nayak’, ‘Sir’.

He was a presenter on All India Radio, Guwahati during 1960s and 1970s where he interviewed many prominent personalities like filmmaker Mrinal Sen, Dr Bhabendra Nath Saikia, singers Usha Mangeshkar, Rita Kothari Ganguly, etc. for AIR.

Mobile theatre of Assam

Deka was heavily involved in the Mobile Theatre of Assam. He wrote plays for this theatre group, including ‘Overcoat’, ‘Naginir Amrit Danshan’, ‘ET (Adaptation of Steven Spielberg’s film)’, ‘Laila Majnu’, ‘Dr Bezbarua’, ‘Godfather’, which were performed by groups like Kohinoor Theatre, Hengool Theatre and Bordoloichila Theatre. The Mobile theatre group's unusual style of double stage and format were heavily criticized when it first opened in the 1960s. Deka was one of those people who promoted it in his magazine Roopkar, to increase its intellectual acceptance and prominence among the classes. Today the Mobile theatre is still in operation in 2015, employing thousands of people in Assam.

Later years

Deka began to suffer from serious heart related ailments in the early 2000s. He continued to work, meeting with people from the film, stage and media industries. In addition to his job for ‘Sadin’, he wrote about the history of world cinema for nearly ten years for Sambhar, a Sunday supplement published with the daily Asomiya Pratidin. His writings were later published in two big volumes published by the Assam Prakashan Parishad called ‘Bharatia Samantaral Dharar Sobi’ and ‘Bishwa Chalachitra’.

On 5 January 2010, Pabitra Kumar Deka died in the GNRC hospital, Guwahati after a heart attack.[1]

[3] [4][5][6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Noted scribe, writer Pabitra Kr Deka dead". Assam Tribune.
  2. ↑ "Remake misses critic’s award " The Telegraph - Calcutta : Guwahati
  3. ↑ NewsWeb.co.in
  4. ↑ Critically inclined - The Hindu]
  5. ↑ Roopkar Film Festival to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema Assam Times
  6. ↑ Ghana News | Feature Article | International Film Festival begins in Guwahati

External links

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