Jnanpith winning Assamese poet Nilamani Phookan passes away

Category : Obituaries Published on: January 21 2023

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Renowned Assamese poet and Jnanpith winner Nilamani Phookan passed away at Guwahati Medical College & Hospital (GMCH) at the age of 89.
Born in 1933, Phookan won the 56th Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary award for the year 2020.
He was also awarded the 1981 Sahitya Akademi Award in Assamese for his poetry collection, Kavita (Kabita) and he was awarded the Padma Shri by the government of India in 1990 and received the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, the highest literary honour in India, given by Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters in 2002.
He was selected as an 'Emeritus Fellow' for a period of two years by the Cultural Department, Govt. of India in 1998.
Assam Sahitya Sabha also conferred 'Sahityacharya' honour to him.