GUWAHATI: In a first, the Jnanpith Award ceremony will be held in Assam to confer the award to noted poet Nilmani Phookan.
Revered Assamese poet Nilamani Phookan will be conferred the country’s highest literary award at Rabindra Bhawan on Monday, April 11. Phookan was named for the 56th Jnanpith Award in December 2021.
The octogenarian was awarded the Padma Shri in 1990 and received the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship in 2002. His notable works include Xurjya Henu Naami Aahe Ei Nodiyedi, Kabita, and Gulapi Jamur Lagna.
The award will be given away by Assam Chief Minister (CM) Himanta Biswa Sarma and members of the Jnanpith Committee.
Nilamani Phookan is the third recipient of the prestigious award in the State after Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya in 1979 and Mamoni Roisom Goswami in 2000. Notably, this will be the first time the Jnanpith Award ceremony will be held in Assam, as the previous recipients were awarded in Delhi.