Benichandra Jamatia (1930 – 14 December 2020)
was a
Tripuri Indian folk writer and litterateur, known for his contribution to the fields of literature, songs and education in
Tripura
Tripura () is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, third-smallest state in the country, it covers ; and the seventh-least populous state with a populat ...
. He is credited with introducing the ''baul'' singing tradition of West Bengal in
Kokborok language
Kokborok (or Tripuri) is a Tibeto-Burman language of the Indian state of Tripura and neighbouring areas of Bangladesh. Its name comes from ''kók'' meaning "verbal" or "language" and ''borok'' meaning "people" or "human", It is one of the anci ...
for the first time.
In 2020, he was awarded the
Padma Shri
The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...
(2020), the fourth-highest
civilian award
A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civilian engag ...
in India.
Biography
Benichandra Jamatia was born to Padasingh Jamatia and Suchitra in Maharani,
Gomati District
Gomati district is a district of Tripura, India. This district was created in January 2012 when four new districts were created in Tripura, taking the number of districts in the state from four to eight. Udaipur is its headquarters.
The district ...
, Tripura. While he was young, his mother narrated the
Puranas stories to him in the
Kokborok
Kokborok (or Tripuri) is a Tibeto-Burman language of the Indian state of Tripura and neighbouring areas of Bangladesh. Its name comes from ''kók'' meaning "verbal" or "language" and ''borok'' meaning "people" or "human", It is one of the anci ...
tongue. His days were taken up by farming and cattle rearing.
He was married to Durgamati Jamatia and has nine children.
Jamatia died on 14 December 2020
Awards
*
Padma Shri
The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...
2020
Death
He died at his home on 14 December 2020.
See also
*
List of Padma Shri award recipients (2020–2029)
The Padma Shri Award is India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nati ...
References
1930 births
2020 deaths
Tripuri people
People from Tripura
People from Gomati district
Kokborok-language writers
20th-century Indian writers
20th-century Indian male writers
{{India-writer-stub
Kokborok playback singers
Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature and education