Rita Chowdhury (born 17 August 1960) is an Indian poet, novelist and

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

recipient in the world of

Assamese literature Assamese literature ( as, অসমীয়া সাহিত্য, translit=ɔxɔmiya xaɦitjɔ}) is the entire corpus of poetry, novels, short stories, plays, documents and other writings in the Assamese language. It also includes the lite ...

. She has been an associate professor in

Cotton College, Guwahati Cotton University (formerly known as ''Cotton College'') is a public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established in 2017 by the provisions of an Act from the Assam Legislative Assembly which merged Cotton College Sta ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

in Political Science Department since 2001. She is currently the director of

National Book Trust National Book Trust (NBT) is an Indian publishing house, which was founded in 1957 as an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education of the Government of India. The activities of the Trust include publishing, promotion of books and reading, ...

, India.

Early life and education

Chowdhury was born in 1960 to the writer Biraja Nanda Chowdhury and social worker Shri Molina Chowdhury, at Nampong in Tirap District of

Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It share ...

. She did her schooling in Upper Haflong L.P. School and Higher Secondary in Margherita Public Higher Secondary School. Her family moved to

Guwahati Guwahati (, ; formerly rendered Gauhati, ) is the biggest city of the Indian state of Assam and also the largest metropolis in northeastern India. Dispur, the capital of Assam, is in the circuit city region located within Guwahati and is the ...

in 1980, during the

Assam Movement The Assam Movement (also Anti-Foreigners Agitation) (1979–1985) was a popular uprising in Assam, India, that demanded the Government of India to detect, disenfranchise and deport illegal aliens. Led by All Assam Students Union (AASU) and A ...

; she became involved in the movement and was jailed several times. She passed her B.A. in political science from

Cotton College Cotton College was a Roman Catholic boarding school in Cotton, Staffordshire, United Kingdom. It was also known as ''Saint Wilfrid's College''. The school buildings were centred on Cotton Hall, a country house used by religious communities from ...

under Gauhati University in 1982. She is double MA in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...

and Assamese from

Gauhati University Gauhati University, also known as GU, is a Collegiate university, collegiate public state university located in Guwahati, Assam, India. It was established on 26 January 1948 under the provisions of an Act enacted by the Assam Legislative Assem ...

with

LLB Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

(1990) and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

She did Ph.D. from Gauhati University on Comparative Literature in 2005. Her thesis was on Society and Women psychology depicted in Nirupama Borgohain and Ashapurna Devi's Novels: a Comparative Study.

Teaching career

Rita Chowdhury has been an associate professor in

in Political Science Department since 2001 Prior to that, Chowdhury had worked as lecturer from 1991 to 1996 and as senior lecturer from 1996 to 2001 in the same college. She started her teaching career as lecturer in political science in Diphu Government College, Karbi Anglong from the year 1989 to 1991.

Literary career

Chowdhury's first novel was ''Abirata Jatra'' (English: Incessant Journey) in 1981, which won the first prize in a competition held by

Asom Sahitya Sabha The Asam Sahitya Sabha (; Literary Society of Assam) is a non Government, non profit, literary organisation of Assam. It was founded in December 1917 in Assam, India to promote the culture of Assam and Assamese literature. A branch of the organi ...

on the contemporary Assamese situation. Chowdhury then wrote a series of novels, including ''Tirthabhumi'' (The Shrine) in 1988, ''Maha Jibanar Adharshila'' (Foundation Stone of Great Life) in 1993, ''Nayana Tarali Sujata'' in 1996, ''Popiya Torar Xadhu'' (Tale of a shooting star) in 1998, Rag-malkosh in 1999, Jala-Padma (Water-Lotus) in 1999, Hridoy Nirupai (The Helpless Heart) in 2003,

Deo Langkhui Deo Langkhui (''The Divine Sword'') is an Assamese novel written by Dr Rita Chowdhury. The book unveils some important aspects of then-contemporary Tiwa society and a series of their customs and traditions. The novel is based on historical ev ...

(The Divine Sword) in 2005, ''Makam'' (The Golden Horse) in 2010 and ''Mayabritta'' (The Circle of Worldly Illusion) in 2012. Each of her novels is a depiction of some significant aspects of the society. She received

in 2008 for the novel

which was based on the

Tiwa Tiwa and Tigua may refer to: * Tiwa Puebloans, an ethnic group of New Mexico, US * Tiwa (Lalung), an ethnic group of north-eastern India * Tiwa language (India), a Sino-Tibetan language of India * Tiwa languages, a group of Tanoan languages of the ...

s of Assam. ''Makam (মাকাম), a'' is translated into English with the title ''Chinatown Days,'' Chowdhury's fiction reflects the reality of life and the society. Sometimes it is contemporary and sometimes it is historical. There is a subterranean flow of feminism in some of her novels. Most of her novels are research-based. She was the founder editor of ''Adharxila'', a monthly literary magazine, published from Guwahati from 2001 to 2002.

Books

*''Abirata Jatra'' (Incessant Journey) in 1981 published by Bani Mandir,

Dibrugarh Dibrugarh (pron: ˌdɪbru:ˈgɑ:) is an industrial city in Upper Assam with sprawling tea gardens. It is located 435 kms East from the state capital of Dispur. It serves as the headquarters of Dibrugarh district in the state of Assam ...

*''Thirthabhumi'' (The Shrine) in 1988 published by Deepti Prakashan,

*''Maha Jibanar Adharshila'' (Foundation Stone of Great Life) in 1993 published by Jyoti Prakashan,

*''Nayana Tarali Sujata'' in (1996), published by Lawyer's Book Stall,

*''Popiya Torar Sadhu'' (Tale of a Meteor) in 1998 published by Cambridge India,

*''Ragmalkosh'' in (1999), published by Assam Book Depot,

*''Jala Padma'' (Water-Lotus) in 1999 published by Assam Book Depot,

*''Hridoy Nirupai'' (The Helpless Heart) in 2003 published by Jyoti Prakashan,

*''

'' (The Divine Sword) in 2005 published by Jyoti Prakashan,

*''Ai xomoy Xei Xomoy'' *''Makam'' (The Golden Horse) in 2010 published by Jyoti Prakashan,

*''Mayabritta'' (The circle of Worldly Illusion) in 2012 published by Jyoti Prakashan,

*''Makam'' (English) in 2015 published by The Pangea House, New Delhi. *''Bibranta Bastab'' in 2015 published by The Jyoti Prakashan, Guwahati. *''Chinatown days' 'in 2018 published by Pan Macmillan, New Delhi.

Poems

*''Xudoor Nakshatra'' (The Far-off Star) in 1989, published by Sofia Publishers,

*''Banariya Batahar Xuhuri'' (Whistle of the Wild Wind) in 1996 *''Alop Pooharar Alop Andharar'' (Streaks of Light and Darkness) in 1997 published by Lawyer's Book Stall,

*''Boga Matir Tulaxi'' (Black Basil on White Soil) in 1999 published by Lawyer's Book Stall,

Recent releases

*''Rajeeb Eeshwar'' *''Jahnavi''

English works

*''The Divided Soul'' (Coffee Table Book) in 2015 published by The Pangea Hous

Production works

*''Wars and Tears'' (Documentary, Director, Script Writer) produced by The Pangea Hous

Awards

Chowdhury has been awarded with a number of literary awards and recognitions. Among those, the major awards are as follows: *

Assam Sahitya Sabha The Asam Sahitya Sabha (; Literary Society of Assam) is a non Government, non profit, literary organisation of Assam. It was founded in December 1917 in Assam, India to promote the culture of Assam and Assamese literature. A branch of the orga ...

Award (First Prize awarded in the Manuscript Competition of Novel) in 1981 for the Novel, Abirata Yatra. *Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha Award by

, new Delhi in 2006 for the novel Deo Langkhui. *

, 2008, for the novel

. *Lekhika Samoroh Xahitya Bata in 2011 by Sadou Axom lekhika Samoroh Samittee. *G.A. Kulkarni Award for Translation of the novel, Makam in Marathi Language in 2013 by Goa Hindu association, Mumbai. *Certificate of merit Award in 2011 by IDPA, Mumbai for the Documentary, ‘The Divided Soul’. *Award for Excellence in Best Editing for ‘The Divided Soul’ (Docu) produced by Chowdhury in Mumbai International Film festival in 2011.

Special felicitation

*Felicitated by the Indian Overseas Chinese Organization on 23 May 2010.

Posts held

*Visitor's (President of India) nominee to the Court, Rajiv Gandhi University, Arunachal. *Visitor's (President of India) nominee to the Court, Axom University, Silchar, Assam. *Member, State Commission for Women, Assam. *Member, Asomiya Advisory Panel, National Book Trust. *Chief trustee, 'Adharxila'(Honorary)

Research

*The Chinese Diaspora and 1962 Sino-Indian War. *Tea History of Assam. *Tea Community of Assam. *Tiwa Tribe of Assam. *The Assamese Chinese Community. *Forced Migration in Post Partition India.

Personal life

She is married to Chandra Mohan Patowary. She has a son and a daughter.

References

External links

*http://ritachowdhury.in/ *http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/assamese-of-chinese-origin-facing-severe-identity-crisis-115051700354_1.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Chowdhury, Rita 1960 births Living people Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Assamese People from Kamrup Metropolitan district Assam academics Poets from Assam Assamese-language poets Writers from Arunachal Pradesh Indian women novelists 20th-century Indian novelists Cotton College, Guwahati alumni People from Tirap district Indian women poets 20th-century Indian women writers 20th-century Indian poets Women writers from Assam Novelists from Assam Women writers from Arunachal Pradesh Writers from Assam Writers from Northeast India Recipients of the Assam Valley Literary Award