Renowned Assamese poet Sananta Tanty breathes his last at 69

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• Nov 25, 2021 | moderator

New Delhi: Renowned Assamese poet Sananta Tanty breathed his last at the age of 69 after suffering from prolonged illness. Tanty was undergoing treatment at Apollo Hospital in New Delhi and passed away at around 3.25 am early morning.

Born on November 4, 1952, Sananta Tanty was an eminent Indian Assamese poet whose work is important in Assamese literature.

Tanty was born to an Odia family in Kalinagar Tea Estate. Tanty completed his secondary education at a Bengali-medium school but continued his literary works in the mainland Assamese language. Tanty has received numerous awards and distinctions, including the 2018 Sahitya Akademi Award for “Kailoir Dinto Amar Hobo” (Tomorrow will be Ours), a collection of his poems.

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According to the website Asymptote, Tanty is “a chronicler of the times and an advocate for the downtrodden” and “a poet of change and of unbridled optimism”.

Tanty started his professional career as an employee of Assam Tea Employees' Provident Fund Organisation in Jorhat in 1971. Subsequently, he joined office of the Directorate of Information and Public Relation, Government of Assam, as a Sub-Divisional Information and Public Relations Officer in Guwahati. He then joined the Assam Tea Employees' Provident Fund Organisation as an officer in the Public Relations department and became Senior Public Relations Officer, finally retiring from service in 2012 as Deputy Provident Fund Commissioner.  Tanty was given an extension for another one and a half years after his retirement as an Officer on Special Duties

The Assamese poet community as well as chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has expressed grief on the loss of one its greatest 'Nakshatra' - Sananta Tanty who inspired many with his moving words and strong faculty in the poetic diction.