Assam remembers celebrated cultural icon and freedom fighter Jyoti Prasad Agarwala on his 70th death anniversary today.
Every year on Rupkonwar's death anniversary – January 17, Silpi Divas is observed across the state.
Assam Sahitya Sabha will be organising several events throughout the day across the state to commemorate the lumineer's contribution to the field of art and culture.
The Assam government also has organised an online Jyoti Sangeet competition. Participants can send their performance of a song written and composed by Jyotiprasad Agarwala to mygovassam@gmail.com
Assam Chief Minister took to Twitter and said about the doyen of Assamese cinema: Jyoti Prasad Agarwala sowed the seed of the remarkable journey of art, literature and culture in the state. I pay my respect to him on Silpi Divas
Although Agarwala hailed from Rajasthan's Marwar, he was born and raised in the soil of Assam. Born in Dibrugarh on June 17, 1903, Agarwala was the first filmmaker Assam ever produced.
While he did his primary education in Dibrugarh and Tezpur, he studied in Calcutta and completed his matriculation from under University of Edinburg and pursued a filmmaking course in Germany.
He was also part of the national freedom movement against the British Rule and was in prison for fifteen months and even paid a fine of rupees 500.
Agarwala wrote the well-known plays 'Sonit-Konwari' and 'Joymoti' in collaboration with the 'Kolaguru' Bishnu Prasad Rabha. In 1934, he established the Chitaraban Studio at the Bholaguri Tea Estate in Tezpur.
In 1935, he began his first film making career and produced his first-ever Assamese film, 'Joymoti'. In 1937, he launched a cinema hall named 'Junaki' in Tezpur. His second film was 'Indramalati' in 1939. He also republished a newspaper named 'Asomiya' whose operations were closed in 1944.
He was also a renowned poet and penned down around 300 songs. His collections are known as 'Jyoti Sanjeet'. Several well-known plays written by him include Ligiri, Lobhita, Rupalim, and Karenghar.
He was married to Devjani Bhuyan in 1936.
