BREAKING: Noted Poet Nilmani Phookan Passes Away

Noted Assamese poet Nilmani Phookan passed away on Thursday following age-related ailments.

He breathed his last at 11.55 am at Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) today.

Phookan was admitted to the GMCH yesterday night in critical condition and was undergoing treatment.

Earlier today, Superintendent of GMCH Abhijit Sarma said that at least four departments were treating the renowned poet. The four departments include cardiology, neurology, anesthesia and medicine.

On Wednesday night, Phookan was referred to GMCH from Sanjeevani Hospital for advance treatment.

Sarma said that he was infected with septic shock and it had spread all over his body due to which he was at risk.

To cure the infection, he was administered with antibiotics.

Earlier in April last year, the noted Assamese poet Nilmani Phookan received the highest literary honour 'Jnanpith Award' at a function at Rabindra Bhawan in Guwahati.

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He had been conferred with the Jnanpith Award award in December 2021, becoming the third Assamese personality to receive it.

The Chief Minister of Assam, Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma presented the award to the renowned poet. Notably, the awards were presented for the first time in Assam.

The award was conferred to the author for his lifetime contribution in literature. Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya and Mamoni Raisom Goswami had won the award before him.

Taking to Twitter, CM Sarma had shared a moment from the event. He wrote, "Sharing a memorable moment from this evening’s Jnanpith Award, 2021 distribution ceremony where Kabya Rishi Nilmani Phookan recites a few thought-provoking lines from one of his creations."

Nilmani Phookan’s notable works include Surya Henu Nami Ahe Ei Nodiyedi, Gulapi Jamur Lagna, and Kobita.

He was awarded the 1981 Sahitya Akademi Award in Assamese for his poetry collection, Kavita (Kobita). He was awarded the Padma Shri by Government of India in 1990 and received the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, the highest literary honor in India, given by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters in 2002.

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