ITANAGAR, 10 Jan: The Arunachal Pradesh Literary Society (APLS) in its 99th session at the Jawaharlal Nehru museum here on Sunday decided to give a new thrust to literary activities during 2021 “to stir the minds of literary lovers.”
The session, chaired by APLS president Yeshe Dorjee Thongchi, decided to celebrate the 16th foundation day of the APLS in the first week of February, the World Mother Tongue Day on 21 February, Kavi Diwas on 21 March, and the World Book Day on 23 April.
Prominent writer Rinchin Dondurup and former karmik & adhyatmik department director and historian Dr NN Lego will be felicitated during the 16th APLS foundation day celebration in recognition of their invaluable contributions.
This was approved by the sitting, which also approved the new APLS logo and conferring of the Luminous Lummer Dai Literary Award-2020 on noted writer RN Koley.
The other recipient, Chandrakanta Barpatra Gohain, was handed the award by the president at his Guwahati residence on 30 December last year. He is 93 years old now.
It may be recalled that Koley has contributed through his poems, short stories and research publications, while Gohain has written many short stories on the life of the NEFA people. .
Gohain had joined as a teacher in 1953 in a remote village in East Siang district of the then NEFA and edited Giribani magazine of the independent golden jubilee higher secondary school, Pasighat – one of the oldest schools of the state set up in 1948. He served in various interior schools and was promoted to the rank of circle officer. He went on deputation to the SSB and retired as area organizer in 1989.
Thongchi also showed Lummer Dai Rachanawali, edited by Sahitya Akademi awardee Jayanata Madhab Bora and published by the Assam government, which he had released during the 33rd Book Fair in Guwahati, Assam.
