Guwahati, April 3: Renowned poet Ajit Barua, 89, passed away this evening at his residence at Uzan Bazar here following respiratory problems.

Barua is survived by his daughter and daughter-in-law. He had retired as the commissioner of lower Assam.

"He was one of the most prominent modern poets of Assam. He was a critic with in-depth knowledge on poetry and song. He was also one of the finest novelists of the modern era. With his death, we have lost a conscious and intellectual literary critic," said poet Jiban Narah.

Jengrai, written in 1963, is considered to be Barua's best poem.

Barua was born on August 19, 1926, to Chitramalla Barua and Padmalata here. He passed Class X from Cotton Collegiate High School and had done his masters in English from Calcutta University in 1947.

Barua began his professional life as a faculty of Nagaon College. Afterwards, he joined the Assam Administrative Service. Later, he was promoted to the Indian Administrative Service. He had also acquired a law degree from Gauhati University.

Barua won the Sahitya Akademi Award (1991) for his second poetry collection Brahmaputra Ityadi Podya and Assam Valley Literary Award (1999) for his lifelong contribution to the literary world.

Poet Kamal Kumar Medhi said Barua loved to talk to people. "His intellectual discourses attracted his followers," he said.

Barua did not jump into the bandwagon of poets who supported romanticism during the 1940s. Instead, he supported the ideas of poet T.S. Eliot. He also published an essay collection, Essays on T.S. Eliot, in 2002, a result of his research on the poet.

Barua studied French poems and could speak and write in the language fluently. French literature was as dear to him as English. His poems were rich not only with threads from English poetry but also French literature. Barua translated Albert Camus' play Les Justes and The Plague (a novel) from French into Assamese.

"He will be remembered by the people of the state for introducing a unique style in Assamese literature," said Maini Mahanta, a writer.

Barua wrote nearly 20 songs. Through them, especially through Akaxor pora paar bhangi ahe jonakor dhol, he established himself as a lyricist. Yet, for the people of Assam, Barua will remain a poet.

A few years ago, he recalled how he wrote the first poem for a magazine when he was hardly 11 and how poetry remained an inseparable part of his life despite his busy life as an administrative officer.

How Barua got involved with writing poems is evident from Brahmaputra Ityadi Podya that took him three decades to complete. He began writing the poem in 1960 and completed it in 1989. Being born near the Brahmaputra, he loved it and tried to bring its history, geography and all relevant aspects into the poem.

Barua also wrote an autobiography, Ekhon Premor Uponyax.