Nagen Saikia receives the award from celebrated Hindi poet Ashok Vajpeyi at a function in Guwahati on Saturday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, April 12: Eminent litterateur Nagen Saikia, the recipient of the prestigious Assam Valley Literary Award, 2007, has voiced concern over the prevalent situation in the state and India in general.

While being formally presented the award at the ITA auditorium here this evening, the acceptance speech of the 69-year-old former Asam Sahitya Sabha president, who also had a brief stint in the Rajya Sabha, oozed with emotion.

“I do not consider myself a gifted man, but the prevailing situation prods me to put on record my feelings and understanding of social and political events, in the form of short stories. As a one-time editor and a short-time man of the political world, I, too, feel concerned about happenings in everyday life.”

“I know no award or recognition can enhance the value and weight of my writings. But yet such an award and recognition helps a writer or an artist to overcome such a state of depression and it inspires and makes one responsible to work with fresh commitment,” Saikia said.

“I feel within the frame of the lifetime a writer lives in the frameless time of human mind. If there is something solid in the writings of a writer, it is the presence of timeless human mind and its feelings hat make it so.”

The award was instituted in 1990 with the objective of honouring the literary stalwarts of the state.

Past recipients include Bhabendranath Saikia, Nilamani Phukan, Homen Borgohain, late Syed Abdul Malik, Arun Sarma, Hiren Bhattacharya and late Rebati Mohan Duta Choudhury.

Born in 1939 in Golaghat district, Saikia also served as lecturer of Assamese in Delhi University.

He has to his credit works like Mita Bhash (1995) that introduced a new literary style. He was honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Award for his short story collection Andharat Nizar Mukh.

Noted writer Ashok Vajpeyi said literature celebrates life and asserts the plurality of truth. “It removes the darkness from the minds of others and is the conscience of our times,” Vajpeyi, also a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, said.

The Assam Valley Literary Award was instituted by the Williamson Magor Group.

Earlier, R.S. Jhawar, welcomed the participants on behalf the company.