Mahim Bora brought out the picture of rural Assam in his writings. The simplicity of the people, their simple needs, thoughts and sentiments, set in an Assamese village, found expression in his work.

There was no high drama in his writings. Yet the depth of suffering of the common people and the deep wounds of betrayal, broken promises, small expectations belied, found its way into engrossing story-telling, an unputdownable picture painted with words in colours of joy, sadness, expectations, romance and love, all rolled into one - be it a short story or a novel.

The child in him made him write for children, while the romantic in him penned poems in Ronga Jiya, which in itself was a poetic landmark for its simplicity.

His love for the traditions and children found its way in the name of his residence Tejimola, based on the popular fable. Bora was a complete litterateur as he tried his hand in drama and in literary criticism.

Bora's writings won him many awards and accolades. His writings were regarded as a milestone in Assamese literature, especially in the short story genre.

Bora's varied experiences percolated into his writings.

Born in a tea garden, Bora had seen the plight of tea garden workers as a child, which found expression in his short stories. His early schooling in Kaliabor in Upper Assam exposed him to the vast treasure trove of Vaishnavite culture.

The naamghar (prayer hall) in the rural setting, its influence and essentiality in the life of the villagers, music, dance and particularly ankiya naat, found a place in his works.

All these added an identifiable rustic flavour to his creations and made them immensely popular.

The freedom struggle also influenced the young Mahim. Many a protagonist in his writings had a brush with the establishment, which perhaps is a subconscious fallout of the influence of the struggle for freedom in the writer.

During the language movement in the sixties, Bora took an active part, not because of any parochial reasons but to ensure that government offices function in a language which is easily discernible and understood by the common man, for whom the welfare state had its prime responsibility.

As a teacher and preacher of Assamese, Bora was particular about the correct use of the language, giving precedence more to the commonly spoken style.

His presidentship of Asam Sahitya Sabha was marked by the efforts to preserve and promote the colloquial language and its literature, with emphasis on folk medium as a plot rather than alien settings.

A very successful teacher, he was a mentor to many budding writers, guiding them in matters of style and content. The ease in approaching him and his easy style of conversation made him pleasant company and a much-sought-after person, the effects of which lingered on much after the meeting was over.

In his later years, the fading of the Assamese society, as he had known it, pained him. The intimacy and personal feel that was the hallmark of the Assamese neighbourhood, was gradually being taken over by an impersonal touch.

The death of his wife and elder son must have affected him, though no one got to see it externally. All these changes became a cause for concern as the loss of the basic bonds of society felt like a dying society to him.

External vibrancy was no indicator of the internal turmoil each one was going through or would fall a victim soon.

Bora's demise means the end of an age where the Assamese short story flourished. He was the last of the Mohicans of that age, where the writers wrote about the lives of the people around them in their own language and for them. He was their own and that is why the whole of Assam today laments the passing away of a literary giant.

♦ The writer is a former bureaucrat and cultural activist