Children at Ashadeep practise for a Bihu function. Picture by Eastern Projections

Aug. 5: In life, his works had the power to awaken compassion by his sensitive portrayal of human life. In death, his words continue to be a source of inspiration.

Over a decade after Jnanpith award-winning author Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya breathed his last, his words continue to motivate readers to do a bit of good for their fellow beings.

On the occasion of the 10th death anniversary of the doyen of Assamese literature tomorrow, his family members will commemorate the day at Ashadeep, a city-based rehabilitation centre for the mentally ill.

“The main purpose of commemorating the day at Ashadeep is to bring smiles into the lives of the inmates. Moreover, through the literary works of my husband which mainly focus on human life and dignity, we want to bring some changes into the world of the mentally ill, who are largely neglected,” said Binita, Bhattacharya’s widow.

“We are thankful to the family members of Bhattacharya Sir who thought of commemorating the occasion with us. We at Ashadeep are also planning to introduce the inmates to the literary works of selected Assamese authors and poets as a therapeutic measure,” said director of Ashadeep, Anjana Goswami. “We will start our new plan of introducing Assamese literature among our inmates from tomorrow, since tomorrow is Bhattacharya Sir’s death anniversary and all his family members will be at Ashadeep.”

The inmates of Ashadeep’s old-age home in Japorigog will also be part of the commemoration ceremony.

Dipankar Bhattacharya, son of the author and a sports medicine specialist with Oil India Limited, Duliajan, will deliver a lecture on health with special emphasis on the aged and the disabled.

“With regular exercise we can delay the ageing process and also prevent diseases like obesity, diabetes and arthritis. As far as mentally-retarded cases go they can be made more agile and their learning capacity will be enhanced,” he said. Bhattacharya, a poet, playwright, teacher and journalist, has more than 20 novels, 70 short stories and 10 plays, besides numerous essays and articles, to his credit.

He won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1961 for Yaruingam, a novel written with the Naga movement as its backdrop.

His most celebrated novel, Mritunjaya, won him the Jnanpith Award in 1979.

The best among his short stories are complied in two anthologies, Kolong Ajjo Boi and Satsari.

He has also translated several English and Bengali classics into Assamese.

Established in 1996, Ashadeep was formed to rehabilitate mentally ill people.

Their main aim is to integrate mentally challenged persons into society and equip them with the skills and confidence to lead an independent and meaningful life.

Ashadeep first set up a day-care and rehabilitation centre for adults and children affected by major mental illnesses and mental retardation.

In 2003, they came up with Prashantiloy, a day-care centre for the elderly. In 2004 they started Roshmi and Navachetna, the latest addition to Ashadeep, was set up in 2005.

Navachetna aims at rehabilitation of chronic mentally ill persons including those who are wandering on the streets.