Guwahati: Sahitya Akademi Award-winning poet Sananta Tanty died Thursday at a private hospital in New Delhi after a prolonged illness. He was 69.
Tanty was suffering from cancer and was under treatment for a long time, his close associates said.
He is survived by wife and two sons.
Tanty received several awards and recognitions, including the Sahitya Akademi in 2018 for ‘Kailoir Dinto Amar Hobo’ (Tomorrow Will Be Ours), a collection of his poems in Assamese.
He started his professional career as an employee of the Assam Tea Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation in Jorhat in 1971 and retired as Deputy Provident Fund Commissioner in 2012.
Union Minister of Shipping, Ports and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal mourned the death of Tanty and said ‘Kailoir Dinto Amar Hobo’ with its unique poems enriched Assamese literature.
“His poems reflected realistic scenes of life and society. He played the role of a conscious citizen through his writings. A bright star has fallen with his demise,” he said in a statement.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma offered his condolences and said his contributions will always be remembered by the people of the state.
Assam Congress president Bhupen Kumar Borah too paid his homage to Tanty and said it is an irreparable loss to the Assamese literary world.
