Nalini Bala Devi

Nalini Bala Devi Biography

Nalini Bala Devi was a noted writer and poet of Assamese language. She was famous for nationalistic and mystical poetry. In 1968 she won the Sahitya Akademi Award for her poetry collection Alakananda. For her overall contributions to Indian literature, she was awarded Padma Shri by Government of India in 1957.  Sondhiyara Sur and Alakananda were her noted works. She was the daughter of Nabin Chandra Bordoloi, Indian freedom movement activist and Assamese writer. She was married to Jibeswar Changkakoti.

She was born in Barpeta, Guwahati in 1898, Assam as the daughter of noted writer and freedom fighter, Nabin Chandra Bordoloi. She wrote her first poem, Pita at the age of 10. She got married in the age of 12 and lost her husband Jibeswar Changkakoti at the age of 19. At that time, she had already lost her two sons. Nalini started a new beginning as a writer though she faced a lot of tragic incidents in the early phase of her life. Her first book of poems Sandhiyar Sur was published in 1928. This work was later added to the academic syllabus of Calcutta University and Guwahati University in 1946 and 1951 respectively. In 1950, she established the organization Sadou Asom Parijat Kanan which later came to be known as Moina Parijat, a home for children.

Her major works include Alakananda, Sopunar Sur,Porosh Moni,Yuga Devata, Shesh Puja, Parijator Abhishek, Prahlad, Meghdut, Eri oha Dinbur, Suravi, Sardar Vallavbhai Patel (biography), Rooprekha and Sheshor Sur. Shantipath is a Collection of Essays and  Biswadeepa is a collection of biographies of famous women. She wrote one play – Meera bai. She published a biography of her father titled, Smritir Tirtha.

Published: N/A

Updated: February 15, 2014