Roman Sarmah

Roman Sarmah is an Assamese writer, poet, novelist, columnist, playwright, actor and practising lawyer, and editor of Bordoichila, a magazine more than 90 years old. He has also been principal of a law college in Assam. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2021 in the field of literature and education, from Assam ^[1].

Science, English and law

Sarmah was born on 1 March 1953 ^[2]. At Gauhati University he took a degree in life sciences, master’s degrees in English and in law, a PhD in law and a diploma in journalism ^[2].

Writer and broadcaster

He has published fourteen books of fiction, plays, poetry, essays, songs and biography, and his novel Malini, about women’s empowerment, was well received ^[2]. He has written more than a thousand columns for English and Assamese newspapers and journals, including seven years of columns on legal matters for readers of an Assamese daily ^[2]. He writes radio plays for All India Radio, Guwahati, and scripts for Doordarshan, and is a well-known radio actor and anchor ^[2].

Literary bodies

Sarmah is a life member of the Asom Sahitya Sabha, general secretary of the Sabita Sabha in Guwahati and literary secretary of the Guwahati Alochana Chakra ^[2]. He was a founder of the cultural organisation Jyotirupa ^[2]. The Assam government has given him a literary pension ^[2].