Kokadeuta aru Natilora

About the Author

Lakshminath Bezbaruah (1864-1938), popularly known as Raxaraj, remains an esteemable figure of Assamese literature, perhaps its most recognisable name to this day. He is one of the voices responsible for shaping modern Assamese writing in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born in the town of Nagaon, Assam, he was an inimitable short story writer as well as a poet and playwright par excellence. His timeless works include the poetry collection Kodom Koli (1913), the plays Joymoti Konwori (1915) and Belimaar (1915), and the novel Podum Konwori, among others. He contributed extensively to children’s literature. His folktale collections— Junuka (1910), Burhi Aair Xadhu (1911), and Kokadeuta aru Natilora (1912) have not faded in popularity, still in print more than a century since their publication. O Mur Apunar Dexh, the state anthem of Assam composed by Kamala Prasad Agarwala, was also written by Bezbaruah.

About The Translator

Harsita Hiya, currently pursuing her PhD in English Literature from the Faculty of Arts, University of Delhi, is a writer and translator from the town of Nagaon, Assam. Her work has previously been featured in Words Without Borders, Muse India and the Little Journal of North East India. She was a contributing translator in the ‘Write Assamese’ Project of Untold, UK sponsored by the British Council and kfW Stiftung that culminated in the 2022 Anthology ‘A Fistful of Moonlight’ (published by Bee Books in India and Maclehose Press in the UK). As part of this project, she was invited as a panelist to Frankfurt in October 2024 along with author Bikash Dihingia, Riddhi Maitra (Beebooks) and Lucy Hannah (Untold) for a story reading session by kfW Stiftung. Her debut book of short stories, ‘The Forest That Ate People and Other Not-so-scary Stories’ was released by The Antonym Collections in October 2023. Two of her short stories were featured in ‘Riverside Stories’ released by Zubaan Books in Summer 2024. ‘Grandmother’s Tales’, her translation of Assamese literary stalwart Lakshminath Bezbaruah’s Burhi Aair Xadhu, was published by Beebooks in September 2024 (initially pub. by Akhar Prakash in 2020).

Read some of her works.