First Assamese Book- Based Magazine

In the year 1996, it had come to my mind, whether a book based magazine like BOOK REVIEW OF INDIA is possible in Assamese or not. I had discussed the matter with a like minded journalist Hemkanta Bora and my friend Nabajit Talukdar. They assured me to help in this regard. At that time I was jobless and had no money at all. Hema Da, as I call Hemkanta Bora gave me a sum of Rupees 1300 for that proposed magazine. That was the capital. Hema da even came forward to do the design of the must head of the said magazine. I had decided to name the magazine as GRANTHA, the Assamese term for book. It had been decided that Diganta Oza (me) will be the editor of the GRANTHA. I had requested Mr. Rabindra Bora, a well known critic to hold the post of the chief editor. He gave his nod.

Now the mission got a momentum. I had contacted almost every renowned author and critic. Some authors like Dr. Hiren Gohain, Chandra Prasad Saikia, Nalinidhar Bhattacharya, Dr. Upendra Nath Sarma, Phanindra Kr. Dev Choudhury encouraged me a lot with their write ups. Some publication houses too, had supported me a lot. Students Stores and Chandra Prakash had willingly gave two advertisements. The then chairperson of the “Pollution Control Board, Assam” Dr. Lakhminandan Bora (now associated with the Sahitya Academy) had obliged us by giving an advertisement of Rs. 1000. One day incidentally I met Dipak Gogoi, a businessman and son of ex-finance minister Mr. Jibakanta Gogoi. To my utter surprise, he asked me how he can help me to fulfill my dream of GRANTHA. I got the films required to print the magazine from him. Hema da designed the letter GRANTHA as an open book. I had decided to use the famous sculpture "The Thinker" in its cover.

Thus the first issue of the GRANTHA had published in December, 2006. P.K. Dev Chodhury wrote in the “Asom Bani”( an Assamese weekly, then edited by Homen Borgohain) that perhaps GRANTHA is the first book based magazine published in any vernacular language in India. May be, since the first issue of the BOYER DESH, the book based Bengali magazine was published in this decade only.

GRANTHA was praised by different sections of the society, but in respects to my conditions of that time, the loss made by GRANTHA was unbearable. Hence the mission had stopped there. Months later, I had joined in a new paper, the Amar Asom. But though I am busy with my works from “Amar Asom” to “Satsori” through “Janasadharan” still I am dreaming a dream to publish this magazine regularly. Don’t know when I will get time for it or not!