Jyoti Prasad Agarwala was a transformation artist. He managed to take a position in the hearts of the people. Not confined to a certain geographical range, he reflected nationalist thinking in thought and vision. Jyoti Prasad Agarwal managed to bring a new thought to the minds of the people. In the wake of which Kalaguru Vishnuprasad Rabha called him the passenger of Rup tirtha. On the other hand, he is termed as Assamese cultural icon and is popularly called the ‘Rupkonwar’ of Assamese culture for his outstanding contribution to Assamese culture.
Biography of Jyoti Prasad Agarwala
| Name | Jyoti Prasad Agarwala[1] |
| Date of Birth | 17 June 1903 |
| Place of Birth | Tamulbari tea state, Dibrugarh |
| Parents Name | Parmananda Agarwala(father) kironmoyee Devi(mother) |
| Death | 17th January,1951 |
| Education | 1/ In the year (1921),he passed the matriculation test in 2nd position 2/ National college in Kolkata (IA) 3/ He went to Edinburgh for his higher education in economics, but did not complete his education. |
Early Life
In 1811 Jyoti Prasad Agarwala’s forefather(ancestor) Nabrangram Agarwala came to Assam. Since then they became the permanent residents of Assam. Jyoti Prasad Agarwala is one of the best Assamese. Not only Jyoti Prasad Agarwala but his family’s contribution to the language culture sector is immense. His grandfather was Chandra Kumar Agarwala, the first editor of Jonaki magazine and the founder member of the Assamese language Unnati Sadhini Sabha, a literary organization. Born in a cultural atmosphere, Jyoti Prasad Agarwala’s father Parmananda Agarwala was a good singer and behela player. It is to be noted that Jyoti Prasad Agarwala’s grandfather, Parmananda Agarwala’s father Harivilas Agarwal published Assamese religion book Kirtan Ghosha as the first print. Apart from this, another member of the Agarwala family, Ananda Chandra Agarwal, was a poet, translator, administrator historian and was one of the Assamese people of the Jonaki era. In the year 1936 Agarwala married Devjani Bhuyan from Dibrugarh, he have two sons and five daughters. The names of his sons are Chinmoy and Visvesandu and the names of five daughters are Jayashree, Gyanshree, Satyashree, Hemashree and Monoshree.
Also Read : Biography of Lala Lajpat Rai
Achievements
Importantly Jyoti Prasad Agarwala also participated in India’s freedom movement under Mahatma Gandhi leadership at the age 17. He spent 15 months in hard jail in 1932 and was fined Rs 500 for actively participating in the freedom movement. He also suffered from physical health movement during his imprisonment. During this period he was diagnosed with Tuberculosis. Jyoti Prasad Agarwala joined the congress volunteer force in 1941 after completing his jail term. He had to flee the British government and hide in Kolkata on many occasions because of his active participation in India’s freedom movement. He also played an active role in the Quit India Movement of 1942.
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala in Assamese literature – culture
Assamese literature – culture without Jyoti Prasad is incomplete, because he was a man of versatility. He was a playwright, storyteller, novelist, child writer, poet, lyricist, composer, dance designer, filmmaker. Jyoti Prasad, who is rich in national thoughts and consciousness, practiced literature from a young age. At the age of 14, he wrote a play called Sonitkonwari. The theme of this play was collected by Agarwala from Puran but from a distinctive point of view he gave the play a new look He has also made an outstanding advance to Asamese drama literature by composing plays like “Karen’s Ligieri”,”Lavita”,”Rupalim”,”Nimati Koina”,”Sonpokhili” “Khanikar”,”Kanakalata”,and “Sundar Konwar”.
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala also wrote stories. He also wrote many stories like Rupahi, Bagitara, Sontara, Sonti’s Pride(Sonti’s Abhiman),Fighters(Jujaru),Sati’s Reminders (Sati’r Huwarani), Treaties,Archaeologist’s, Kalaghumati, Neela sorai etc.
Agarwala took up a novel called “Our vilage”(Amar Gaon). However there were some difficulties: he could not complete the work.
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala was also recognized as a child writer. His notable child poem is ‘Bhoot puwali’, ‘Akoman Lora’, ‘Akomani’s Prayers.’ Jyoti Prasad Agarwala’s outstanding contribution to a children’s literature is Jyoti Ramayana and Ghura Dangoria. Jyoti Prasad narrated the story of Ramayana for children through poems in Ramayana.
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala was a brilliant star in the Assamese poetry world. Each of his poems was a combination of a nationalist ideology, revolutionary thinking, consciousness of humanity and modern consciousness. The thought of transformation was expressed in his poems. Agarwala wrote more than 46 poems.
Jyoti Prasad Agarwala’s versatile talent
Apart from the stories and poems, Agarwala also wrote a biography titled Chandra Kumar Agarwala’s Biography. What not was he? He was not only a literary, film maker he was also a painter. Jyoti Prasad Agarwala was also a lyricist and composer. He was a real artist.
Agarwala composed the songs directly reflecting the minds of the common man. He gave a message of modernity in Assamese songs. The expression and thoughts language of each song was very simple. The rhyme of each song composed by defending one’s own instead of monotony was very interesting. The general public got strength in his lyrics. In one word his songs was the original lesson of struggle for the common man. However his songs were quite permeable along with only the struggling or revolutionary genre.
He composed about 300 songs and composed by himself. The songs composed by Agrawala are called Jyoti Sangeet. Jyoti Prasad Agarwala was a three time artist i.e. he was the flag bearer of the harmony of the past, the present and the future. He used his pen as a force. It was with his pen that he awakened the Assamese nation. He spoke of destroying darkness with songs talking about development, about social change, about social transformation. He advocated a cultural revolution. He is a life – threatening savlyata.
He tried to capture Assamese culture in the overall context of the world. According to him art is not limited to reality. The artist is for the whole world. Not only from a literary point of view but also from a cultural point of view, each of Agarwal’s works is a treasure. He was a man possessed by his own imagination.
Jyoti Prasad Agarwal was involved in newspaper editing. He also republished a paper called Assamese and edited the paper. He also served as president of Assam artists’ association.
Importantly Agarwala stayed in Germany for seven months and studied technical lessons about film making. Chitravan Studios was built using local objects after learning about film making. The making of this studio ushered in a new era in the Assamese film industry. Built in Bholaguri tea garden a studio called Temporary Painting(Asthayi Chitrvan) in 1934,JyotiprasadAgarwal built the first Assamese film ‘Joymati’. The film was based on Laxminath Bezbaruah’s Joymati drama.
Positively, Jyoti Prasad Agarwala’s Joymati film has been given the status of the third Indian film and the first Indian dubbing film has been recognized by the Indian film critic. Joymati was released on March 10,1935 at ‘Raunok Hall’ in Kolkata while Joymati was released for the first time in Assam on March 20,1935 at Kumar Bhaskar Natya Mandir in Guwahati.
Jyoti Prasad Agarwal also made another film called ‘Indramalati’ after making ‘Joymati’. Interestingly, he made the Jonaki film in Tezpur in 1937. He is said to be the father of Assamese cinema for his outstanding contribution to the Assamese film industry.
Positively, on June 17, 2004, the Government of India released a commemorative postage stamp worth Rs 5 in memory of Jyotiprasad Agarwal. Jyoti Prasad Agarwala also gave a new lesson of life in the field of culture.
Conclusion
Conversion artist Jyoti Prasad Agarwala is one of the best Assamese. In a very short time, he has made outstanding progress in Assamese caste, culture, cinema and literature. Jyoti Prasad Agarwala’s philosophy is very much needed in the society to build a beautiful society through cultural revolution by taking values as the basis. Agarwala left this world on January 17,1951 at the age of 48. In a very short time Jyoti Prasad Agarwala gave the field of art and culture a long time goal.
His death day i.e. January 17 is celebrated as “Artist’s Day(Silpi Divas)” every year as memory of Agarwala. The day was celebrated on January 17,1953, to commemorate the artist for the first time since the artist’s death, However then it was named Jyoti Diwas. It was later named Artist’s Day(Silpi Divas) instead of Jyoti Diwas.
FAQ
1. When and where was Jyoti Prasad Agarwala Born?
Ans: He was born on 17 June 1903 at Tamulbari tea state, Dibrugarh.
2 Who is known as Rupkonwar?
Ans: Jyoti Prasad Agarwala is known as Rupkonwar.
3. Who is the father of Assamese film?
Ans: Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Agarwala is known as the father of Assamese film.
4. Name the first Assamese film?
Ans: Joymati released in the third decade of the twentieth century is the first Assamese feature film.
5. Name some of the plays composed by Jyotiprasad Agarwala?
Ans: Some of the plays composed by Agarwala are – “Karen’s Ligieri”,”Lavita”,”Rupalim”,”Nimati Koina”,”Sonpokhili” “Khanikar”,”Kanakalata”, “Sundar Konwar” etc.
6. When do we celebrate Silpi Divas?
Ans: We celebrate ‘Silpi Divas’ on January 17.
7. Why do we celebrate Silpi Divas?
Ans: Every year ‘Silpi Divas’ is being celebrated all over Assam to mark the death anniversary of the cultural icon and freedom fighter, Jyoti Prasad Agarwala.
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It was very good to read about Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwala as I’m a nephew of this genius. Thank you.