Assam: Litterateur Geeta Upadhyay dies at 87

Guwahati, Jul 14 (PTI) Noted litterateur, translator and academician, Padma Shri awardee Geeta Upadhyay, died due to age-related ailments in Assam's Tezpur. She was 87. A social worker, she was the first Gorkha woman from Assam to obtain a post-graduate degree and was the founder-president of the Assam chapter of the Bharatiya Gorkha Parisangh (BGP), an all-India organisation of the Gorkhas. Upadhyay was briefly admitted to a private hospital in Tezpur and returned home on Monday afternoon after recovery. She, however, fell ill shortly and died around 9 pm. "Deeply saddened by the passing of Smt. Geeta Upadhyay, a distinguished educationist and author who immensely contributed to Assamese and Nepali literature," Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a social media post. Honoured with the Padma Shri and the 2026 Sati Sadhani Award, her legacy will continue to inspire generations, he added. "My heartfelt condolences to her family, admirers and well-wishers in this hour of grief. Prayers for the 'sadgati' of the departed soul," Sarma said. Condoling the death of Upadhyay, BGP, Assam, has declared a week-long mourning from Tuesday, its general secretary Nanda Kirati Dewan said. Born on February 14, 1939, at Gangmouthan in the then Darrang district (now Biswanath district) of Assam, Upadhyay hailed from a distinguished family. She was the granddaughter of freedom fighter Chabilal Upadhyaya, who was also the first president (selected) of Assam Pradesh Congress Committee. Retiring as the head of the Political Science Department of Sibsagar College, Upadhyay's contributions to both Nepali and Assamese literature are noted. She won the Sahitya Akademi Translation Prize in 2012 for translating 'Karengor Ligiri' from Assamese to Nepali as 'Darbarki Susare'. In 2016, Upadhyay won the Sahitya Akademi Award for her Nepali novel 'Janmabhumi Mero Swadesh', based on the life of her grandfather. PTI SSG SSG ACD