Nalini Bala Devi

Nalini Bala Devi was born in 1898 in the Barpeta district of Assam to Hemanta Kumari Devi and Karmaveer Naveen Chandra Bordoloi. Her father was a renowned social worker, writer, and freedom fighter who was regarded as Assam's ‘Crownless Emperor.’ Nalini Devi grew up emulating her father’s qualities and became one of the most popular writers and poets of Assamese literature. 

Nalini Bala Devi participated actively in the Non-Cooperation and the Swadeshi movement. She along with other freedom fighters in Assam established centres of khadi production to encourage usage of only indigenous goods. Her poems had emotional themes that centred on tragedy, patriotism, and devotion. She also released several books containing collections of her poetry. The most notable of these books were Sandhya Sur (1928), Parshmanu (1954), Yugdevta (1957), Jagruti (1960), Alaknanda (1967), and Antim Sur or the Last Tune. Along with poems, Nalini Devi also created well-known plays like The Last Praja (1958), Prahlad (1958), and Mirabai (1958).

Nalini Devi's life was filled with notable accomplishments and honours. She received the Padma Shri in 1957 and the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1968 for her poetry collection Alakananda. She is also the first woman to preside over the Assam Sahitya Sabha. Nalini Bala Devi passed away on 24th December 1977, leaving a priceless legacy in Assamese literature.