GreggNfb8421 at 09:06, 30 January 2026

2026-01-30T09:06:43Z

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{{Short description|Indian poet, author and composer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2025}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2025}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Bikashrai Debbarma
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1960|05|22}}
| notable_works = {{Unbulleted list
|''Tutankhamun ni Pyramid'' (2022)
|''Chirik Morok'' (2022)}}
| awards = Doulat Ahmed Award
| image = [[File:Bikashrai Debbarma.jpg|250px]]
| caption = Debbarma in 2023
| occupation = {{hlist|Poet|composer}}
}}

'''Bikashrai Debbarma''' (born 22 May 1960) is an Indian poet, author and composer from the state of Tripura. The majority of his writings in [[Kokborok]] are based in the lived realities of the people in [[Tripura]] in north-east India. His 2021 poetry {{'}}''Tutankhamun ni Pyramid''{{'}} won the Doulat Ahmed Award for best publication in the year 2022.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-04-11 |title=Kokborok Koklopni Hayung by Ashit Debbarma – Kokborok Kokrwbai |url=https://kokborokkokrwbai.in/2024/04/kokborok-koklopni-hayung-by-ashit-debbarma/#google_vignette |access-date=2024-10-29 |language=en-GB}}</ref>

Debbarma and playwright [[Nanda Kumar Deb Barma|Nanda Kumar Debbarma]] recently compiled {{'}}''Chirik Morok''{{'}},<ref>{{Cite book |title=Chirik-morok |date=2022 |publisher=Nihārikā |isbn=978-93-86781-09-3 |editor-last=Roy Debbarma |editor-first=Bikash |location=Agaratala |editor-last2=Debbarma |editor-first2=Nandakumar}}</ref> an anthology of Kokborok poetry.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Support |date=2024-10-18 |title=Bikashrai Debbarma |url=https://shillonglitfest.com/bikashrai-debbarma/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=shillonglitfest.com |language=en-US}}</ref> He is also the president Kokborok Sahitya Sabha (KBSS) and of the confederation RSKC (Roman Script for Kokborok Choba).{{cn|date=March 2025}} In 2023, he was nominated as member of the General Council (2023–2027) of the [[Sahitya Akademi]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=..:: Welcome to Sahitya Akademi ::.. |url=https://sahitya-akademi.gov.in/aboutus/general_council.jsp |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=sahitya-akademi.gov.in}}</ref>

== Works ==
Know mostly for his poetry, Bikashrai Debbarma is considered among the widely known 'Kokborok Modernist'.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Debbarma |first=Khapang |date=2022-01-19 |title=Will Places And Rivers Of Tripura Ever Be Restored Back To Their Kokborok Names? |url=https://www.adivasilivesmatter.com/post/will-places-and-rivers-of-tripura-ever-be-restored-back-to-their-kokborok-names |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=Adivasi Lives Matter |language=en}}</ref>

== Language advocacy ==
As president of the Roman Script for Kokborok Choba (RSKC),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Roman Script for Kokborok: 56 organizations jointly stage protest {{!}} tripuratimes |url=https://tripuratimes.com/ttimes/roman-script-for-kokborok-56-organizations-jointly-stage-protest-7999.html/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=Roman Script for Kokborok: 56 organizations jointly stage protest {{!}} tripuratimes |language=English}}</ref> Debbarma has been active in advocating for the upliftment of Kokborok language. RSKC led by veteran Kokborok literary activists have demanded Roman Script to included as official script for Kokborok.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-04-30 |title=Tripura indigenous bodies seek Roman script for Kokborok |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others/tripura-indigenous-bodies-seek-roman-script-for-kokborok-101651329916718.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221020072716/https://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/others/tripura-indigenous-bodies-seek-roman-script-for-kokborok-101651329916718.html |archive-date=20 October 2022 |access-date=2024-12-25 |work=Hindustan Times |language=en-us |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Impact and legacy ==
Debbarma was a major influence and inspiration to the Kokborok Indie-folk band Koloma and its singer Rumio Debbarma's songwriting. In an interview with ''[https://rootsandleisure.com/ Roots and Leisure]'', the frontman Rumio said: "Seeing how our traditional folk culture is dying among the current and younger generations, I wanted to preserve it by writing songs that blend our traditional style with modern genres. We started making our own blend of folk fusion music to grasp their interest. I have also always been very inspired by the local legend Bikash Rai Debbarma."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://rootsandleisure.com/koloma-folk-band-from-tripura|title="We Want to Preserve Our Folk Songs and Native Language 'Kok Borok' Through Our Music" – Meet Folk-Fusion Band KOLOMA from Tripura|last1=Vilina|date=2018-08-28|website=Roots and Leisure|language=en-in|access-date=2024-10-29}}</ref>

== Selected published works ==
*''Chirik Morok (2022)''
*''Tutankhamun ni Pyramid (2022)''
*''Text Message''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Review Article: The Fragrant Joom Revisited: A Translation of Kokborok Poetry in English by Ashes Gupta – Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities |url=https://rupkatha.com/v9n136/ |access-date=2024-10-29 |website=rupkatha.com |language=en-US |quote=The translations of the ‘modernist poets’, especially the poetry of Bikash Roy Debbarma and Kishore Murasingh make one come to terms with the harsh and painful truth of the never ending conflict between the indigenous folks and the Bengalis (non-tribal population) of the state.}}</ref>

== Awards ==

* Doulat Ahmed Prize, 2022<ref>{{Cite web |last=Support |date=2024-10-18 |title=Bikashrai Debbarma |url=https://shillonglitfest.com/bikashrai-debbarma/ |access-date=2024-12-25 |website=shillonglitfest.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Debbarma, Bikashrai}}
[[Category:1960 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category: Tripuri people]]
[[Category:People from Tripura]]
[[Category:People from Agartala]]
[[Category:Writers from Tripura]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]

Bikashrai Debbarma - Revision history

GreggNfb8421 at 09:06, 30 January 2026