January 19, 2023: Eminent Assamese Poet Nilmani Phookan passes away at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Guwahati, Assam today.

Phookan was admitted to the GMCH on Wednesday night in critical condition and was undergoing treatment.

Nilmani Phookan was born on 10 September 1933 in Dergaon of Golaghat district. He was an Indian poet in Assamese language and an academic.

His notable works include Surya Henu Nami Ahe Ei Nodiyedi, Gulapi Jamur Lagna, and Kobita.

He had won the 56th Jnanpith Award, India's highest literary award , for the year 2020. He was also awarded the 1981 Sahitya Akademi Award in Assamese for his poetry collection, Kavita (Kobita).

The poet was awarded the Padma Shri by Government of India in 1990 and received the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, the highest literary honor in India, given by Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters in 2002.