ASSAM : Even as he dwells the dark corners of the criminal underbelly, this decorated Assam police officer has not lost his touch with the aesthetic pursuits of the soul. Inspector General (IG) Partha Sarathi Mahanta has been instrumental in busting several terror networks, nabbing fundamentalists, and bringing down drug cartels. Law enforcement is his forte, yet he has also made a mark as a writer, columnist, actor, filmmaker, conservationist, sociologist and cultural activist.
Mahanta, IG (Administration, Special Task Force, Bureau of Investigation of Economic Offences and Traffic; Road Safety), has contributed immensely to Assamese literature and culture, his works spanning multiple genres – prose, poetry and non-fiction. He writes in both English and Assamese.
Born in upper Assam’s Sivasagar district, this Assam Police Service officer of the 1993 batch learnt the values of social work as a schoolboy from his father Prof Sarat Mahanta’s selfless service for the community. The boy was deeply moved and he got involved in social service.
During his college days, he had a penchant for acting, performing in amateur theatre. It did not take long for Munin Barua, a noted film director, to spot his talent and soon enough, young Paratha Sarathi began acting in Assamese films. He has acted in about 20 Assamese films and seven television serials. With time, he took to filmmaking too.
‘Lachit, the Warrior’, directed by Mahanta, won awards at 45 international film festivals. Twenty-five of them were either in the best animated film or best short film category. It is a 2022 biopic celebrating the life of 17th century Ahom General Lachit Borphukan who had defeated the Mughals.
Mahanta’s ‘Hargila: The Greater Adjutant Stork’ is also an acclaimed documentary. The 19-minute documentary produced by Mina Mahanta and Indrani Baruah, who is Mahanta’s wife and DIG (central-western range), was screened in nine international film festivals and awarded. It won ‘Special Mention’ at the 70th National Film Awards, 2022. Mahanta dedicated the award to a group of women, led by Purnima Devi Barman. They have been working tirelessly for the past few years for the conservation of this endangered bird species.
Mahanta’s ‘Bohag Bohag Mon’ won the ‘Best Short Film on Environment, Culture’ award at the Northeast Film Festival 2023, Mumbai. His ‘Fehujali’, a short film, has been screened and awarded at eight film festivals so far.
He developed an interest in making documentaries and short films only after he had started writing books. He authored eight books – ‘Kamakhya’, ‘The Colours of Majuli’, ‘Rhino’, ‘Shiva’ (all co-authored), ‘Jibonor Sanglap’, ‘Nimakhit Kobita’, ‘Tuh Jui’ (collections of poems) and ‘Decoding Jiban’ (a compilation of articles).
‘Kamakhya’ is on the Kamakhya temple. Perched on the Nilachal hills in Guwahati, it is an ancient Shakti Peeth. ‘The Colours of Majuli’ depicts the river island Majuli. The book ‘Shiva’ centres around Lord Shiva while ‘Rhino’ is based on the one-horned rhinos of Assam.
Mahanta turned a serious writer during the Covid-19 pandemic. His personal experience of life played a part in it. “I used to write poems occasionally during my college days. However, after I had joined the police service, I stopped writing due to paucity of time. Assam was going through turbulent times then,” he says referring to the insurgencies which peaked during the early years of his career.
“I returned to writing during the Covid days. We transported thousands of people – students and workers – from one place to another during the pandemic. My daughter was studying outside but I could not bring her home. The situation did not permit me. I was deeply concerned about her well-being. ‘Jibonor Sanglap’ is a reflection of that feeling,” he says.
Readers received the book well and the poems went viral over social media. They were also recited by many, at random occasions. His peers encouraged him to take up writing seriously and he got motivated by the enthusiastic review.
‘Jibonor Sanglap’ and ‘Nimakhit Kobita’ deeply resonate with the Assamese culture. Both books were bestsellers at the Guwahati Book Fair for two consecutive years.
“One of my poems is ‘Burha Burha Gundh’ (It smells old). Well-known radio artist and actor Kulada Kumar Bhattacharya, who recited it, had once told me it was melancholic and I should write poems which give ‘positive vibes’. But I like this poem,” Mahanta says. Perhaps, no other poem in Assam garnered such social media traction as ‘Burha Burha Gundh’.
An honorary Editor of ‘Aaina Jibonor’, a popular Assamese magazine, IG Mahanta periodically writes columns for two local publications. His essays and opinion pieces provide valuable insight into social and cultural issues. He had contributed a chapter on Navaratri in Assam to the book ‘Navaratri’, edited by Bibek Debroy when the latter was serving as the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister.
Meanwhile, the ‘Kendriya Grihamantri Dakshata Padak’ in the ‘Special Operations Field’ category, awarded for exceptional police service, is one of the many accolades that decorate the uniform of the senior police officer, a true polymath.