From the Editor’s Desk

Indian literature has played a pivotal role in shaping the thoughts, philosophy, and the soul of the Indian civilization for thousands of years. From the epic Sanskrit literature of the vedic ages to the modern multi linguist, diverse form of Indian literature of the 21^st century, the Indian literature movements have given life to the spirit of India across periods of great upheavals, changes, and struggles. Indian literature has carried the essence of Indian philosophy through ages of transition from the ancient Sanskrit, Pali, and Tamil sangam literature to the Sufi mysticism, and Bhakti poetry that gave way for the modern patriotic literature driven by nationalism, colonialism, and regional influences in the 19^th century. The unbeatable spirit of Indian people finds its best depiction in this thousand’s years of literary heritage of India. This literature movement of India found a new purpose after India’s independence in 1947. This literature movement evolved in the course of socio-political changes in the country, which eventually gave rise to new forms and genres like the contemporary prakriti sahitya movement of 21^st century.

After twenty-five years of India’s independence, we were introduced to the modern era of wildlife conservation in India with the promulgation of the Wildlife Protection Act of India in 1972. The following years saw a spurt of environment movements across different parts of the country, some of these movements sustained because of its firm footing in the philosophy of nature conservation while many famed movements lost its grip in the long run. In Assam, the Nature’s Beckon led nature conservation movement of 1980s gave birth to the contemporary prakriti sahitya movement of Assam, a nature writing literature movement with its unique attributes and significance in the genre of global nature writing literature in the present time. Assam’s prakriti sahitya has grown at an unprecedented pace since its advent in 1980s because of its zealous proponents like Soumyadeep Datta, who marched the torch of this literature movement with absolute clarity since the very beginning. He strengthened the nature conservation movement of Assam with his powerful narratives, and have inspired a new era of prakriti sahitya with his innovative, and critically acclaimed writings. It is because of writers like him that the prakriti sahitya movement of Assamese literature has come this far, to be the most progressive and evolved form of prakriti sahitya amongst all Indian regional languages in today’s date. It is a matter of great pride for the people of Assam, that the Assamese language which is currently spoken by only 1.55% of the total Indian population stands tall amongst all Indian languages as the most glorious representation of prakriti sahitya based on Indian thoughts and philosophy. The contemporary prakriti sahitya heralds a new era of Indian literature movement, it is connecting the young Indians once again with ancient roots of Indian knowledge and ancient science with its purposeful approach towards the collective goal of nature conservation. This movement is also the beginning of a social change in our society, as it bridges the distance between the creative linguists and the purposeful activists who embrace the urgency of nature conservation in the common ground of prakriti sahitya. Like all previous literature movements of India, the prakriti sahitya movement also upholds the beauty and relevance of Indian philosophy amongst all. This literature movement is still young but promises to travel farther in spreading the Indian thoughts and philosophy of nature conservation, of compassion, and sacrifice in the world with its growing acceptance and popularity. While, karmayogis and the contributions of such people like Soumyadeep Datta are far beyond the honors and awards conferred upon them by this world, his recently received Dhrubajyoti Bora Sahitya Puraskar 2024 for his acclaimed book ‘Udbhashito Mayabon’ brings hope to the prakriti sahitya movement of Assam. This honor signifies the greater acceptance and progress of this genre of literature in the diverse world of contemporary Indian literature. This is a great honour for all nature lovers, wildlife enthusiasts, and nature conservation workers of India to witness this progress of prakriti sahitya in India, from being a tool of environment education to that of a well-respected and accepted genre of Indian literature. It brings immense happiness to the few handfuls of people whose love and dedication to nature writing has driven this rise of prakriti sahitya in Assam, and the team of ‘The Seed’ feels priviledged to share this happiness, with firm commitment to carry this light of prakriti sahitya to greater horizons in the future.