The Patriotic Writers Forum (PAWF) Manipur, in collaboration with Tripura, commemorated the 73rd death anniversary of Lamyanba Hijam Irawat at the Sahitya Akademi Hall of Nazrul Kalakshetra Complex in Tripura on Thursday.
During the event, the Lamyanba Hijam Irawat Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award 2024 was conferred to Joint Editor of Tripura’s Marup newspaper, Rk Tarunjit and secretary of Lamyanba Sangstha, Tripura Kshetrimayum Madhabi.
The award consisted of an iyong phee, a certificate, a memento, and a cash prize of Rs 5,000, donated by assistant secretary of PAWF, Laimujam Pratap, in honor of his sister, Laimujam Nanaotombi.
Former PAWF president Yaiskul Khwairakpam, President of Manipur Sahitya Parishad, Tripura, Langoljam Biramangal, and the forum’s president Naoroibam Khamba Luwang, along with Gurumayum Biplab Sharma, president of the forum’s Tripura branch, attended the event. They also paid homage to Lamyanba Hijam Irawat, and poems were recited by the writers in his honor.
Rk Tarunjit noted that while Tripura has celebrated the birth anniversary of Lamyanba Irawat for years, this was the first occasion for observing his death anniversary organised by PAWF Manipur and Tripura. He expressed his gratitude for the solemn commemoration.
Meanwhile, Yaiskul Khwairakpam stated that PAWF has been tracing the history of Irawat across Manipur, Assam, Tripura, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and other locations, including the Ango foothills, Tangbaw village in Burma, where Irawat took his last breath. PAWF collected soil from significant sites to create his statue. He further asserted that Irawat’s history remains incomplete, filled with countless stories, and praised him as a precious gem of Manipur.
