Nalini Prava Deka

Nalini Prava Deka (11 March 1944 – 15 June 2014) was an author, poet, storyteller, actress and playwright from Assam, a state in India encompassing the Brahmaputra Valley. She was honoured at a 2012 gathering in Ledo by the Assam Sahitya Sabha (Assam Literary Society). Deka promoted Assamese heritage, traditional customs, weaving and fabric art, cooking and folk music with her husband, Bhabananda Deka. They researched traditional Assamese lifestyle, art, literature and culture. Deka was the first female editor and publisher of a children's magazine, Phul (Flower), and wrote 30 critically praised books.

According to the Assam Tribune, Deka has "been like an institution to our society" and "has contributed immensely to the cultural and economic spheres of our state".

Traditional Assamese lifestyle A poet, Deka inculcated the legacy of Assamese culture and heritage in her children. She set up an indigenous Assamese traditional hand loom (taat-xaal) at her homes in New Delhi and Guwahati to produce hand-woven fabrics and garments. Deka wore her hand-woven mekhela-sadawr and wove suriya-sapkawns for her husband to wear. A compilation by Deka and her husband entitled Sahityik Dampati Adhyaksha Bhabananda Deka–Nalini Prava Deka was introduced on 4 December 2014 in Guwahati. Deka's short stories emphasized brotherhood and religious tolerance. Many of her poems were played and sung by Assamese musicians and singers. Deka acted in some of her radio plays and onstage.

Social activist Deka was a leading social activist in Assam and played a role in the establishment of national and international organisations, including the Srimanta Sankardev International Foundation, Assam Foundation–India, Delhi Asomiya Sahitya Samaj, Sadou Asam Moina Parijat, Kamrup (undivided) District Sahitya Sabha, Sadou Asam Chemoniya Chora, Pub–Sarania Naamghar, Rajgarh Sahitya Chora, Pohar Proyasi Mohila Samiti, Urvashi Kristi Kendra and Urvashi Sangeet Vidyalay. She was the founding president of Purbanchaliya Mohila Parishad, the female wing of a regional political organisation in Northeast India. Through these organisations, Deka promoted Assamese heritage, culture and literature all over the world and began a social renaissance through female empowerment and religious tolerance.