Guwahati: Vishwa Samvad Kendra (VSK) Assam has organized the annual Devarshi Narad Jayanti lecture on Sunday (7 June 2026, program beginning at 10:30 am) at Sudarshanalay in the Barbori locality of the city. Nationally acclaimed news presenter and currently a senior advisor at Delhi Doordarshan news section, Prakhar Shrivastava, will deliver the lecture highlighting the life and activities of the world’s first media professional. Senior journalist and editor of Ishan Darpan, Nava Thakuria, will be honoured with the Devarshi Narad Jayanti award 2026. Three working journalists, namely Lakhyajit Gohain (of NKTV), Ranjita Rabha (of Pratham Khabar), and Mridul Haloi (of Dainik Asoam), will be felicitated on the occasion.
“Media can play an important role in keeping society aware of any adverse situation, and on some occasions, it performs a special duty in opposing any wrongdoing by the government authorities and thus ensures public welfare in a democracy. Narad Mahaprabhu also played a key role in making society vigilant and aware in various ways. With that philosophy, the VSK Assam has been observing the annual festival,” said Kishor Shivam, secretary of VSK Assam adding that some of the finest media professionals of the region namely Dhirendra Nath Chakrabarty, Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah, Kanak Sen Deka, Mahendra Barua, Shashi Phukan, Anil Baruah, Gautam Sarma, Rupam Baruah, Prashant Jyoti Baruah and Shantanu Tamulik were honouredd with the Narad Jayanti award.
This year’s awardee, Thakuria, joined mainstream Assamese journalism in 1990 as he started his career in Natun Dainik. Later, he shifted to English journalism. Currently, his articles are regularly published in Ishan Darpan along with The Statesman, Terra Green, Indian Printer & Publisher, Scribes News, as well as a number of news portals, including ours. He is also a regular participant in various television talk shows on current topics. His journalistic focus areas include socio-political, cultural, and environmental degradations taking place in north-east India, along with Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet/China, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. The changing faces of mainstream journalism after the advent of alternative media globally also attract his usual attention. An alumnus of Assam Engineering College, Thakuria was honoured with a number of fellowships and awards. He was selected for a global recognition by the Geneva-based media rights body, Press Emblem Campaign in 2021, which came for the first time to India.
