GUWAHATI, Sept 6: A bust of late Jogesh Sharma, a pioneer of Assam’s modern printing industry and former proprietor of Saraighat Phototypes, was unveiled at the entrance of the Saraighat Phototypes premises in Panikhaiti on Sunday.
The bust, created by noted artist Biren Singha, was unveiled by writer, scientist and lexicographer Dr Dinesh Chandra Goswami. The programme was conducted by Dharanidhar Goswami and attended by members of Sharma’s family and several personalities from Assam’s publishing and media circles.
Born on February 12, 1932, in a remote village in Nalbari, Sharma established Saraighat Printers at Guwahati Club in 1966 after overcoming several challenges. He established Saraighat Offset Press in 1975, contributing to the modernisation of Assam’s printing industry. The press was renamed Saraighat Phototypes in 1988.
Through Saraighat Phototypes, Sharma contributed significantly to Assam’s literary and publishing sector, publishing several important works, including Saraighat Abhidhan, the first Assamese-language yearbook, Saraighat Assam Year Book and more than 100 books in the Kaljoyee series edited by Dr Dinesh Chandra Goswami.
He also published Budhbar, the newspaper edited by late journalist Parag Kumar Das, and remained associated with Assam’s literary and publishing circles. Known for his philanthropic activities, Sharma died on March 3, 2023.
The bust was unveiled as a tribute to his contribution to Assam’s printing, publishing and literary landscape.
