Mamoni Raisom Goswami

Indira Goswami (14 November 1942 to 29 November 2011), known by her pen name Mamoni Raisom Goswami and affectionately as Mamoni Baideo, was a novelist, poet, professor, scholar and editor, and one of the most celebrated voices in contemporary Indian literature. She won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1983, the Jnanpith Award in 2000 and the Principal Prince Claus Award in 2008. Several of her books have appeared in English, including The Moth-Eaten Howdah of the Tusker, Pages Stained with Blood and The Man from Chinnamasta.

She was born in Guwahati into a Vaishnavite Brahmin family closely tied to the satra life of the Ekasarana Dharma, studied Assamese literature at Cotton College and took a master's degree at Gauhati University. She also played a significant public role as an observer in the peace process between the militant group ULFA and the Government of India, which led to the People's Consultative Group.

Her writing has reached the screen more than once. The 1996 film Adajya is based on her novel The Moth-Eaten Howdah of the Tusker and won international awards, and Words from the Mist, directed by Jahnu Barua, is a film about her life. In the Fita archive she is credited as writer of Antaheen Jatra (2004).