Dr. Phani Sharma  was born in Majgaon (Dhemajee) a remote corner of Assam in North East India. He was the second son of a school headmaster Shri Gangeswhar Sharma Barua and Smrti. Gunada Devi.  Coming from a very humble background his sister Dr. Renu Goswani ( Retired Head of Department, Eduaction Department, Handique Girls College, Guwahati) used to remember the days when they had to roll a loose bamboo mat along with a slate and walk miles to go to school and back every single day.

Sharma ventured into Guwahati city for further studies with Rs.10 ( approx $.20 cents) which was given to him by his elder brother who just started working . He stayed at the Don Bosco Youth Hostel in Panbazar and thus started his life’s journey in the big city. During his free time, he played Table Tennis in the hostel grounds and got hooked into it. He later represented Assam in Table Tennis and won many  championships. His passion for Sports later led him to join politics for the upliftment of sports in Assam.

Sharma was an entrepreneur and died an entrepreneur. His life was a classic rages to riches story.  To fund his education he started with odd jobs like painting the iron grills of  Digoli Pukhuri Lake in Guwahati and with the earned money he started  a transport business. He later built Anuradha Cinema Hall in Guwahati and then Anupama Cinema Hall in Maligaon.  His empire ranged from Cinema Halls to Shopping Complexes in and around the city. He was also an avid Social Entrepreneur &  Philanthropist. Later in his life he was awarded a doctorate in Sports for his immense contribution to the field and was also awarded the Social Work Excellent Award for his contribution to his society.

He served as the Mayor of Guwahati (Guwahati Municipal Corporation) and loved the city which gave him so much.

He also led his country as the Deputy Chief-de-Mission, in the XXIV Olympiad in Soul, Korea in 1988.

More about him in pages from his unfinished biography.