Assam has a treasure trove of hand-written manuscripts from the centuries
past spread out all over its geographical territory. Dr. Naren Kalita, a retired
Professor of Ananda Ram Dhekial Phukan College in Nagaon and a regular
consultant to the Sankardev Kalakhetra in Guwahati is the most eminent
scholar in current Assam on a special class of these manuscripts, ones that are
highly illustrated with paintings that pictorially describe the text in these
books. He is in the process of writing a book to be published by the
Sankardeve Kalakhetra where he summarizes eighty seven such books. He
also wrote a book two years ago on this topic with Dr. R.D. Choudhury,
Director of the Indian National Museum of New Delhi. The oldest pictorial
book he has been able to discover is from mid-to-late 1600s in a Xatra near
Rangia. Hundreds of such books have survived the vagaries of a harsh nature
including torrential rains and devastating floods, destructive insects and
worms in a very humid climate, and unscientific storage for centuries.
However, many of these are in the process of slowly but inevitably
disintegrating and becoming extinct as the author of this editorial has seen
with his own eyes during the past two years. The Assamese residents of
North America have undertaken a project to digitally photograph or scan as
many manuscripts of distinguished value, whether illustrated or not. The
project's initial promoter was Chandan Mahanta of St. Louis and currently,
there are several dedicated individuals in the US as well as Assam, including
Dr. Naren Kalita who are generously spending their time, energy and money
photographing such manuscripts. Finding a manuscript sometimes requires
detective work. Most illustrated as well as non-illustrated manuscripts are
still in private hands although the Government of Assam, and Gauhati and
Dibrugarh Universities possess a large number as well. Recently, Babul
Gogoi of Guwahati, Prabodh Nath of Nagaon, and the author of this editorial
have taken a few thousand digital photographs of several illustrated books in
Assam with a high-quality digital camera donated by Samar Gogoi of Omaha,
Nebraska. The objective is to photograph at least a hundred such books,
create compact disks for each book, and create a high quality Web site.
Copies of the CDs will be given to the current owners of the books as well as
libraries in Assam, India and the US and elsewhere. The Web site will be
designed to showcase this unique aspect of Assam's rich literary history. This
editorial invites Assamese individuals around the world, including North
America to come forward to make this project a rousing success. Donation in
terms of money, useful information, time or any other form are cordially
welcome. Individuals in Assam such as the several hundred computer
professionals working with the approximately two hundred Community
Information Centers (CICs) in each administrative Block of Assam are in a
particularly advantageous position to assist with information as well
photograph taking. There are many extremely rich individuals in Assam
today and financial help from such individuals will be very welcome. It's not
a project of Assamese resident of North America, but an all-inclusive project
that seeks to engage all willing and generous individuals from around the
globe. Editorial writers in newspapers and magazines as well scholars in
Assam's universities, colleges and other institutions are also in a particularly
strong position to help in a tremendous way. This editorial seeks to arouse the
interest of everyone in detailing and saving this aspect of Assam's culture and
heritage. Please contact the editorial writer if you would like to help in any
way.
- Jugal Kalita (kalita@pikespeak.uccs.edu)
- Log in to post comments