Since ancient times, the art of painting in Assam has evolved around the culture of adorning manuscripts with

lines and colors. In other words, painting as an art form is a unique and significant resource of the Assamese

cultural legacy. Since the turn of the 21st century, artists from Assam have absorbed and become acclimated to

modern art practices such as installation art, performance art, and modern graffiti. My goals are to research art

and artists in Assam who use a variety of methods and materials, particularly in relation to a regional context

and new art genres in the midst of globalization, a complex socio-political landscape, and a zero-market for

emphasis on the original artworks of artists from different periods in Assam. The chosen methodology involves

conducting interviews with individual artists, scholars, and academicians, visiting actual sites to gather necessary

data and visuals, and utilizing the internet for research. This research is descriptive in nature. As the study

concentrates on stylistic changes and technical innovations in art, particularly paintings in Assam, India, visits

to various institutional art workshops and professional studios in Guwahati, Nagaon, and Jorhat have been

concepts for individual and group inspiration in art, culture, and society. The bio- and crop-diversity of the area

leads archaeologists to conclude that early inhabitants of Northeast India domesticated several significant plants.

According to the authors, the writings of Chinese explorer Zhang Qian from 100 BC suggest an early trading

route across Northeast India. (Lahiri, 1991, p.p 11-12) Currently, the entire Northeast region is connected to the

rest of the nation via a shaky 22-kilometer land corridor that passes through Siliguri in the eastern state of West

Bengal. This link has been dubbed the "Chicken Neck." (www.govtofassam.nic.in, 2020) The visual arts, such

as painting and sculpture, have been practiced in Assam since very early times, as evidenced by references to

In Assam, medieval saint Srimanta Sankaradeva (1449-1568) and his Neo Vaisnavite Movement are nearly

synonymous with the phrase "manuscript." The principles and values of this religious and cultural movement

time immemorial." Through puthis, or manuscripts, which were clarified by the learned people's oral remarks

and explanations, Hindu civilization and culture were preserved and transmitted in a significant way. (Goswami,

There was no evidence of a book on art in particular till the twentieth century. However, some important

rhetorical words have been found in numerous old Assamese epic and poetry books, 'Charit puthi'/biography, to

signify various skills and aesthetic qualities of eminent personalities. In the context, the book entitled

'Descriptive Catalogue of Assamese Manuscripts, by Pandit Hemchandra Goswami, would be mentioned as the

earliest, which was published by Calcutta University in 1930. As Dr. Naren Kalita describes, the effort of Pandit

Goswami fructified in the formation of a repository with a few illustrated transcripts in the library of Kamrup

growth and development of the painting tradition in India. The art of painting got a new life in the hands of the

extremely skilled artist of this era, Srimanta Sankardeva. "He drew the pictures (pat) of seven Baikunthas/

heavens for the performance of Chinha Yatra Bhaona (a folk theatrical performance) himself. Apart from these,

the exquisitely painted 'Brindavani Bastra' (a kind of cloth) gifted by Srimanta Sankardeva to the king of Koch

Bihar, Naranarayana, stands as a clear testimony to the excellence attained by this form during the medieval saint

In this context, the Sachiitra Puthis (books with pictorial illustrations) that have been found in various parts of

Assam also prove the artistic talent of this land. Those pictorial illustrations were mainly found on Sanchi pat

(i.e., the bark of the Sanchi tree, specially prepared for writing), tulapat (i.e., tula leaf), and mugā clothes.

However, due to frequent calamities in Assam and inadequate preservation techniques, a large number of

In medieval times, particularly among royal families and the Xatras, painting was widely practiced. Over time,

the pictorial manuscripts in the two places acquired distinct styles. Dr. Suniti Kumar Chattopadhyaya has divided

On the other hand, Dr. Rajatananda Dasgupta, who has done extensive research on Eastern India's Chitraputhis

or Puthichitras (books with pictorial illustrations), has divided them into seven styles. Various other researchers

have categorized the Puthichitras of Assam in their own ways. After analyzing the results of the various research,

cotton), Tulapat (palm leaves; rarely used), Sanchi pat (the leaves of the Sanchi tree, also known as the Agar or

Aquilaria agallocha), and Sanchi bark (the thicker variety, the Bible's aloes wood) are among the materials used

The line-and-color illustrations of manuscripts served as the foundation for the development of painting in

Assam. Sanchipat and Tulapat were the two materials used to make manuscript leaves in Assam. Tulapat leaves

were produced by compressing cotton, whereas Sanchipat, the denser type, was crafted from the bark of the

Sanchi tree, aloes wood, or Aquilaria agallocha (Plate 3) and (Plate 4). The manuscripts were composed by artists

referred to as Khanikars. The subsequent steps are part of the elaborate and detailed procedure for preparing

Colors used in painting are Hangul (mercury sulphide) is a kind of mineral product, Hangul is crushed and then

it is grind on a stone daily for two hours along with water to remove impurities, Haital (arsenic sulphide) is also

a mineral product, which is used for all manuscripts as base color, indigo is only color which is derived from

indigo plant, khori mati (limestone) used for obtaining the color white and Sandalwood and Ash derived from

silikha for use of black. The gum used in manuscript painting is derived from wood apple extract, and the mixture

The manuscripts typically used a dark crimson tint, such as Hengul (mercury sulfide) or Haital (arsenic sulfide)

exclusively. Other colors used in Assamese miniatures are kharimati or dhabal (for white), hengul (vermillion

As previously mentioned, the practice of painting manuscripts in Assam declined. Scholarly interest in the

preservation and analysis of these documents, however, also grew throughout this period. These scholars sought

to conserve and catalog Assamese manuscript paintings at various institutions, both during and after British rule.

Only a small number of artists in Assam are currently engaged in painting and manuscript writing. At Kalang

Kala Kendra, Puranigudam, Nagaon quarter, Assam, many artists had the good fortune to meet and learn about

some aspects of handwriting, oil, and its fashion from one of the many surviving khanikars. The gallery has been

working to restore this nearly defunct heritage through training programs. At Kalang Kala Kendra, the museum

of Puranigudam, Nagaon district, Assam, a few artists had the good fortune to meet and learn about some aspects

Gogoi, Desire Machine Collective, Sansita Gogoi, Shilpika Bardoloi, Parismita Singh, Samudra Kajal Saikia,

Chandan Bez Baruah, Anga Art Collective, Anupam Saikia, Bhaskar Hazarika, Mantu Das, Pinak Pani Nath,

Binoy Paul, and Phanindra Talukdar are more well-known and varied in this context According to prominent

Assamese scholar and art historian Dr. Mousumi Kandali, these paradoxes of modernist experiences

paradoxically form the basis of much of the violent socio-political ramifications in contemporary Assam. The

opposing dichotomies of masculinising vs feminism, rural vs urban, or tribalism vs non-tribalism become even

experimenting with new ideas and processes, breaking previous artists' conventional, medium-centric, more

rigid, and less flexible concepts and executions since the last decade of the last century. His installation titled

playfulness, pure humor, and irony. As eminent art historian Moushumi Kandali writes, the creative imagination

of artist Munindra Narayan Bhattacharyya unfolds as a dialogic discourse between the visual and the textual, the

textual and the spatial. (Bhattacharya, 2018) Nikhileswar Baruah, born in Assam in 1967, has vivid memories of

One well-known artist who has consistently used his art to depict urgent social and political issues is Kishor

Kumar Das. As renowned author Rupanjali Baruah correctly noted, Kishor Kumar Das examines the harmony

between humor and socio-political commentary in his artwork. To find sarcasm in every minute detail, he

In the context of Assam's rich heritage of manuscript practice, the contemporary art of this region has not been

discussed in detail. Ironically termed as Junglee, Chinky, the Northeast people are aware of the pros and cons of

their identity and try to defend and sustain as a whole. As I wrap up my essay with a passage from Phanindra