HT Correspondent
MORIGAON, June 15: Morigaon district commissioner, Devashish Sharma on Saturday handed over the digitised version of the rare Sanchi manuscripts and artefacts to representatives of the Sri Sri Narwa Bali Satra and Sri Sri Narwa Kuji Satra during a meeting held at the DC office here.
The Suryya Kumar Bhuyan Memorial Trust and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage INTACH) digitised rare Sanchi manuscripts and artefacts available in these two satras.
Co-convenor of INTACH, Swapnanil Barua said, “There are 22 satras in Morigaon district and these satras have many ancient books, idols and valuables. These ancient books and artefacts can provide us with many historical stories and their proper preservation can pave the way for research and study. The Surya Kumar Bhuyan Memorial Trust and the National Trust for Arts and Culture and Heritage of India (INTACH) have been taking these views into consideration and making efforts for its preservation.”
INTACH is a heritage preservation organisation. It was formed with the objective of identifying, documenting, preserving and making accessible to the public the historical resources of India. In 2022, the Assam chapter of INTACH started preserving the manuscripts at Sri Sri Srinarawa Kuji Satra and Sri Sri Narawa Bali Satra.
“He said the materials preserved in the form of manuscripts in the satras are the main source of written information of the Middle Ages. The books are not only the most authentic evidence of medieval Assam, but also record what aspects of life were considered important,” said Sheila Bora, prominent writer and convener of INTACH.
The meeting appreciated the work and emphasised on the preservation of historical resources of other satras in Morigaon district. Devashish Sharma said that these preserved resources could be passed on to the new generation which would help in conservation and research.
The trustee secretary of the Suryya Kumar Bhuyan Memorial Trust, Loya Sinha said the organisation was formed in 2014 by late Banti Bhuyan, an educator and owner of the Faculty Higher Secondary School in North Guwahati. The long-term aim of the Trust is to compile and publish the complete works of Dr. Bhuyan and to translate some of his great works into English. The Trust has translated the history of Dr. Suryya Kumar Bhuyan from Assamese into English and has already published four histories. He said five more histories are on the way.
A team of conservators led by Sheila Bora and Swapnanil Barua as project directors with the institutional and financial support of the Suryya Kumar Bhuyan Memorial Foundation restored valuable manuscripts and idols at Sri Sri Narwa Kuji Satra and Sri Sri Narwa Bali Satra. They started working on Ramti. Mridumaucham Barak, General Secretary, Society for Srimanta Sankardev, Dhing was appointed as the chief coordinator of the project and he was assisted by Sanghati Adhikari and Papu Das, manager of Epitome Computer Center in Dhing.
Conservation aspects are supervised by the integration officer. Local youths are trained and employed in both the places. The manuscripts have been treated, preserved and digitised in a very scientific manner and the figurines have been treated using natural Hengul Haital dyes. There are 227 manuscripts in the Sri Srinarawa Kuji Satra along with 4093 folios and 8016 digitized images. There are 370 manuscripts, 6,221 folios and 1,1282 digitised images at Srishrinarawa Bali Satra. The youths involved in the project were awarded certificates at the function.
