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Painting Epics on Trees: A River Island’s Tale of Ink, Spirit, and Legacy

Updated: July 19, 2025 11:02

Image Source : ANI News
On the world's largest inhabited river island, Majuli, a silent revolution is underway in its midst. Mridul Barua, a thirdgeneration manuscript artist, is carrying on a 600yearold tradition once the pride of saintreformer Srimanta Sankardeva and the Ahom monarchs.
 
Highlights of Artistic Revival of Majuli
  • Manuscript painting began in 1467 as a religious narrative genre in the form of Agarwood bark scrolls and natural pigments like hengul (mercury oxide) and haital (arsenic sulfide).
  • Barua's art is still entirely handmade: bark is dried in the sun, soaked, polished with shells, smeared with sticky rice and dal paste, and then painted.
  • It provided the art with a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, boosting tourism and popularity across India.
Legacy and Learning
  • Mridul teaches over 200 students in the GuruShishya Parampara, introducing younger students to acrylics and progressing them to the ancient method.
  • It has been displayed all over the nation and even at the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya.
  • The manuscripts generally illustrate epics such as the Ramayana and Mahabharata, but also include medicinal knowledge, astrology, and philosophy.
Cultural Impacts and Future Prospects
  • Researchers and visitors visit Barua's workshop to learn and purchase these special pieces, encouraging livelihood and conservation.
  • With over 1,000 students, Barua's vision is clear: make the art endure a generation beyond his own.
Sources: ANI News, WebIndia123, Sentinel Assam, Times of India, Sahapedia, The Cultural Heritage of India, Organiser.org

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