Assam: Digitized version of historical resources at Narwa Bali Satra, Kuji Satra launched in Morigaon

A Correspondent

Morigaon: The Suryya Kumar Bhuyan Memorial Trust and the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, Assam (INTACH) have officially handed over the digitised version of the historical and rare resources and books available at Sri Sri Narwa Bali Satra and Sri Sri Narwa Kuji Satra to the representatives of the two xatras. 

The two digital versions were officially handed over to the representatives of the two satras by District Commissioner Devashish Sharma at a meeting in the meeting room of the Morigaon District Commissioner’s office. Retired IAS officer and co-convener of INTACH, Assam Swapnanil Barua, said, “There are 22 xatras in the Morigaon district, and these xatras 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.”

Barua also said the Surya Kumar Bhuyan Memorial Trust and the National Trust for Arts, Culture, and Heritage of India (INTACH) have been taking these views into consideration and making efforts for their preservation.

Dr. Sheila Bora, prominent writer and convener of INTACH, Assam, said that INTACH is a heritage preservation organisation officially formed on January 27. INTACH 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 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 from the Middle Ages. The books are not only the most authentic evidence of mediaeval Assam, but they also record what aspects of life were considered important. The meeting appreciated the work and emphasised the preservation of historical resources in other satras in the Morigaon district. He said that these preserved resources could be passed on to the next 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 the late Banti Bhuyan, an educator and owner of Faculty Higher Secondary School, North Guwahati, Assam. 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 Dr. 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 the Sri Sri Naruwa Kuji Satra and Sri Sri Naruwa Bali Satra. Mridu Mausam Barua, general secretary, society for Srimanta Sankardev, Dhing, was appointed as the Chief Coordinator of the project, and he was assisted by Sanghati Adhikari and Manager Papu Das as Managers of Epitome Computer Centre in Dhing, Nagaon. Conservation aspects are supervised by the Integration Officer. Local youths are trained and employed in both places. The manuscripts have been treated, preserved, and digitised in a very scientific manner, and the figurines were made using natural Hengul Haital dyes. There are 227 manuscripts in the Sri Srinarawa Kuji Satra. 4093 folios and 8016 digitiseds involved in the project were awarded cerfolios,tes at the digitised images. There are 370 manuscripts, 6,221 folios and 1,1282 digitized images at Srishrinarawa Bali Satra. The youths involved in the project were awarded certificates at the function.

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