Guwahati: Assam artisan Sujit Baruah has been selected as a “Shilpkar” to contribute to the upcoming Yuge Yugeen Bharat National Museum in New Delhi, taking the state’s 15th-century mask-making tradition to the historic corridors of New Delhi’s North and South Blocks.The two-day Shilpkar Samagam, held at the National Gallery of Modern Art, brought together master craftsmen from across the country. The museum will be housed in New Delhi’s historic North and South Blocks under the Central Vista Redevelopment Project.Baruah runs Barna Kutir, an artist village and museum in his native village in Sivasagar district, where he makes, preserves and showcases traditional masks. Located around 7km from Sivasagar town, the village had been emerging as a tourist attraction. With the village ravaged by floods, it has been a striking new journey from a landscape of devastation to a national project envisioned to preserve and narrate India’s civilisational story for generations to come.“I am confident that Sivasagar’s traditional mask-making art, deeply rooted in the Vaishnava cultural heritage, will find a place in the museum,” Baruah said.Baruah was invited to the samagam as a maker whose skills and craftsmanship could be incorporated into the museum’s architecture, interiors and design. Over the two days, he met the project’s architects and designers and demonstrated how his work could be adapted for use on an architectural scale.“The museum is taking shape within the historic North and South Blocks. Its floors, walls, ceilings, doors, screens, furniture and lighting are still being designed — and the ministry’s intention is that India’s living craft traditions should be built into that architecture rather than added to it afterwards,” read a card sent to the participants.Baruah has roots in Kowamara Satra, a Vaishnavite monastery in Sivasagar district. The masks are crafted using eco-friendly materials such as cane, bamboo, cotton cloth, clay and cow dung, reflecting a sustainable tradition that remains deeply connected to nature and promotes environmental conservation.“In and around the Kowamara Satra, the traditional art of mask-making has been practised since the 15th–16th centuries and continues to thrive even today. Our masks vividly portray characters from Vaishnava mythology, including Jatayu, Garuda, Hanuman and Ravana,” Sujit said.
