Legendary artist Neel Pawan Baruah bids adieu, state mourns

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Even as the people of the state were striving to come to grips with the demise of thespian Nipon Goswami on Thursday, bad news have come their way again as legendary artist Neel Pawan Baruah passed away at 3:15 pm on Friday at the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH). Baruah was 86.

His last rites will be performed with full state honours (without gun salute) at the Nabagraha crematorium here at 2 pm on Saturday.

His mortal remains are now being kept at his residence - Basundhara Kala Niketan - at Sourabh Nagar in the Beltola area.

According to GMCH principal Achyut Baishya, Baruah had been admitted to the hospital on September 22 last with fever and respiratory issues. Baruah was being treated at the ICU since then, Dr Baishya said, adding that he was put on ventilator four days ago after his condition deteriorated.

Baruah was born on June 1, 1936 to 'Dhwani Kabi' Binanda Chandra Baruah and Lavanya Prabha Baruah in the Tamulisinga village of Teok in the Jorhat district. He went to become a painter known for using unusual mediums to create his paintings, including empty cigarette packets and matchboxes.

He started his academic career at the Duliagaon Primary school in Teok and then studied at the Teok High School, Jorhat Polytechnic School, Mariani High School and Kamrup Academy, Guwahati.

Baruah studied painting at Shantiniketan and glazed pottery at the Sri Niketan in West Bengal in the 1960s. He later took painting lessons at the Garhi Studios in New Delhi.

Baruah returned to Assam in 1966 and joined the Gauhati Arts College as a teacher. Baruah founded the Asom Charu-Karu Kala Parishad in 1971 and also started Assam's first painting institute at his residence.

His paintings were exhibited in various parts of the country, such as the Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata,; Lalit Kala Academy, Lucknow; Lalit Kala Academy, Delhi etc.

Baruah wrote three books as well.

The painter was awarded the Silpi Pension by the state government in 1989. He was also awarded by the Rotary Club in 1997. Other awards and recognitions received by him included the Bishu Rabha Award in 2005 and the Rabindra Jayanti Silpi Sanman in 2008. He was awarded an honorary PHD by the Gauhati University in 2018. In 2021, he was awarded the 'Assam Sourabh' award by the state government of Assam. It may be mentioned that Baruah was married to Dipali Borthakur, the famous singer known as the 'Nightingale of Assam', who passed away on December 21, 2018.

Meanwhile, as tributes continued to pour in to mourn Baruah's demise, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a message that the state has lost an illustrious personality and a true artist. Terming Baruah's demise as "an irreparable loss", Sarma added that Baruah had enriched the cultural sphere of Assam for decades on end. The Chief Minister extended condolences to the bereaved family.

On the other hand, Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said in a message that Neel Pawan Baruah was an artist par excellence whose magical brush gave a new direction to the art and cultural landscape of Assam. Baruah inspired a whole generation and his demise is a great loss to Indian art, Sonowal said, while extending his condolences to the bereaved family and art lovers as a whole.

Among others, Cultural Affairs Minister Bimal Borah, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) president and Agriculture Minister Atul Bora, Health and Family Welfare Minister Keshab Mahanta, BJP state president Bhabesh Kalita, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) president Bhupen Borah also expressed grief along with the All Assam Students' Union (AASU), All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF), and Asom Jatiya Parishad (AJP).

Also Read:  Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma Dials GMCH Principal, Reviews Condition of Artist Neel Pawan Baruah

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