Creative Practitioners Come Together to Discuss Work in Kamrupi

  Participants at a gathering on creative expression in Kamrupi, held at Barnagar College, Sorbhog, as part of a project implemented by the India Foundation for the Arts (IFA).

Sorbhog, 19 July: Artists, writers, cultural practitioners and digital content creators working in Kamrupi came together at Barnagar College, Sorbhog, for a programme that facilitated conversations on creative and intellenituctual work being undertaken in the language.

The event brought together practitioners from literature, art, culture and diverse media to share their experiences of using Kamrupi for serious creative expression. The discussions drew attention to both the possibilities of working in a non-standardised linguistic variety and the challenges faced by practitioners when their language does not enjoy the same cultural legitimacy as standard Assamese.

Among the speakers, Dr Amiya Mahanta spoke about her work on compiling a dictionary of words used in the region. Popular YouTube content creator Riki Bharali discussed his efforts to document and promote the traditional food practices of western Assam, particularly those associated with his own region. He also expressed concern that knowledge of many local dishes and culinary traditions is gradually declining among younger generations.

Famed cartoonist Nituparna Rajbangshi also participated in the programme and spoke about the representation of Kamrupi culture through art. Acclaimed filmmaker Kangkan Deka also spoke about his work, including the Kamrupi-language film Upasarga, a fictional narrative that demonstrates the potential of the language of lower Assam as a medium for serious cinematic expression. Poets Jugajyoti Das, Ajay Kumar Ray and Ziaul Islam discussed their experiences of writing in the local language and publishing their work in popular magazines.

The programme was organised as part of a project led by Jyotirmoy Talukdar of Ashoka University. The Foundation Project is implemented by India Foundation for the Arts (IFA) under its Arts Practice programme, with support from HudumDeo.

HudumDeo is a socio-cultural organisation engaged in the research, restoration and dissemination of Assam’s folk art, literature and cultural traditions. It also provides a platform for conversations on local art, language, literature and indigenous heritage.

The project seeks to bring together individuals and experiences from a largely unorganised community of mother-tongue speakers whose language has historically remained culturally disempowered. By creating a shared platform for practitioners, the initiative aims to build confidence among Kamrupi speakers and encourage its use in artistic creation as well as everyday communication.

The project also seeks to contribute to what Talukdar describes as the “declownisation” of Kamrupi. The term refers to the need to move away from representations in which the language is used primarily for comic effect through exaggerated accents, characters and stereotypes. Such representations have often prevented Kamrupi from being recognised as a legitimate medium for serious literary, artistic and intellectual engagement.

The initiative is expected to encourage artists and writers to represent local experiences in their own language, rather than feeling compelled to use a standardised variety associated with a geographically and culturally distant region merely because it enjoys greater institutional legitimacy.

At a time when inclusivity and linguistic diversity are receiving increasing attention, the project assumes particular significance. The rapid expansion of digital media has also opened up new possibilities for the documentation, circulation and revitalisation of marginalised linguistic traditions. Initiatives of this nature can therefore provide renewed impetus to the cultural empowerment and creative use of languages such as Kamrupi.