Two-day exhibition of Lakhi Ram Boruah�s paintings at Jorhat begins today
GUWAHATI, June 23 - An exhibition of paintings of Lakhi Ram Boruah, � unsung name in the world of art, and a silent worker, will be held at Vision Art Asom, Jail Road, Jorhat on June 24-25, a press release received here stated.
Boruah�s paintings are preserved at his ancestral home in Jail Road, Jorhat. Lakhi Ram Boruah was perhaps the first person from the entire north-eastern region who studied at Government School of Art, Calcutta. His brilliant painted images depicts Biblical themes with adequate skill and craftsmanship.
Lakhi Ram Boruah was born in 1889, at Mangaldai in Darrang district. His father was Tuniram Baruah who belonged to a strict Brahmin family of Jorhat. He studied at the Golaghat Bezboruah High School from where he passed the Matriculation Examination of Calcutta University in 1912. He joined a teaching job at Dergaon High School in which his brilliancy in board drawing attracted the attention of a British School Inspector. That school inspector arranged a scholarship of Rs 10 per month for him to study art in Calcutta. So, he went to Calcutta and joined the Government School of Art there.
Abanindranath Tagore, Jamini Prakash, Lala Iswari Prasad including Principal Percy Brown possibly taught Lakhiram Baruah in both western academic training and Indian traditional painting style. Upon his completion of a diploma in Art course in Fine Art (1914-1919), he returned from Calcutta and worked as a teacher at the Government Boys� HS & MP School, Jorhat where he served for 26 years, from 1923 to 1950. He painted a number of pictures on different themes and out of his canvas and cloth paintings, 43 have been well preserved by his sons. Lakhiram Boruah�s contributions are also found in the form of poetry, song and drama. He was baptized at a later phase of his life and used poetry, songs, dramas and paintings as tools for preaching the gospel in the Assamese cultural context. He died on April 1, 1977.
As tribute to Lakhi Ram Boruah, the exhibition has been organised by Dr Raj Kumar Mazinder, Convenor of RJ Foundation, Silchar and an Assistant Professor, Department of Visual Arts, Assam University, Silchar and Parikshit Baruah, owner of Vision Art Asom, Jail Road. A discussion on his paintings will also be organised. The exhibition will be inaugurated at 4 pm and the timing is from 3 pm to 8 pm. The organisers have invited all art-loving people to the exhibition.
