The solidity of his sculptures and the liquidity of his paintings complement each other.
He belongs to the category of artists whose creations form an extraordinary
series of designs. Sri Padum Chandra Buragohain — the very reclusive artist of Assam,
speaks about his work and inspiration that began with his aspirations during
his teens.
His creations mainly include sculptures and paintings of gods and goddesses, of prominent
personalities and landscapes. Residents of Guwahati are sure to have seen his works — which include
the sculptural illustration of a dancing troupe on the facade of Apsara cinema hall, the portrayals of
Lord Krishna
on the walls of Shankar Mandir, the sculptural depiction of Krishna over a chariot delivering a
discourse to Arjuna
at Geeta Mandir, the gayan, bayan and
satradhikar at the main gate of the Guwahati
Refinery, models of different tribals in their traditional set up at the State Museum, the muscular statue of
the Olympic torch bearer in the Stadium Guest House. Apart from these, his works are found in different
places outside Guwahati and Assam. The reclining Krishna in the sanctum sanctorum and the depiction of
various tales from epics on the walls of the Auniati satra at North Guwahati were done by him. Another
sculptural piece is the Kaliyadaman in the middle of a pond at Barpeta satra. The statue of Kanaklata —
the great martyr of 1942 was sculptured by the artist at Gohpur. During the Indo-Pak war in 1965 he
sculpted a statue of the then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shashtri out of plaster of Paris, which was immensely
acclaimed by the late Prime Minister and was auctioned at Rs 10,000. The money was donated to the
Indian Defence Fund. The massive rhino pulling a three storeyed building with a iron chain — a symbol of
power was constructed by the artist at Kaziranga National Park. He sculpted a statue of the father of the
nation for the National Congress Conference held at Guwahati in the year 1957.
The artist, unquestionably rich in spirit and idiom, invests religion, philosophy, patriotism and love in
everything that he creates. His paintings have even been exhibited at the Lalit Kala Academy, New Delhi.
The artist was keen on art from his childhood. Born in 1933 at Cherekapar in Sivasagar, he was
accustomed to frequenting the Shivadoul with his mother who loved gazing at the decorative carvings on
the temple walls. Returning home she used to weave them at her loom. This had greatly inspired the
future artist who in course of time experimented with his own techniques. He started with drawing and
painting flowers and landscapes, animals, birds and human figures. Colours were obtained from various
local herbs. As he grew up he became popular among the womenfolk for he could draw beautiful
designs for weaving in just a few minutes. But the artist was beaten up quite often by the teachers at
school for engaging himself in art during the school hours.
When he was in class VI, he started to work with the Sivasagar based artist late Mahendra Kakati under
whose able guidance he developed his own brilliance. Impressed at his artistic finery, the Gosain of
Dakhinpat satra offered the artist the task of picturising the late satradhikars.
After matriculation in 1951 he aspired to go outside Assam for better training in art as there were no
such institutes in the state at that time. He approached the then Education Minister of Assam for a
scholarship but without any luck. Anyhow, he managed to go to Bombay where he got admitted
to the Sir JJ School of Art topping the practicals in the entrance. But, since this institute laid much
stress on commercial art which he was not much interested in, he quit it and left for Delhi.
Again not being able to find any good place to improve his hobby in the capital he shifted to
Calcutta. While studying at the School of Art in Calcutta, the artist came to know about Shantiniketan
and decided to move there.
The artist confesses that he learned everything in that celebrated centre of art. During his stay at
Shantiniketan he blossomed in many facets other than fine art. He was exalted after he performed the
satriya dance which he learned at the satras and was selected for the cultural group that performed in
Poland, Hungary and Rangoon representing Shantiniketan.
In 1957 he acquired his Diploma in Fine Art securing the 1st position and then completed his bachelor’s
degree with specialization in sculpture. Three years later, the artist also completed his studies on the
history of Indian art, history of western art, art appreciation, aesthetics of plastic art and methodology
of art education. During these years he collected several statuettes from the known and unknown sacred
places of Assam. Some of his collections from the Madan Kamdev mandir have now been displayed at
the newly constructed museum there. He also stayed at Ajanta for a few months during his wanderings.
The artist was enchanted by the stupendous sculptures and paintings at Ajanta, particularly of cave 17.
To his great delight he was engaged in the repairing of the caves.
In 1961 the artist was in service at the Central Institute of Education, Delhi when the love and request
of a few distinguished art lovers compelled him to come back and join TC Govt Girls School, Guwahati as
an art teacher. The Assam Art Gallery — Kalsangam, one of his marvellous creations, which the artist started
with a handful of students in 1963, has still survived in his house in Guwahati. Here he imparts various
techniques of art to more than a hundred students. The artist asserts that there is plenty of interest but
dearth of persistence among the youth in Assam which is why quite a few of his students quit their classes
after sometime. His assistants have also nearly betrayed him. "I could not produce real artists in my life,"
he laments, "what I could do so far is only teaching the students so as to get
them good marks in the exams." He is also a trifle annoyed with the young artists of Assam who cannot do
away with their bad habits which he feels, have crippled their core culture and devotion in turn.
Although this hard working artist is always in search of something new he would never sacrifice beauty,
serenity and the very naturalness of art for the sake of innovation. That is why he has never gone for the
much demanded modern, abstract art. His Vaishnavite temperament seems to be guiding his soul at times.
In his works there is a moving together of art and spirituality which comes to him instinctively. The
impression remained with him and emerged in his creations in a distinctive manner in later years.
His wife Usha has been a vital source of inspiration. Of late, the artist has engaged himself in making a
methodical examination of spirituality and art by giving serious considerations to the vedas and epics. He
says that we have some misconceptions regarding the image of god which he intends to wipe off through his
endeavour. He wants to convey the message of love and compassion. His compassion for the poor and
underprivileged emerged early in his teens when he stimulated self confidence among the subjugated
tea-garden labourers living near his village.
The artist is not much in favour of exhibitionism. "If you are genuine, you don’t have to exhibit yourself.
People will surely come to you," reasons Buragohain whose works are demanded by various organizations
and companies. Many of his works have been acquired by a lot of private collectors. The artist now cannot
recall all the prestigious prizes and awards that he has bagged so far. In 1959 his wood sculpture
"Nature Man" brought him an international award from Japan. In 1998 he was awarded the Vikash Ratna
by the India International Friendship Society for his art and his spiritual perception. He was also awarded
the Bharat Excellency by the Friendship Forum of India in the same year.
The artist now visits the National Museum, Delhi regularly on request for his expertise in fibre-glass composition, which was originally a Japanese technique.
