British Museum is going to orgasie conference on "Assam: textile transmission and the performance of dance" on July 8 - 9 2016 at Stevenson Lecture Theatr, London. This two-day conference will respond to the current exhibition in Room 91, Krishna in the garden of Assam: the cultural context of an Indian textile. It will consider Assamese textiles, trade and contact through the Himalayas from north-eastIndia to Tibet, and the performance traditions that connect the ancient Krishna-related textiles with modern Assamese culture. The conference will include an exhibition viewing and reception.
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Assam: textile transmission and the performance of dance
Friday 8 July & Saturday 9 July 2016 Stevenson Lecture Theatre, British Museum
11.45 Trans-Himalayan textiles: Indian woven silks in Tibet Rosemary Crill, formerly V&A Museum
12.45 View of the exhibition Krishna in the garden of Assam: the cultural context of an Indian textile
13.30 Lunch
14.30 A brief discussion of the traditional woven silk textiles of medieval Assam: lampas, samite, double-weave and damask Steven Cohen, Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford
15.30 Silk, a larger history Arupjyoti Saikia, Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati, Assam
15.30 Tea break
17:00 From Lhasa to London: looting during the 1904 Younghusband Expedition to Tibet Tim Myatt, independent schola
18:30 The dancing monks of Uttar Kamalabari monastery, Majuli Island, led by Dr Bhabananda Barbayan, in a public performance in the Great Court (ends around 20.00)
Saturday 9 July
10.00 Dancing the divine; performing the Nation: Krishnadance in ancient and contemporary Northeast India Debanjali Biswas and Georgie Pope, both King’s College London – India Institute and Department of Music
11.00 The icons and the accompanying texts woven on the Vrindavani Vastra textile groups and their historical and cultural significations in Assam Samiran Boruah, The Assam Research Society, and La Maison des Artistes, Paris
12.00 Coffee break
12.30 Staging the Vrindavani Vastra – Q&A session with Bhabananda Barbayan, the choreographer of the dance performance based on the Vrindavani Vastra textile Bhabananda Barbayan (choreographer from the Uttar Kamalabari monastery, Majuli Island) and Anwesa Mahanta and Arshiya Shethi, both post-doctoral independent researchers
13.30 Lunch
15.00 Threads through Assam – screening of a short film on the story of silk in Assam, directed by Leona Chaliha
15.45 Some further thoughts on the function of the Vrindavani Vastra and Conclusion Richard Blurton, British Museum
16.30 Dance workshop with monks from Majuli Island
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Mobile internet has been suspended and the authority has imposed some restrictions on public gatherings to ensure peace and tranquility in the tribal dominated hills districts.
Security forces are patrolling on the streets in the vulnerable areas to avert any untoward incident.
But the tribal leaders and their followers have blamed it all on the government for allowing the non tribals to settle there which is contrary to the laid down rules.
" We are...
Tension gripped West Karbi Anglong district for a second consecutive day on Tuesday as clashes between protesters and security forces in Kheroni area left two people dead and over 45 injured, including 38 police personnel.
The deceased have been identified as a differently-abled youth from the Karbi community, who succumbed during police action to disperse agitators, and another individual who died in arson attacks on shops in Kheroni market. Reports indicate the violence involved stone-pelting, use of crude bombs, arrows, and bows by mobs, prompting police to resort to lathi-charge, tear gas, and blank firing.
The unrest stems from long-standing demands by Karbi organisations for the...
The hills of West Karbi Anglong district in Assam witnessed a dramatic eruption of violence this week, underscoring deep frustrations over land rights and perceived governmental inconsistency.
On December 22, 2025, protesters demanding the eviction of alleged encroachers from protected tribal grazing reserves torched the ancestral home of Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) Chief Executive Member Tuliram Ronghang in Dongkamukam and set fire to several shops in Kheroni Bazaar. The next day, despite prohibitory orders under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), clashes between opposing groups led to stone-pelting, injuring several people, including protesters,...
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A respected name in the profession, Pisharoty is known for her incisive reporting, editorial leadership and long-standing commitment to press freedom, ethical journalism and the welfare of media professionals. Over the years, she has earned wide credibility for her work on politics, governance and social issues.
The Press Club of...
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The consultation brought together humanitarian practitioners, climate workers, community leaders, civil society organisations, youth groups and women’s collectives to deliberate on...
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The event commenced with the traditional lighting of the lamp, followed by an introductory address by Prof. Dinesh Bhatia, SPOC of the Regional Meet. Prof. G. Bez, Chairperson of the Meet, delivered the welcome speech, while Prof. I. Hussain, Dean of the School of Technology, NEHU, offered brief remarks....
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NEADS works at the intersection of humanitarian response, resilience building, climate action and environmental sustainability, adopting a nexus approach to address the human dimensions of environmental crises arising from both natural and human-induced disasters. The organization emphasizes community well-being...
Guwahati: The Pragjyotishpur Literature Festival (PLF) 2025 concluded this evening at Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra, wrapping up three days of rich literary discussions, cultural insights, and powerful storytelling. Organized by the Sankardeva Education and Research Foundation, the festival began on 14 November with acclaimed author Shefali Baidya delivering the keynote address.
On the final day, the organizers announced the recipients of this year’s prestigious PLF awards. Eminent researcher and author Moneswar Deori was named the recipient of the PLF 2025 Award, while promising young writer Srotashwini Tamuli, a researcher at Birangana Sati Sadhani State University, was declared the...
As the world gathers in Belém, Brazil, for the 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-30), the North-East Affected Area Development Society (NEADS) from Assam has stepped onto the global stage to ensure the voices of the region’s flood-affected and climate-vulnerable communities are heard.
Representing NEADS as an Observer of the Start Network, Tirtha Prasad Saikia, the organisation’s Director, said the participation marks a crucial moment for the North-East, one of India’s most climate-sensitive regions.
“We are here because climate change is not a distant issue for us — it’s our everyday reality,” said Saikia. “Assam’s communities have been battling floods, erosion,...
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