A modern paper mill

The Northeast, for its proximity with China, was one of the first regions in the country to develop the art of industry-making

One of the interesting aspects of the history of the traditional crafts and industries of the Northeast is that most of the inventions have withstood the ravages of time and evolved to suit the contemporary needs.

The crafts and industries of Assam have found a place in many important books. The Mahabharat mentions a painter of repute from this region, Chitralekha, and the ivory industry of Kamrupa, present Assam. The Ramayan praises the prosperous boat industry of Assam, the then Kamrupa. Other books like the Harshacharita, the Arthasashtra and the Atharvaveda also mention the traditional arts, crafts and industries of the region.

Mughal chronicles like the Fatiyah-I-Ibriah or the Tarikh-E-Asham by Shihabuddin Talish, stand as testimonies to the fact that the crafts of the area was internationally renowned. The History Book of Chang Rung Phukan and The Assam Chronicles also give details about the region?s industries. Besides, artefacts at various national and international museums prove the presence of thriving industry in ancient Assam.

Paper-making is one of the oldest technologies that developed in this area. It is believed that, the close geographical and perhaps socio-cultural and political proximity with China, which was the first country to develop the craft of paper-making, was instrumental in establishing the industry in the area. Along with papermaking developed the technique of writing.

The Northeast is known for producing special and indigenously-developed types of paper, writing ink, painting material and innovative processes to preserve manuscripts and paintings. The idea of laminating paper or book covers by using red shellac is also regarded as an indigenous technology of this region.

The Harshacharita has direct references to the popularity of paintings in the seventh century Assam and the gifts from Bhaskarvarmana to Harshavardhan of Kanauj, which included accessories of paintings. The gifts included carved boxes of panels for painting with brushes and gourds and gold painted cages.

Other popular presents were the fine tinted manuscripts, volumes of fine writing with leaves made from aloe bark and of the hue of ripe pink cucumber. It was in this aspect of manuscript painting that Assam excelled in during the Ahom period.

The most common carrier of manuscripts in Assam was made from the bark of the agar tree (Acquillaria Agalocha) and was known as Sanchipat. Its use was almost universal, especially for important manuscripts and those ordered by the royalty and nobility.

The making of a bark carrier entailed a laborious process of curing, seasoning and polishing raw slices of bark before it could be made to retain the ink. A 15-16 year-old tree, with 30 to 35 inches in girth, measuring about four feet from the ground was selected for the purpose.

These strips were rolled up separately with their inner or white part of the bark outwards and the outer or green part inside and were dried in the sun for several days. These are then rubbed with hand on a board or some other hard substances so as to facilitate the removal of the outer or the scaly portion of the bark.

After this, these are exposed to dew for one night. Next morning the outer layer of the bark (nikari) is carefully removed and the bark proper is cut into pieces of a convenient size, approximating 9 to 27 inches long and 3 to 18 inches broad.

These are put into cold water for about an hour and the akali is extracted, after which the surface is scraped smooth with a knife. These are then rubbed with a piece of burnt brick. A paste prepared from Matimah (Phaseolus Radiatus) is next rubbed in and the bark is dyed yellow by means of yellow arsenic (haital or harital).

This is followed by sun-drying, after which the strips are rubbed to get a surface as smooth as polished marble. The strip is then ready for use. The labour involved in preparing the bark and in inscribing on it was considerable.

The surface of the folio was prepared for painting and writing as well, by priming it with different materials and then rubbing smooth when dry. The paste most commonly used for this was made from matimah (Phaseolus-Radiatus), but duck?s eggs were also used. The universal custom of applying harital or yellow arsenic was not only for colouring the folios but also for protecting these from the attack of insects and micro-organisms.

The finished manuscripts were then exposed to the fumes of gandhaka (sulphur), which also acted as an insecticide. A special officer attached to the Ahom court, called the Gandhia Barua, supervised the archives and the preservation and conservation of not only manuscripts but also documents, letters, maps and plans for architectural undertakings.

Apart from Sanchipat folios, there were other types of carriers, which may be considered as the primitive form of papers in ancient Assam.

Another material used for writing and paintings was Tulapat, which had ginned cotton as its ingredient. The oldest painted manuscript on Tulapat are Phung Chin (1437 AD) and the Suktanta Keyompong, both in Tai Ahom language and script. The process of making tulapat is beautifully described by Chaikhang-Let Gohain, an Ahom scholar from Namphakial village.

The other unusual carrier used by the scribes and painters of early Assam is the Banhpat or strips of cleaned and smooth bamboo. Leaves of the Nahar tree (Mesua Ferra), and a kind of leaf known as alpal, were also used for the same purpose. The bamboo strip folios as well as palm leaves were used as a carrier for writing and painting mainly by the Buddhists of Upper Assam and Arunachal Pradesh who belong to the Ahom, Khampti, Taiphake, or Phakial, Nara, Aitonia, Turung and Khamjodia tribes.

Manuscripts and scrolls on muga and other silk were also common in Assam. Sometimes, folios are made from muga cloth and stitched along the top to form a pad. These were also finely illustrated. The Purani Samaguri satra of Sivasagar district has the important Padaputhi manuscript done on muga silk.

The process of preparing ink in Assam was varied and interesting. The most common ink was the black ink, though ink of various colours, like golden ink or Sonar-pani, white ink and invisible ink were also used.

The main ingredient used to make ink is Silikha fruit (Terminalia Chebula). These fruits are seeped in water in an earthen basin for a few days. The whole process of ink production in Assam is indigenous.

Different inks used in Assam were: Kajal Mahi (lamp black), Narikal Mahi, Tel Mahi, Kare Mahi, Sanchi Mahi. The Buddhists of Lakhimpur and Sivasagar also used a kind of ink made from gold dust.