Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Traditional crafts


Traditional crafts

Main article: Traditional crafts of Assam
See also: Assam silk
Bell metal made xorai and xophura are important parts of culture; offerings with respect are made using these during festivals and religious ceremonies and are seen as respectable items.
A traditional brass dish from Assam.
A page of manuscript painting from Assam; The medieval painters used locally manufactured painting materials such as the colours of hangool and haital and papers manufactured from aloewood bark.
Assam has a rich tradition of crafts; presently, Cane and bamboo craft, bell metal and brasscraft, silk and cotton weaving, toy and mask making, pottery and terracotta work, wood craft,jewellery making, musical instruments making, etc. remained as major traditions.[47]Historically, Assam also excelled in making boats, traditional guns and gunpowder, ivorycrafts, colours and paints, articles of lac, agarwood products, traditional building materials, utilities from iron, etc.
Cane and bamboo craft provide the most commonly used utilities in daily life, ranging from household utilities, weaving accessories, fishing accessories, furniture, musical instruments, construction materials, etc. Utilities and symbolic articles such as Xorai and Bota made from bell metal and brass are found in every Assamese household.[48][49] Hajo and Sarthebari(Xorthebaary) are the most important centres of traditional bell-metal and brass crafts. Assam is the home of several types of silks, the most prestigious are: Muga – the natural golden silk, Pat – a creamy-bright-silver coloured silk and Eri – a variety used for manufacturing warm clothes for winter. Apart from Sualkuchi (Xualkuchi), the centre for the traditional silk industry, in almost every parts of the Brahmaputra Valley, rural households produce silk and silk garments with excellent embroidery designs. Moreover, various ethno-cultural groups in Assam make different types of cotton garments with unique embroidery designs and wonderful colour combinations.
Moreover, Assam possesses unique crafts of toy and mask making mostly concentrated in the Vaishnav Monasteries, pottery and terracotta work in lower Assam districts and wood craft, iron craft, jewellery, etc. in many places across the region.

[edit]Fine arts

Main article: Fine Arts of Assam
See also: Culture of Assam
The archaic Mauryan Stupas discovered in and around Goalpara district are the earliest examples (c. 300 BC to c. 100 AD) of ancient art and architectural works. The remains discovered in Daparvatiya (Doporboteeya) archaeological site with a beautiful doorframe in Tezpur are identified as the best examples of art works in ancient Assam with influence ofSarnath School of Art of the late Gupta period. Many other sites also exhibit development of local art forms with local motifs and sometimes with similarities with those in the Southeast Asia. There are currently more than forty discovered ancient archaeological sites across Assam with numerous sculptural and architectural remains. Moreover, there are examples of several Late-Middle Age art and architectural works including hundreds of sculptures and motifs along with many remaining temples, palaces and other buildings. The motifs available on the walls of the buildings such as Rang Ghar, Joydoul, etc. are remarkable examples of art works.
Painting is an ancient tradition of Assam. Xuanzang (7th century AD) mentions that among the Kamarupa king Bhaskaravarma's gifts to Harshavardhana there were paintings and painted objects, some of which were on Assamese silk. Many of the manuscripts such as Hastividyarnava (A Treatise on Elephants), the Chitra Bhagawata and in the Gita Govinda from the Middle Ages bear excellent examples of traditional paintings. The medievalAssamese literature also refers to chitrakars and patuas.
There are several renowned contemporary artists in Assam. The Guwahati Art College in Guwahati is a government institution for tertiary education. Moreover, there are several art-societies and non-government initiatives across the state and the Guwahati Artists Guild is a front-runner organisation based in Guwahati.

[edit]Economy

Main article: Economy of Assam
In the 1950s, per capita income in Assam was little higher than that in India. In 2000–01, in Assam it was INR 6,157 at constant prices (1993–94) and INR 10,198 at current prices; almost 40% lower than that in India.[50] According to the recent estimates,[51] per capita income in Assam has reached INR 6756 (1993–94 constant prices) in 2004–05, which is still much lower than India's.
A tea garden in Assam: tea is grown at elevations near sea level, giving it a malty sweetness and an earthy flavor, as opposed to the more floral aroma of highland (e.g. Darjeeling, Taiwanese) teas.

[edit]Macro-economy

Economy of Assam today represents a unique juxtaposition of backwardness amidst plenty.[52] Despite its rich natural resources, and supplying of up to 25% of India's petroleum needs, growth rate of Assam’s income has not kept pace with that of India’s; differences increased rapidly since 1970s.[53] Indian economy grew at 6% per annum over the period of 1981 to 2000, the same of Assam was only 3.3%.[54] In the Sixth Plan period Assam experienced a negative growth rate of 3.78% when India's was positive at 6%.[53] In the post-liberalised era (after 1991), the differences widened further.
According to recent analysis, Assam’s economy is showing signs of improvement. In 2001–02, the economy grew (at 1993–94 constant prices) at 4.5%, to fall to 3.4% in the next financial year.[55] During 2003–04 and 2004–05, the economy grew (at 1993–94 constant prices) more satisfactorily at 5.5% and 5.3% respectively.[55] The advanced estimates placed the growth rate for 2005–06 at above 6%.[51] Assam's GDP in 2004 is estimated at $13 billion in current prices. Sectoral analysis again exhibits a dismal picture. The average annual growth rate of agriculture, which was only 2.6% per annum over 1980s has unfortunately fallen to 1.6% in the 1990s.[56] Manufacturing sector has shown some improvement in the 1990s with a growth rate of 3.4% per annum than 2.4% in the 1980s.[56] Since past five decades, the tertiary sector has registered the highest growth rates than the other sectors, which even has slowed down in the 1990s than in 1980s.[56]

[edit]Agriculture

Accounts for more than a third of Assam’s income and employs 69% of workforce.[57]Assam's biggest contribution to the world is tea. It produces some of the finest and expensive teas and has its own variety Camellia assamica. Assam also accounts for fair share of India’s production of rice, rapeseed, mustard seed, jute, potato, sweet potato, banana, papaya,areca nut and turmeric. It is also a home of large varieties of citrus fruits, leaf vegetables, vegetables, useful grasses, herbs, spices, etc.
Assam’s agriculture is yet to experience modernisation in real sense. With implications to food security, per capita food grain production has declined in past five decades.[58]Productivity has increased marginally; but still lower comparing to highly productive regions. For instance, yield of rice (staple food of Assam) was just 1531 kg per hectare against India’s 1927 kg per hectare in 2000–01[58] (which itself is much lower than Egypt’s 9283, US’s 7279, South Korea’s 6838, Japan’s 6635 and China’s 6131 kg per hectare in 2001[59]). On the other hand, after having strong domestic demand, 1.5 million hectares of inland water bodies, numerous rivers and 165 varieties of fishes,[60] fishing is still in its traditional form and production is not self-sufficient.[61]
The Assam Agriculture University is located at Jorhat, Assam. It is the only agricultural university for the Seven Sisters.

[edit]Industry

Apart from tea and petroleum refineries, Assam has few industries of significance. Industrial development is inhibited by its physical and political isolation from neighbouring countries such as Myanmar, China and Bangladesh and from other growing Southeast Asian economies; ultimately leading to neglect by the federal government in regards to development – a key motivation for separatist groups.[62] The region is landlocked, situated in the eastern periphery of India and is linked to the mainland by a flood and cyclone prone narrow corridor, known as the Siliguri Corridor or Chicken's Neck, with weak transport infrastructure that have remained undeveloped since independence. The international airport in Guwahati is yet to find airlines providing direct international flights. The Brahmaputra suitable for navigation does not possess sufficient infrastructure for international trade and success of such a navigable trade route will be dependent on proper channel maintenance and diplomatic and trade relationships with Bangladesh.
Processed Assam tea
Assam is a major producer of crude oil and it accounts for about 15% of India's crude output,[63] exploited by the Assam Oil Company Ltd., and natural gas in India and is the second place in the world (afterTitusville in the United States) where petroleum was discovered. Asia’s first successful mechanically drilled oil well was drilled in Makum (Assam) way back in 1867. Most of the oilfields are located in the Upper Assam region. Assam has four oil refineries located in Guwahati, Digboi, Golaghat (Numaligarh) and Bongaigaon with a total capacity of 7 Million metric tonnes (7.7 million short tons) per annum. It is worth mentioning here that Asia's first refinery was setup at Digboi and discoverer of Digboi oilfield was the Assam Railways & Trading Company Limited (AR&T Co. Ltd.), a registered company of London in 1881.[64] Despite its richness in natural resources, the benefits have yet to improve the lives of the people of Assam.
Although having a poor overall industrial performance, several other industries have nevertheless been started, including a chemical fertiliser plan at Namrup, petrochemical industries at Namrup and Bongaigaon, paper mills at Jagiroad, Panchgram and Jogighopa, sugar mills at Barua Bamun Gaon, Chargola, Kampur, cement plant at Bokajan & Badarpur, cosmetics plant (HLL) at Doom Dooma, etc. Moreover, there are other industries such as jute mill, textile and yarn mills, silk mill, etc. Unfortunately many of these industries are facing loss and closure due to lack of infrastructure and improper management practices.[65]

[edit]Education

Main article: Education in Assam
See also: List of educational institutions in Assam
Cotton College in Guwahati initiated modern tertiary education and research in Assam and has been continuing classical and high-educational standards for more than hundred years; many of the buildings in the college are excellent examples of Assamese architecture with colonial flavours.
Academic complex of IIT Guwahati
Assam boasts of the most wide-ranging networks of higher educational institutions in the whole of North-Eastern region of India. Assam has developed into a top educational destination at the state as well as at the national level. To enhance the status of Assam education, the state government has introduced many innovative education polices. It’s capital city; Guwahati is a key destination for higher education for students of the whole of north-eastern region. One of India's best boarding schools The Assam Valley School is located in the Balipara district of Assam. It is a co-educational residential school. It is an ICSE school. This article offers an understanding of Assam Education system.Assam has several institutions for tertiary education and research. The major institutions are:

[edit]Universities

[edit]Medical Colleges

[edit]Law Academy

The National Law School & Judicial Academy, Assam (NLSJAA) promises to be an exciting new development in the field of legal education in North Eastern India. The institution is in the process of setting up its premises at Amingaon near Guwahati – a city dating back to over a thousand years, and also boasting a rich legal heritage – not only is the Gauhati High Court situated here, but also some of the finest lawyers and judges of the country trace their roots back to this city. Nevertheless, the functions of the institute have already started from its temporary office at Ujan Bazar, Guwahati, and all the necessary arrangements are being made for commencement of its first academic session from August 2011.

[edit]Media and magazine

[edit]Print media

[edit]Magazines

[edit]Electronic media

Posted by Unknown at 5:40 AM

1 comment:

  1. UnknownJuly 1, 2015 at 5:15 AM

    This info is of great help.. Thanks for sharing..................Sthapati Architects, Specialises in Traditional architecture in Chennai. We have also designed Temple architecture in Chennai.

    Traditional Architecture In Chennai

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