Skip to content Skip to navigation

Conference on Assam at Britism Museum

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-east India 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.

 ----

Assam: textile transmission and the performance of dance

Friday 8 July & Saturday 9 July 2016 Stevenson Lecture Theatre, British Museum


Friday 8 July

09.30     Registration 18.30

10.00     Introduction
Hartwig Fischer, Director, British Museum

10.10     The Brahmaputra Valley: a corridor in monastic geographicity

Indrani Chatterjee, University of Austin, Texas

10.45     Discussion

11.15     Coffee break

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: Krishna dance 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

18.00     Drinks reception

 

Find out more..

Add new comment

Random Stories

More trouble for AIUDF MLA!

11 Sep 2015 - 10:13pm | AT News
 In yet another move that can land Gopinath Das in more trouble, the Boko AIUDF MLA is believed to have enclosed a doubtful affidavit before the Gauhati High Court seeking anticipatory bail in...

Bokakhat Book Fair from January 29

31 Jan 2010 - 2:57am | ThaneswarHazarika
A book fair being organized from January 29 to31st at the premises of Bokakhat Puwati Sahity Xabha Bhaban by SEWA, A Social Environment Workers Association. The book fair includes also various...

Petrol-LPG crisis again!

26 Jul 2017 - 12:26pm | AT News
Petrol and LPG might not reach the people of Assam along with the other north eastern states if the Assam Petroleum Mazdoor Union resorts to an indefinite strike fromThursday reiterating a slew...

Pramod blames govt for unabated encroachment

4 Sep 2011 - 2:21am | editor
Assam CPI leader Pramod Gogoi on Saturday said that 2 lakh acres of land belonging to the state is now under the adverse possession of Bangladesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and...

Other Contents by Author

An undying orgy of violence in Manipur puts Chief Minister N Biren Singh in a tough time to continue his second consecutive term.  Highly placed sources have said the escalating tension in the BJP-ruled north eastern state is forcing the party leadership to consider a change in the state government leadership as an urgent measure to help the state bail out of the crisis that has left 53000 people homeless so far. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who is on a four-day visit to the restive state, is learnt to have been considering all  possible aspects to quell the situation.  The symbolic anthem “We Shall Overcome” reverberated the air filled with tears and fears. All...
Guwahati: Expressing profound grief at the demise of seven brilliant students of Assam Engineering College (AEC) in a tragic late-night accident on 29 May 2023, All Assam Engineer’s Association (AAEA) urges the college authority to impose some basic disciplinary measures urgently. The forum of graduate engineers (many of them AECians) also wishes an early recovery to all the injured students and others in the fatal road mishap.  The AEC Hostel 7 boarders were returning to the residential college campus from western part of the city and faced the accident near the Jalukbari overbridge. The luxury car carrying ten students hit the divider first and then a goods carrier on the other...
In Manipur, tensions have reached a critical point as demands for the removal of Chief Minister Biren Singh or the appointment of a Kuki MLA as Deputy Chief Minister have escalated. The situation took a turn for the worse a day before the scheduled visit of Home Minister Amit Shah, as sporadic gunshots were reported throughout the region. Chief Minister Biren Singh, amidst the growing unrest, has made a bold claim, stating that security forces have successfully eliminated 40 militants since the conflict began. However, these assertions have not been independently verified, leaving room for skepticism and further fueling the already volatile atmosphere. A surge in violence was...
In a tragic road accident that occurred in the Jalukbari area of Guwahati seven engineering students died at spot last night. According to reports, a group of 10 Assam Engineering College (AEC) students traveled in a scorpio car. Seven of the students died after their vehicle colliding with a bolero pick-up van.  Besides, five others including the driver and handyman of the pick-up van were seriously injured in the accident. The deceased students hailed from different parts of the state including Guwahati. They were identified as Kaushik Barua (Mangaldoi), Kaushik Mohan (Sivasagar), Raj Kiran Bhuyan (Majuli), Imon Barua (Dibrugah), Arindam Bhowal (Guwahati), Upanshu Sarma (Nagaon), and...
In a show of solidarity, Manipur fire service personnel commenced an indefinite cease-work strike on Tuesday to protest against the assault on their colleagues by personnel belonging to the 16 Jat Regiment. Firefighters are demanding immediate action against the individuals responsible for the incident, which involved a lathi charge on the firemen. Salam Jiban, the Sub-Officer of Manipur Fire Service Headquarters, stated that the strike was initiated in response to the assault on five firemen near the City Convention Centre, located just a few meters from the new check post in Imphal East. He emphasized that the fire personnel were simply carrying out their duty to extinguish a fire in the...
Guwahati: WWF-India Assam State Office marked the International Day for Biological Diversity on 22nd May with an engaging awareness program held at the Aquaculture and Biodiversity Centre, supported by the Zoology Department of Gauhati University. The event aimed to educate students from various colleges and universities about the significance of biodiversity conservation. Mrs. Archita Baruah Bhattacharyya, the State Coordinator of WWF-India Assam State Office, delivered a warm welcome address to the participants, which included students from esteemed institutions such as the Department of Environment Science, Gauhati University, National Law University & Judicial Academy, Assam...
The North-East Forum for International Solidarity (NEFIS) has strongly criticized the Manipur state government for its inability to maintain peace and normalcy in the region. NEFIS demands the immediate resignation of the Chief Minister of Manipur on moral grounds, holding the government accountable for its failure to ensure peace in the state. The organization has called upon all communities in Manipur to prioritize communal harmony amidst the current atmosphere of communal rift, urging them to engage in dialogue to resolve their differences. NEFIS expressed concern over the role of the state government in sowing animosity among different communities for cheap political gains. The...
The National Federation for New States (NFNS) has expressed deep anguish and concern regarding the ongoing violence in Manipur. The organization has called for an immediate end to the mindless acts of violence which have caused immense suffering to vulnerable sections of society, including the elderly, women, and children. Additionally, the NFNS strongly condemns the destruction of homes, properties, and places of worship. While acknowledging its longstanding relationship with the Kuki State Demand Committee (KSDC), the NFNS appeals to all people groups involved to abandon violence and instead seek peaceful and democratic means to find a lasting solution. The organization believes...
NEHU Campus, 20th April, 2023 - The National Science & Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (NSTEDB), Department of Science and Technology (DST), GoI, has kicked off the Entrepreneurship Awareness Camp (EAC) at the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) campus. The three-day program, organized by the Department of Biomedical Engineering, NEHU and sponsored by the Entrepreneurship Development Institute (EDI), Ahmedabad, aims to equip over 75 students from diverse backgrounds with the knowledge and skills required for entrepreneurship. Esteemed experts from both industry and academia have gathered to interact with the participants, shedding light on crucial topics such as...
Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty, a veteran journalist, will receive the Parag Kumar Das Journalism Award 2023. The award includes a cash prize of Rs 25,000, a citation, and a memento. The award ceremony will take place on May 17. Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty currently serves as the National Affairs Editor for the digital news publication 'The Wire.' The Parag Kumar Das Journalism Award was established to honor the courageous journalist Parag Kumar Das, who lost his life while fighting for the truth. The award recognizes and encourages journalists who tirelessly uncover the truth and bring it to the public.