GUWAHATI: On October 28, renowned Assamese artist, Neel Pawan Baruah passed away at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Guwahati. He was an artist with multiple endowments, from painting, poetry, and mask making to pottery and had studied and explored the culture of Assam. Inspired by the ups and downs of life, he painted abstracts that carried messages of life and living in various forms. His passion for painting dates back to his Shantiniketan days when he joined the Kala Bhawan in 1961. After he passed out from Shantiniketan, he joined the Guwahati Art School, where he taught fine arts to the students and contributed to the art industry of the state. Later, he joined the Guwahati Artists’ Guild and Assam Fine Arts and Crafts Society.
In one of his interviews, Baruah said, “For me art is art. For me, everything is a canvas. I believe everything could be converted into artwork if one knows how to search for meaning in things without life.” He had earlier expressed that the abstract sketches on the cigarette packets are ‘moods of an imaginary mind’ – some happy, some thoughtful, while some others are plain. “For others though, these are mere objects. For me, it is shades of yellow and red. I add some strokes of black to it. And it becomes something that my mind could imagine”, he said. He was also awarded for this creativity by the Society of Arts, New Delhi.
His artistic endeavour unfolds a plane of vision, multistylistic approach, expression and surrealism. Over the years, his artwork has been a combination of conceptualization, experiments and a blend of traditional and symbolic elements. The life story of the couple, Neel Pawan Baruah and his wife, renowned singer Dipali Borthakur is best known for their extraordinary commitments. It is the story of selfless love that both exuberated.
Dipali Borthakur, the yesteryear singer from Assam whose mellifluous voice had captured the hearts of the people in the state throughout the sixties. She was dubbed the ‘Lata Mangeshkar of Assam’ by the legendary musician, Dr Bhupen Hazarika. Often termed the Nightingale Voice of Asom, Borthakur once had dreams of taking Assamese music to the global platform. With songs like “Chenai Moi Jau De”, “Konman Boroxire Sip”, Smt Borthakur’s voice attained a dimension like no one else in the Assamese music scenario.
Just when her voice started striking the chords of the hearts of the people of Assam, she was diagnosed with a severe motor neuron disease in the year 1968 that slowly led her to lose her voice. Her disease made her bedridden and she had to distance herself from music. She sang less than 30 songs before getting affected by the disease at the mere age of 27. In an interview with Times of India, Neel Pawan Baruah said, “I first spotted her at her sister’s house and instantly fell in love with her. In 1976, we got married. My father never opposed my decision, as he could understand what love is being a poet himself. We never craved anything materialistic, but only wanted peace and understanding.”
For the next 43 years, Baruah spent each day taking care of his wife with unflinching dedication. From bathing and feeding her to managing the daily chores while taking care of her needs, it would only be poetic justice to call Baruah’s untiring devotion to Borthakur a beautiful artwork in itself. There was a time when the couple was facing severe financial difficulties, and a livelihood solely dependent on art in India wasn’t enough to meet their daily as well as Borthakur’s medical needs. This led them to find ways to earn their livelihood.
Starting with a tea stall and then renting out rickshaws, Baruah and Borthakur were able to sustain themselves, before the state government took notice and sanctioned the xilpi (artist) pension to Baruah. “Love is God, and there can be no substitute for it. Love is sacrifice and marriage is about maintaining the atmosphere of love in the house,” Borthakur had said upon being asked about love during an interview.
