National Workshop on Preservation of Ancient Tai Manuscripts Held in Namphake Village, Dibrugarh: Experts from Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts Participate
M. Hashim Ali,Dibrugarh,Rongili Barta- A national-level workshop on the reading, writing, and preservation of ancient Tai language manuscripts, which are preserved on handmade paper in the Buddhist monastery of the historic Namphake village in Naharkatia, began on January 10. The workshop was organized by the Directorate of Historical and Antiquarian Studies of the Assam Government, in collaboration with the Tai Phake Language Study and Research Centre, and was held in the museum hall of the Namphake Buddhist Monastery. In the inaugural session, Dr. Sangeeta Gogoi, the Director i/c of the Historical and Antiquarian Studies explained the objective of the workshop. She mentioned that the department has already taken steps to preserve Buddhist literature and ancient Tai manuscripts found in various Buddhist monasteries across Assam, and this initiative will continue in the future. Dr. Shashikanta Shaikia, the Principal of Dibrugarh Kanoi College, participated as the chief guest and described ancient manuscripts as a source of human civilization, knowledge, and thought. Dr. Aachal Pandya, Professor and Head of the Department at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) in New Delhi, participated as a guest speaker. He encouraged the participants to advance in the practical field by learning the scientific preservation techniques for ancient manuscripts through the workshop. He emphasized that such efforts would help extend the life of ancient manuscripts for several centuries.Dr. Pandya also assured that IGNCA would always provide assistance in the preservation of ancient manuscripts. He was impressed and encouraged to learn that over 300 manuscripts on various subjects are preserved in the Namphake Buddhist Monastery library. He expressed hope that a program would be implemented for the permanent preservation of these manuscripts in the future.The inaugural ceremony was attended by Rev. Itika Mahathero, the “Sanghanayak” (head of Buddha Bikkhu Sangha, Assam,Arunachal Pradesh), and Jyanapal Mahathero, the head of the Namphake Buddhist Monastery and president of the All Assam Buddhist Association, who also delivered speeches.The three-day workshop included contributions from Dr. Satyendra Kumar, Assistant Professor at IGNCA; Jitendra Chauhan,and Probably Chakrabarty Project Coordinator at IGNCA. They provided hands-on training on how to permanently preserve ancient manuscripts from further damage and how to restore torn pages to their original state. Librarians and students from Naharkatia College, along with participants from several other colleges in Dibrugarh, took part in the workshop. Additionally, people from Sapehakati, Chulapathar, Namsai in Arunachal Pradesh, and Namphake village participated. The workshop also received full support from Dr. Namrata Kakoti from the Department of the History and Antiquarian Studies, Dr. Kaushik Das from the IGNCA office in Guwahati.