Samit Roy:SARA PAINTINGS
Of Barak Valley
The circular disc made with clay painted with figures or motifs
are popularly known as Saras. These are used in rural Barak Valley
in connection with Pujas and sometimes connected with Vratas.
The representation of Goddess Lakshmi, Durga and Radhakrishna
are found popular. These are extensively made as seasonal work,
usually once a year, for the purpose of Durgapuja, Lakshmipuja and
also on the occasion of Jhulan Purnima. Direct association of these
paintings with rituals or some sort of magical beliefs has helped
these paintings to retain their original characters. Besides this, Sara
is also sometimes hung up on the wall with a string passed through
two holes at the top, after the Puja ceremony is
over. These are also being used as decorative
plaques, depicting both divine and secular motifs.
In Barak Valley, now a days, there is little
demand of Saras. It is due to the change in the
socio- economic pattern of urban as well as in
rural life. Now these painters are a fast vanishing
race. Most of them gave up the profession of
making Saras because of the lack of customers’
demand and choose different professions and are
struggling hard for survival. Only a few of them
still traditionally make Saras, once a year but
the whole year they are making clay models or
Potteries and marketing largely in the different
parts of Barak Velley. They started making Saras
with clay about six months before Laxmipuja and
paints the Saras two months before Laxmipuja.
But these extreme isolation cannot go for long.
Not only communication with other people,
but also the parallel growth of urban industries
effected rural life. But for Barak Valley, folk
art still maintains some amount of vitality and
continuity, conserving social values which
urbanization tends to destroy. We therefore,
propose to make a record of this immemorial
traditional life through study and discussion of
Sara painting of Barak Valley.Sara paintings are found even today in some
isolated pockets of rural Barak Valley. Besides, it is
not yet difficult to make a direct contact with the
artist – craftsman working in the age-old method
and technique. I have therefore, gone deep into
the works in their own socio – cultural, economic
environment. By doing this, we have been able to
study not only every details of this but the date
upon which this work is based as it came out from
interviews with painter – craftsmen.

Such families living at the village Panibora in
Cachar district of Assam, who are still actively
making these Saras and largely distributing their
works throughout Barak Valley. They are two
brothers, popularly known as Dinesh Paul and
Gandhi Paul, sons of Jitendra Paul, might have
been the last persons preserving this tradition of
making Saras. They originally came from village
Sureswar of Faridpur District in Bangladesh and
shifted to India 44 years back, when Dinesh Paul
was aged 16 years. Traditionally their profession
is making Potteries and Saras. After them it is
uncertain to say their next generation may adopt
this traditional work or not. In the interviews,
it is said that, their present generation refuse
to accept (have no interest) this Sara painting
because of the gradual falling of demand.
The other Sara painters also found in the
other parts of Barak Valley who are occasionally
making Saras according to the customers demand.
Among them whom I have personally met are,
Kajal Chandra Paul & Radhaballav Paul of Srikona in Cachar
District, Ashoutosh Paul of Lalaghat in Hailakandi District and
Shambhu Paul of Katlichara in Hailakandi District.