Assam painter Neel Pawan Baruah dead

GUWAHATI: A day after popular Assamese actor Nipon Goswami died due to heart-related issues, renowned painter Neel Pawan Baruah breathed his last around 3.15 pm on Friday following a prolonged illness. He was 86.
Baruah was undergoing treatment at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) since September 22, 2022.
Principal-cum-chief superintendent (GMCH) Prof Achyut Ch.Baishya said, "Neel Pawan Baruah was admitted to GMCH with complaints of fever with difficulty in breathing. He was undergoing treatment at the ICU. We had to put him under mechanical ventilation after his health deteriorated four days ago. We tried our level best to save him as he was admitted here for more than a month now. The state has lost another renowned artist."
Expressing his sorrow over the death of Neel Pawan Baruah, CM Himanta Biswa Sarma said the renowned artist not only enriched the world of painting in the state but also in the field of art as a whole.
Deputy commissioner (Kamrup Metro) Pallav Gopal Jha said, "We had a word with the family members of the renowned artist. His body will be taken to his Beltola residence and will be laid to rest with full state honours at the Nabagraha cremation ground on Saturday."
The brother of the renowned artist, Sunil Pawan Baruah, told the media that the body of the artist was taken to his residence in Guwahati's Beltola locality. "I had a word with the Kamrup DC. His final rites will be performed under the supervision of the state government on Saturday. Apart from me, members of Charu Karu Kala Parishad, Basundhara Kala Niketan and Gauhati Artists' Guild are all here," said Sunil.
Sunil added that his elder brother's funeral procession will begin at 12 noon on Saturday from his Beltola residence and will move towards Gauhati Artists' Guild and Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra, among five other places, for last tributes.
"His last rites are likely to begin from 2 pm," added Sunil Pawan Baruah.
Neel Pawan Baruah was born on June 1, 1936 at Teok in Assam's Jorhat. In 1966, he began teaching at Guwahati Art College. In 1968, he joined Dr Sobha Brahma - Music & Fine Arts College.
Neel Pawan Baruah's first art exhibition was held in the year in 1970. He joined the famous Viswa-Bharati University in Shantiniketan in 1961. The noted painter went on to establish the Charu Karu Kala Parishad in Assam's Charaideo in 1971.
Baruah was married to Dipali Borthakur in the year 1976, the renowned singer of Assam who was nicknamed "The Nightingale of Assam" for her mellifluous voice. She was diagnosed with motor neuron disease, which kept her bedridden for more than five decades, until she died in 2018.
The noted artist was conferred with the 'Assam Sourav' Award in 2021 by the state government in Assam.