Assam has always remained one of the most
forest-covered states of the country, and the variety of wood and timber available
here have formed a part of the people's culture and ecomony.
An Assamese can identify the timber by touching it even in darkness, and can
produce a series of items from it. While decorative panels in the royal Ahom
palaces of the past and the 600-years old satras or Vaishnative monasteries
are intricately carved on wood, a special class of people who excelled in wood
carving came to be known as Khanikar , a surname proudly passed down from generation
to generation.
The various articles in a satra and naam-ghar(place of worship) are stiff
cut on wood, depicting the guru asana (pedestal of the lords), apart from
various kinds of birds and animals figuring in mythology.
Modern-day Khanikar have taken to producing articles of commercial values, including
figures of one-horned rhino and replicas of the world-famous Kamakhya temple
- two items heading the list of demands of a visitor from outside.
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