Gauripur

Gauripur is located in Dhubri District of Assam on the banks of the river Gadadhar, 15 kms from the Indo-Bangladesh Border. It was a major town in western Assam during the Mughal period. Later on, during the British period it gained significance under the Zamindary of Raja Prabhat Chandra Barua. Raja Prabhat Chandra Barua can be called the chief architect of modern Gauripur town. He built the famous Matiabag Palace in 1914. It is a variable living museum of the royal family of Gauripur. The Gauripur Town Committee is another landmark of the area, established in 1919. It is one of the oldest urban local bodies of Assam where dynamic schemes of development were adopted. Raja Prabhat Chandra Barua was also a patron of music, arts, drama and indigenous culture of the region. He along with his granddaughter, Smt Pratima Pandey Barua sowed the seeds of Goalparialokasangeet (folk song). Moreover, his son, Shri Pramathesh Chandra Barua, was a director, actor, writer and cinematographer who became a pioneer of Indian Cinema. His film Apradhi was the first Indian film which was shot under artificial lights. In 1935 he went on to direct the classic film Devdas in Bengali and later in Hindi with K.L. Saigal as the main lead. About 6 kms from Gauripur is a quaint village, Asharikandi, famed for the fascinating terracotta and fine art products. This traditional craft is practiced with a special type of soil found here known as hiramati which nurtures the ‘Asharikandi’ style of Terracotta.