Devadeep Gupta
Absent River
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Magh 1928
6-Channel sound composition, Family Albums, Minutes-of-the-meetings from early TMS Meetings from the 1920s, Script of Magh, Photographs, Fabric
Assam, 2024
Credits
Script Development and Translation: Sunayana Dutta
Sound Design: Abhijit Chetia Performers: Arundhati Baruah, Gitushmita Lahkar, Nandini Handique, Radhika Goswami, Ruhi Kashyap, Laina Singha and Abhilasha Bharali.
Special thanks to Agora the Space.
Material from the Archives of Tezpur Mahila Samiti, initially digitised by Dr. Hemjyoti Medhi from Tezpur University.

Magh, 1928 is a performative retelling of one of the earliest meetings (in 1928) of Tezpur Mahila Samiti (TMS), a prominent womens’ rights organisation in Assam active since the early 1920s. Shaped from the notes and records found in the archives of the Mahila samiti, the audio work attempts to recreate a meeting between the founding members of TMS, and their discussions of the TMS Manifesto. Presented as an immersive experience for the audience, the work incorporates performative readings, prayers, translations of early minutes-of-the-meetings, family albums etc.
Collaboration with Northeast Lightbox and Tahireh Lal
Magh 1928 on Vimeo, remastered for stereo sound






This project was commissioned by Serendipity Arts Festival, curated by Vidya Sivadasa as a part of Turning: On Field and Work, installed at the Serendipity Arts Festival, 2023
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All images courtesy Phillip Callia