From living room to heritage hub

A personal project in search of collectibles that tell a story materialised into a home visited by tourists in search of authenticity and roots, says Prasanta Mazumdar

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WHEN Dikpal Lahan decorated the living room of his newly built house in Lahon village in Assam’s Lakhimpur district, he did it for love, not visitors.

He filled the space with antiques that carried echoes of Assamese and British culture. After he shared photos on social media in 2017, visitors arrived.

He built the house beside his family’s 113-year-old ancestral home and hunted for objects that spoke of the past. His collection includes the “hati khujiya bati” (a bowl as large as the sole of an elephant’s foot), “dola” (palanquin), “hengdang” (Ahom sword), “khundana” (pestle and mortar), a 150-year-old bed, a 17th-century “hasipat” (manuscript), “bakdhonu” (musical instrument), a gramophone with the first Assamese telefilm “Jaymoti” record, coins, handcrafted Assamese items and British furniture.