Learned from his father
Reba Kanta Mahanta’s life is the story of keeping Assam’s Sattriya and Mukha Bhaona tradition alive. According to his 2025 Padma citation, he was born on 19 April 1935 and learned mask-making and Mukha Bhaona from his father, who was a Sattradhikar.
The tradition joins bamboo, cloth, clay paste, colour and theatre. A mask is a craft object in itself, and also part of a performance.
More than a performer
At Khatpar Satra in Sivasagar he did more than perform; he built an institution and a record around the art. He took the lead in starting a girls’ high school and served as its Head Master until 1996. For years he was General Secretary and then President of the District Satra Mahasabha.
He wrote articles on religion, culture and mask-making, and built a museum on the Satra campus that holds masks, musical instruments and Sattriya artefacts.
Craft, story and stage together
IGNCA has documented a Mukha Bhaona performance at Khatpar Satra, a sign of how this living tradition has gained institutional attention.
The heart of his work is that he did not let the mask become mere decoration. He protected its theatre, its stories and the community training around it as well. The 2025 Padma Shri recognises that integrated cultural service.
Sources
- PIB: Padma citation and profile 2025
- President of India: awardee citation
- IGNCA: Mukha Bhaona documentation
- pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2131778&lang=2®=3
- presidentofindia.gov.in/sites/default/files/2023-06/padma_2nd_3.pdf
- ignca.gov.in/PDF_data/aakhyan_brochure.pdf