Bitupan Saikia Writes the Music of The Winners

When a college wins a trophy at a youth festival, it is usually the institution’s name that makes the headlines. The performers receive applause, the college celebrates its victory, and the competition moves on to the next event. But behind every coordinated performance is someone who brings the music together, often without receiving the same recognition.

Across Gauhati University’s youth festival circuit, one name has repeatedly appeared in the credits of folk orchestra performances: Bitupan Saikia.

A flautist and folk music composer from Assam, Saikia has built a portfolio of college performances, arranging traditional sounds into competitive folk orchestra compositions. His YouTube channel, bitupan flute saikia, has approximately 1,800 subscribers and a simple description: “folk music”. Yet, the videos reveal a much larger story about the musicians working behind the scenes to keep Assam’s folk traditions alive on college stages.

Saikia’s work has travelled across several institutions participating in Assam’s university cultural circuit.

At Gauhati University’s East Zone Youth Festival in 2026, Jagiroad College secured third prize in the folk orchestra category, with the composition credited to Saikia. His name also appears alongside Barnagar College’s folk orchestra performance at the 2025 festival and Nagaon College’s performances during the 2023–24 festival season.

His portfolio extends beyond competitions. A folk orchestra performance by Cotton University, organised in connection with a NAAC visit, also carries his composition credit.

Saikia’s YouTube channel offers an interesting perspective on this overlooked side of campus competitions. Rather than functioning simply as a collection of performances, it serves as a portfolio of compositions associated with different institutions and festival seasons.

Folk orchestra is a distinctive category at university youth festivals, bringing together multiple traditional instruments in a coordinated musical performance. In Assam, instruments such as the pepa, dhol, taal and flute contribute to an ensemble that draws inspiration from the state’s rich folk traditions.

Unlike a solo performance, an orchestra requires careful arrangement. Each instrument must have its place, melodies must transition smoothly, and the ensemble must work together within a limited performance window.

This is where composers like Saikia play an important role. Their work involves shaping traditional musical elements into arrangements that student musicians can learn, rehearse and present as a collective.

The scale of these competitions makes that contribution particularly relevant. Gauhati University’s 2025 Youth Festival brought together more than 700 participants from 60 colleges across 18 districts. The four-day celebration featured music, dance, theatre, fine arts and literature, turning the university campus into what organisers described as a miniature representation of Assam’s cultural diversity.

As Assam’s youth festival circuit continues to grow, musicians like Bitupan Saikia demonstrate how cultural preservation is also a collaborative creative process. Saikia’s work raises an important question about how student cultural achievements are celebrated. When a college wins a folk orchestra competition, the trophy recognises the institution and its performers. But the composition itself is also a creative achievement, one that deserves acknowledgement.

For students hoping to explore Assamese folk music, Saikia’s YouTube channel provides a starting point to discover how folk compositions are presented on contemporary college stages.