Binita Devi

Binita Devi (born 1986) is an Indian puppeteer from Assam known for her work in putola nach, the traditional puppet theatre of the state. She co-runs Surojit Academy, a performing-arts school in Guwahati, and received the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar from the Sangeet Natak Akademi for 2022 for her contribution to puppetry.

Early life and training Binita Devi was born in Guwahati, Assam, in 1986. As a teenager training to become a stage actor, she saw a puppet drama performed at the Srimanta Sankaradev Kalakshetra, a cultural institution run by the Assam government's Department of Cultural Affairs, in 2003, and decided to learn puppetry there.

Awards and recognition Year Award Notes 2013 Junior Fellowship Ministry of Culture, Government of India, for work on magnetic puppetry. 2022 Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar Sangeet Natak Akademi, for contribution to puppetry; announced February 2024 and conferred at a ceremony in New Delhi in November 2024.