MAATI was vibrant and diverse as usual, maintaining (sometime with difficulty) the core values of what Assam means, and how it is a rare example of trying to keep the flag of diversity flying against many forces. In that very context it was by sheer luck that our visit coincided with a sort of festive, pre-christmas fete being held in its small courtyard. When I asked the founder (and mover of MAATI) about it, he simply said: just some young people having fun. Nice. That's how it should be. And ought to be. The difference from my last visit, which was in 2018, I think, was a wider collection of textile from all over the northeast, earlier it was more art centred ( in the traditional sense of the word art). My suggestion would be to keep the price tag on some of the items, for example, the ones by some other agencies, NGOs, should be kept on a check (e.g. each of the Little Naga collection costs 1500/-, if I remember correctly) -- the idea is not to give the impression that it's exclusive and elite, but rather that MAATI is meant as a forum that is inclusive, and it stands for a place not just to visit and procure, but to learn and to feel safe.