[1] She received the fourth-highest civilian award of India, the Padma Shri, in the year 1998.
[2] Barthakur was born in 1941 to Bishwanath Borthakur and Chandrakanti Devi[3] in Sonari at Sivasagar, Assam.
[4] After that she began suffering from a severe motor neuron disease which hindered her singing and forced her to use a wheelchair.
[1][7] Barthakur died on 21 December 2018 at Nemcare Hospital, Guwahati, after a prolonged illness.
[9] Barthakur was honored many times, most notably with the Padma Shri award for folk and traditional music in 1990–92.