Sarma received his Masters degree in visual arts from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata in 1993. Since then, he has held several group shows. In 2007 he participated in Beauty and the Void at Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata, Nehru Centre in Mumbai, A Confluence of Art at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore, Celebrating India-111, organized by Talent Resurgence and Youth, at Birla Academy, Kolkata.
 
His numerous awards include Best Exhibit in Oil Painting from Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, 1993, Atul Bose Award for best Water Colour, from Academy of Fine Art, Kolkata, 1988, Pratima Tagore Memorial Award from Indian Society of Oriental Art, Kolkata, in 1984, and several certificates of merit.
 
Sarma has participated in several workshops in the past decade and his works are in the Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Larson & Tubro, and numerous private collections in the UK, USA, France, and India.