Bhupen Hazarika

Bidai Bhupenda - Love you always

2012-12-15T12:45:00.000+04:00

Tej Hazarika proposes a new trust to safeguard and propagate Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s legacy

2012-02-11T10:55:00.004+04:00

Dear Fans and Followers of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika,

End of December 2011 the following draft proposal for a new trust for my father's legacy was presented to the Govt. of Assam. Since my departure from Assam on November 26th I had been in touch with my family and associates drafting the same proposal, the gist of which I am now making public. While work in the field proceeds unabated, still absent is a universally accepted trust for Dr. Bhupen Hazarika.

*This public statement is not a tool to pressurize anyone, including the Govt. of Assam, to accept my idea; I am releasing this due to the requests and demands of a number of people in Assam who are evidently concerned about the legacy of Bhupenda.*

Cremating my father was a profound blessing. Like his song, I find myself on a confluence of oceans. I feel accepted even as something is expected of me. I opt to honor the motherland through my service. After all I was born in India and for the knowledge of all who do not know, I have been working here through various foundations for many years now. So I regret any disturbance I may have caused people while they grieved. However when I made my views public, I was only reflecting the public's perception and concern about the representation. It surfaced questions and triggered a necessary forum for previously repressed feelings and positions. Honesty and transparency should be key elements supporting his legacy. I have my personal history with my father, my mother, his siblings, and his partner. I had no choice but to make known my deep reservations and to announce the formation of a new popular trust.Read More ......

Sudhakontho Bhupen Hazarika Foundation - Objectives & Proposal

Bhupen Hazarika’s album released

2012-02-06T14:52:00.001+04:00

The Assam Tribune , 06 February 2012

NORTH GUWAHATI, Feb 5 – A music album covering the songs sung by ‘Amritoshyo Putra’ Dr Bhupen Hazarika, at the Judge’s Field, Guwahati, on April 13, 2002 as live programme conceived, directed and produced by Promod Saikia, heritage North East, village Madhupur, College Nagar, North Guwahati, was released for the public recently.

In the album, a rare joint photos of the music mastro and Promod Saikia, of All India Radio, has been presented. The uncommon photograph of the late Sudhakantha was taken by wing commander PL Barooah of Indian Air Force (son of Raibahadur Kanak Lal Barooah) in New Delhi in the year 1966.

In the live programme covered in the album ‘Kavi Samrat’, late Nava Kanta Barooah, was invited to the died by the celebrated singer Dr Hazarika in presenting the song ‘Niyarare phool, apah fulil, apah Seoil.....’ written by the poet in memory of his late second daughter.

An autobiographical account of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika

2012-02-06T10:15:00.002+04:00

Tribute to Bhupen Hazarika

2012-02-05T10:22:00.003+04:00

The Hindustan Times , 30 Jan 2011

Vicckey Goswami and three of Bollywood's prominent singers, Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, Kailash Kher have come together to pay a musical tribute to late Bhupen Hazarika. The veteran singer, composer and film director passed away in November last year due to an organ failure at Andheri's Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani hospital.

Says Viccckey, “When I began thinking of writing this song, I knew it had to be on a high note. What better way to start composing a song on this great man, who influenced millions. Moreover, when I met him and found him unwell, I was convinced to have this tribute.”

The eponymous song has been has been composed, produced and sung by Vicckey, who hails from Hazrika's home state, Assam. Says Vicckey, “I was a close friend of Hazrika. I have witnessed many of his rehearsals at home. He was the one who inspired me to take up music and dedicate my life to it.”

Though Vicckey has sung most of the song, Mahadevan, Kher and Shaan have contributed substantially in it. Adds Vicckey, “Shaan, Shankar, Kailash and me are friends and have worked together in the past. I knew they were absolutely perfect to contribute to this effort.” The seven-minute and 20 seconds long track is in four languages. Shankar and Kailash have sung in Hindi, Shaan in Bengali while Vicckey has crooned in English and Assamese.

Vicckey had formerly worked as a music director on the Salman Khan film, Tere Naam (2003). He is currently working on an
independent English album, which is scheduled to release soon. “The album is topical, lyrically as well as romantically. This style is a new genre and I am coining it as ‘folk-funk’ .”

The Song in Youtube :

Padma Vibhushan for Dr Bhupen Hazarika

2012-01-28T12:51:00.001+04:00

NEW DELHI, Jan 25 – In what is being perceived as a major let-down, Dr Bhupen Hazarika has been nominated posthumously for the Padma Vibhusan Award despite a growing demand for the Bharat Ratna to the legendary singer and composer. The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service.

Dr Hazarika is among seven whose names have been nominated for the Padma Vibhusan, according to an announcement by the Ministry of Home Affairs on the eve of the Republic Day celebrations. Padma Awards, the country’s highest civilian awards, are conferred in three categories–Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.

The awards are conferred by the President of India at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhawan sometime around March-April. This year the President has approved of 109 awards including one duo case (counted as one) and 14 in the category of Foreigners and NRIs and Posthumous. This year, there are five Padma Vibhushans, 27 Padma Bhushans and 77 Padma Shri awards. There are 19 women among the awardees, an official declaration said.

The balladeer and prominent cartoonist Mario De Miranda have been nominated posthumously. Dr Hazarika was the recipient of the Padma Shri (1977) and the Padma Bhusan (2001).

This year, none from the North-east has been nominated for the Padma Bhusan Award, while Sunil Janah of Assam has been nominated for the Padma Shri in the category of Art and Photography. Dr Ralte L Thanmawia of Mizoram has been nominated for the Padma Shri in the category of literature and education.

Meanwhile, notwithstanding pressure on the UPA-II Government to honour Dr Hazarika with the coveted Bharat Ratna, the Centre chose to ignore it. The list of those seeking the highest civilian award of the country is long and quite a few influential names figure in it, said sources, adding that names included that of Choudhury Charan Singh, Sachin Tendulkar, Dhyan Chand, Olympic gold medallist Abhinav Bhindra among others.

Others who also desire the award include popular actor Amitabh Bachchan. Further, names of Mirza Ghalib and Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyaya have also been in circulation for the Bharat Ratna.

Supporting the case of the Dada Saheb Phalke awardee was Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi who personally took the matter with the Prime Minister following huge public demand. The matter was also raised in the Parliament and the North East MPs’ Forum twice passed a resolution recommending the singer’s name for the highest civilian honour.

Reacting to the development, Kumar Deepak Das, who was among the first to raise the matter in Parliament, described it as most unfortunate. Just because he was from Assam, he was deprived of the highest civilian award.

The Prime Minister is a Rajya Sabha MP from Assam but in this case he has failed to honour the sentiment of the people of the State he represents, Das added.

General secretary of NEMPF Biren Baishya, who had called on the Prime Minister and submitted a petition along with chairman Mukut Mithi, said he is still hopeful.

Meanwhile, Khamliana from Mizoram and Md Abdul Bari of Odisha have been jointly selected for the National Communal Harmony Award for the year 2011 in the individual category.

Khamliana, 56, is the founder president of Mizoram Youth Club established in 1990. The Club is a well-known voluntary organisation rendering social service and strengthening national integration in Mizoram.

Source : The Assam Tribune , 26 January 2012

One small song clip from the 1993 movie Papeeha

2012-01-27T22:24:00.001+04:00

Directed by Sai Paranjape
Music Director Bhupen Hazarika
Cast :
Milind Gunaji
Veeni Paranjape Joglekar
Raghuvir Yadav

Invitation for Literary Forum - Kolkata Book Fair

2012-01-20T12:46:00.000+04:00

Lajmi biggest beneficiary of Dr Hazarika’s will

2012-01-10T10:18:00.002+04:00

Source : The Assam Tribune , 10 January 2012

GUWAHATI, Jan 9 – Filmmaker and business partner of Dr Bhupen Hazarika, Kalpana Lajmi, has emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the legendary artiste’s will, while his son Punnag Tej Hazarika was entitled only to his father’s share of inherited plots (revenue) in Tezpur and Nazira.

Tej will be entitled to the claim on the sale of the plot in Tezpur, only if Nripen Hazarika, brother of Dr Hazarika (presently occupying the property) opts to sell the property after due approval from all his siblings or their legal heirs.

The certified and last will signed by the legendary artiste mentioned that his wife and son or the trustees of the Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust will have no right to claim or demand whatsoever the properties bequeathed to Lajmi, including the movable and immovable properties. Lajmi, after Dr Hazarika’s death, will be the chairperson of the Trust till her death.

“Film and television companies, bank accounts, both personal and company accounts, investment be it in cash or gold (jewellery), cheque and property both in India and rest of the world have been earned in equal proportion by Lajmi along with myself and therefore after my death she will be entitled to be the sole owner of the same,” Late Dr Hazarika deposed in his will.

The other properties that were bequeathed to Lajmi include all professional equipment from film and sound for which the trade licence is in the name of Bhupen Hazarika and Kalpana Lajmi, besides the residential flat at Andheri West (Mumbai), all other existing and future bank accounts, pension, cash, investment, jewellery, property, car, rights and receipts of sales both in cash and cheque of film and television software, record, DVDs and CDs made by Dr Hazarika.

Dr Hazarika, in his will, also wished that his share of the 16-bigha land jointly inherited by him and his brothers and sisters located under Jalukbari mauza, should be bequeathed to Kalpana Lajmi with transferable right of sale, gift and mortgage after his death along with the revenue earned from it and the remaining plot (36 kathas) to be divided among the brothers and sisters and their legal heirs.

“All properties belonging to Kalpana Lajmi and Dr Hazarika’s production companies like Dr Bhupen Hazarika and Kalpana Lajmi Productions and Kalpana G Lajmi Productions and Bhupen Hazarika Productions are separate entities and do not belong to the Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust and hence cannot be attached to it,” the will categorically mentioned.

“All other properties other than mentioned above, movable or immovable, outside Assam belonging to me and the partnership shares belonging to me jointly in the production houses, shall be held occupied by Lajmi with transferable right of sale,” the will signed by Dr Hazarika with Kamal Chandra Kataki and Sumitra Hazarika as witnesses mentioned.

Dr Hazarika, in his will, appreciated the support and help offered by Lajmi in times of distress and further mentioned that after her death, the ownership rights will be vested upon Lajmi’s brother.

Late Dr Bhupen Hazarika bequeathed his share of land at Nizarapar and the two-storied building built on it to the Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust.

The will also stated that the land and the house, which Dr Hazarika built for his Late brother Amar Hazarika, would solely belong to his widow Sumitra Hazarika and no family member, their legal heir or Dr Hazarika’s business partner Kalpana Lajmi can remove, displace or throw her from the Nizarapar compound property nor from her existing house until her death.

“Since Amar Hazarika, Jayanta Hazarika, Bhupen Hazarika and Samar Hazarika have already built their own houses, no members of their family or any other family members can disrupt, encroach, break down or build upon their land or homes. The balance area of Nizarapar property may be divided for homes to be built among the remaining brothers and sisters and their legal heirs other than those mentioned above,” the will mentioned.

Dr Hazarika further wished (as mentioned above) that his share of property inherited from his father Late Nilakanta Hazarika along with his nine brothers and sisters at Nazira (Sivasagar) or the revenue earned by its sale, after his death, to be bequeathed to his son.

The will mentioned that the legendary artiste along with his brothers and sisters had signed away the house inherited by their father in Tezpur in the name of Nripen Hazarika, who has been its occupant for the last several years and that Nripen Hazarika and his family, during Dr Hazarika’s lifetime or after death, will not be given any share of property from Nizarapar.

But if Nripen Hazarika wishes to sell the Tezpur property (as mentioned above), it will have to evaluated at its existing rates and the value of the house and same can be done only with joint signatures of all the 10 brothers and sisters and their legal heirs and thereafter the revenue earned is to be divided equally between Dr Hazarika and his other siblings with transferable right to enjoy, occupy and sale.

After his death, his share of revenue should be given to his son Punnag Tej Hazarika.

The plot of land (300 to 500 bigha) at Sadiya owned by Dr Hazarika has also been bequeathed to the Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust.

The will also said that if his estranged wife Priyamvada Patel Hazarika, residing at Canada and my son Punnag Tej Hazarika or either of them refuse or deny or fail to respond to accept my properties bequeathed to them by me within 12 months, in that case the refused property will automatically be vested upon the Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust.

All the awards and prizes, both medals and certificates earned by Dr Hazarika, besides copyrights and royalties of books, lyrics, essays, short stories, notations, novels, journal pieces, articles and scripts for films written by Dr Hazarika and royalties from films either on celluloid, cable, video, television and theatre and royalties of all music, tunes, songs made and composed by the legendary artiste by way of and in the manner of audio and video cassettes, audio and video compact discs, long-playing records, short-playing records and all other sound producing future devices containing original lyrics, and music composed by him are the property of the Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust.

Dr Hazarika, in his will, had also given his funeral rights to Lajmi, Sunil Nath (executor of the will), Pranabhiram Baruah and Dr Nomal Borah.

The will was approved and signed by Dr Hazarika on February 17, 2011.

Tribute to Bhupen Hazarika in Mumbai

2012-01-08T12:25:00.000+04:00

Source : Sadin online , 06 January ,2012

Sai Paranjpye's tribute to Bhupen Hazarika

2011-12-31T09:23:00.002+04:00

Sai Paranjpye December 30, 2011 , Indiatoday.intoday.in

I remember Bhupen Hazarika as an affable man who lived and breathed through his music and poetry. Bhupenda, as I fondly called him, was a man with no pretentions as he was a true artist. He worked only for the music and for the love of art. Money was not important for him; it was the least of his concerns. What mattered to him was making good music and tunes which turned out to be soothing melodies. His perpetual smiling face was enlightening to look at and would give us inspiration to stay positive while working with him. Bhupenda's precision at work was inspiring, he would always read the script understand the film, the situation in which the song was being set and then go on to make the right tune. He was one of those people who can be easily called a perfectionist in the true sense. None of the music directors I have worked with to date have shown interest in the whole script and instead just made tunes for the lyrics. I loved his soothing folk and tribal melodies which were considered his trademark. Though he had been ailing for a very long time and wasn't working, it is sad that he is not among us anymore. The Indian music scene has lost its precious gem.

The first time I met Bhupenda was in the early 90s. With a lot of courage I had decided to approach him to make music for my film Papeeha. As it wasn't a mainstream big budget film, I couldn't really offer him a big price. In fact, it was a ridiculously low price to quote to a musician of his calibre. But being the true artist that he was, Bhupenda agreed to work with me for a nominal fee without even an iota of hesitation. I was indebted to him for life.

After the success of Papeeha, I approached him again while making my film Saazin 1996. He was part of the panel of four music directors which included Zakir Hussain and Raj Kamal, who I had signed up for the film. To everybody's surprise, Bhupenda composed the music for the foot tapping and naughty number Baadal Chandi Barsaye. The theme of the film required him to be also filmed in the song. It was a delightful experience shooting him on camera.

Bollywood pays tribute to Bhupen Hazarika !

2011-12-28T11:39:00.005+04:00

Bhupen Hazarika, the legend passed away a month back and Bollywood is still in the state of shock. Bollywood came in huge number to pay their tribute to the multi talented artist.

Jaya Bachchan was spotted at the prayer meet and didn't want to say much. She just said, "He was a legend and a great man. I cannot confine him to one field."

When asked about Bhupen Da, singer Shreya Ghoshal said, "He was a great man, I always wanted to work with him. But unfortunately by the time I came in the industry, he was too ill to work. Whenever we met at an event, he always blessed me and praised me."
There is no doubt that he was legend, but Pritam feels that his success should be celebrated in a bigger way, "He was a man with excellence. I have always told this and again I want to mention that he should be awarded with the Bharat Ratan Award," said Pritam.

Shabana Azmi also praised the artist. She said, "This is the best way of remembering him. He was a legend and the best."
Source : daily.bhaskar.com

Related Video :

The Bard has his own Way

2011-12-25T15:04:00.001+04:00

Source : sentinelassam.com

The highly accomplished poet in Bhupenda, and an intellectual and a visionary therein, will continue to inspire millions down the ages. Of this, there is no doubt

I could have given the title as ‘‘The Bard had (emphasis mine) his own way’’ instead of the one above. But I feel, as everyone else in this region does, that Dr Bhupen Hazarika cannot live in the past; that any past tense attributes will humiliate the genius. He is in the present and will remain so in the future. He is, ergo, immortal; his music a spontaneous flow of passions surging across the cosmos eternally. That this gem is no more in the material world, thus, cannot be an occasion for grief. Let us all celebrate the Bhupen Hazarika Institution.

It was in 1990, when as a 15-year-old given as much to physics as to philosophy (thanks to the very character of my school then, Ramakrishna Mission, Along, Arunachal Pradesh), I was introduced to Bhupenda. My late father was his great fan; he was not much into music, but then Mukesh and Bhupenda were his favourites — more so the latter. Songs — nay, poetry — such as saagar sangamat.., aakaashi gangaa.. and O bideshi bandhu... were then planted into my heart. My father would often hear me hum, smile, and then with a little rebuke seemed to convey to me that I was doing injustice to the compositions even as he would appreciate my endeavour. Though I could not make much sense of what the legend meant, I loved his songs for the sheer brilliance of their manifestations from poetry of a different kind altogether. Thus, amid the ambience of RK Mission, combined with that of St Edmund’s, Shillong later on, I grew up listening to Bhupenda’s mellifluous music.

It was, if I am not wrong, the famous lyricist Gulzar who had translated Bhupenda’s poetry into Hindi. The bard’s Hindi rendition was flawless; his pronunciation so perfect that it was hard to believe that an Assamese had sung it all. ... O Ganga tum behti ho kyon... had already become a hit. The poet had already acquired a larger-than-life image. He deserved that. And when the Dadasaheb Phalke Award came his way, the Sadiya-born music guru attained a different stature. Gradually the people of Assam — often used to pulling each other’s legs — began to realize the gravity of that personality.

What made Bhupenda so special? The answer is simple: He was a poet who rendered music to his poetry and sang it as though a commoner were singing his heart out either due to joy and celebration of life or because he was grappling with a profundity of sorrow and frustration, at times anger too against the system. Bhupenda was special because he was a poet specially for the masses; the people could identify themselves with his creations. His music, the baritone voice apart, was extraordinary in the sense that it could so neatly encompass the import of his words, his message to the humanity at large, that inner quest for something unspeakable and yet that was being sung aloud, that desire to traverse unknown territories of emotions and passions, that smouldering angst, that burning yearning to test and taste life in all its forms. Who would be not special if he were to chart out a course thus?

He was special also because he had such a wonderful academic career. Getting a Master’s from BHU at 20 years of age, sailing for a PhD in Mass Communications at the University of Columbia, coming back and joining Gauhati University as a Lecturer, and then leaving the job to pursue his passion are things not within the capabilities of many on earth. Bhupenda was special because he was an intellectual. He was a thinker, a very deep one at that. Someone who had pondered on the vicissitudes of life and sought to dig a meaning out of it in order to celebrate it regardless of its dimensions of woes, hate and envy. He was, in that sense, a philosopher.

This is not all. His works have a deep impact on societal studies — call it sociology or whatever. His poetry is a manifestation of the nuances of societal engagements and orientations. He delved deep into the inner recesses of the diverse societies of the Northeast, trying to understand the totality of it all, to discover the common strands therein, to add to their march in the trajectory of human civilization, and to inspire them to remain united come what might. As he invoked the Kameng or the Subansiri of Arunachal Pradesh, as he did with the mighty Brahmaputra ( about 100 of his compositions are dedicated to the Brahmaputra), he would refer to the lives of the people who lived by them, sustaining themselves despite all odds, drawing strength from the flowing waters, sometimes calm, sometimes turbulent, often life-giving, but sometimes turning into a killer; he would point to their cultures, their little joys, their sorrows — often enormous because of the terror those rivers would unleash as they swelled in summers — their relentless struggles, their successes and defeats. Every poem, thus, of the legend is a story — the story of us all.

Bhupenda was a great romanticist. You can define romanticism (do not confuse the word romanticism with romance) in many ways, but what the bard stood for was an element of life that was so capable of generating zeal and zest for life that it was virtually impossible to live a moment without celebrating it, amid its lugubriousness, whatever it might be, or without hoping for a change towards beauty, hence joy (after all, a thing of beauty is a joy for ever, right?). In the romanticism of Bhupenda you can discover a desire for life in its full blossom, for beauty in its absolute majesty, for truth in its untainted hue, for God in its barrierless form. Such persons are rare.

Hence I welcome the decision of the Tarun Gogoi government to have his body cremated at the Gauhati University campus. The poet-intellectual-visionary-humanist deserves an immortal place at the university. The decision to set up a cultural centre at the spot, so that it could evolve as a site of pilgrimage too on the lines of Rajghat, is a welcome one as well. But far more important is how we the people of Assam preserve the priceless legacy left behind by the genius. The fashion of preservation is what will count the most, and not pompousness and show business, not even these tears that will perhaps cease after some time. Pragmatism is the need of the hour, not rhetoric.

Towards that end, we in The Sentinel, through our editorial titled ‘‘A GU Chair for Bhupenda’’ carried yesterday, have proposed that a special Chair be set up at Gauhati University, to be adorned by a Professor having mastery over interdisciplinary studies, for the purpose of rigorous research in the Bhupen Hazarika universe. The Chair may be called the Bhupen Hazarika Chair, attracting students not just of musicology but also of literature, political science, sociology and philosophy. The Chair could go a long way in the making of new ideas stemming from the works of our beloved bard.

In the ultimate analysis, Bhupenda, as a poet first, was a free man, and in that freedom lie the seeds of creativity, in such creativity lies the genesis of geniuses like the one in question, and in such geniuses lies the cradle of civilization.

Salute to you, Bhupenda. You have not died! You will be living anew. Sure.

BIKASH SARMAH

Musical tribute to Bhupen Hazarika

2011-12-25T09:59:00.003+04:00

Hindustan Times , December 23, 2011

On December 27, renowned names from the music fraternity will come together to pay homage to Bhupen Hazarika, who passed away on November 5 this year. The 85-year-old legendary musician had suffered multiple organ failure at a Mumbai hospital.

he commemoration, organised by Hazarika's companion filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi, will be held at the lawn of her residence at Lokhandwala on December 27. Noted singer Lata Mangeshkar, along with sisters Asha and Usha, flautist Hariprasad Chaurasia, composers Bappi Lahiri, Himesh Reshammiya and Pritam Chakraborty will be some of the attendees.

"It will be a tribute to Bhupen Hazarika through music. He is not only loved by all for his music, but also for being a great human being," says Lajmi. Chief Minister of Assam Tarun Gogoi and Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan are also expected at the memorial.

An award-winning musical genius from Assam, Hazarika had contributed to the Indian film industry for 72 years as a singer and composer. He had also directed Assamese films like Era Bator Sur (1956), Mahut Bandhu Re (1958), Mon-Prajapati (1979) and Swikarokti(1986). Known for singing compositions in 18 languages including Bengali, Hindi, Oriya and Assamese, he is also remembered for his signature tunes for films like Devdas (1979), Rudaali (1993) and Gaja Gamini (2000).

The memorial will witness musicians dedicating songs to the bard. "We don't want the music fraternity to mourn, but to feel proud of the huge contribution by Bhupen Hazarika," says Lajmi. Adds Pritam, "Bhupen da will always be in our heart. And it is only through music that we can flourish his soul. I have asked my musician friends to join me on his special day because music is the only medium to feel the eternal soul of Bhupen da. That day, we are going to salute the true legend all together."

Movie Poster : Kechason (1959)

2011-12-23T21:59:00.000+04:00

The Bard of Lohit was also a prankster - By Sanjoy Hazarika

2011-12-23T00:04:00.001+04:00

Some years back, I was privileged to work with Bhupen Hazarika and Kalpana Lajmi, his companion of many years and partner in numerous creative ventures, who took care of him with fierce affection, in a documentary series for Doordarshan on the Northeast. My collaboration began when the great man called and asked me to help. Could anyone say no to him?

His haunting melodies torment and inspire us. They fly across the world, on our mobile ring tones, our personal collections, our memories and experiences.

He was more than the Bard of the Brahmaputra. A passionate crusader for rights, for the poor (notice how his early and also later songs drive home the message of equality even in times of pain), he believed in the importance of means over ends. But he was also an incorrigible optimist and even a prankster, with an impish sense of humour. That was as much a part of him as his ability to give love and creativity.

Let me recall an evening, some years ago in Tezpur, where a small group gathered in the elegant drawing room of the (now late) Dr Robin and Dr Laksmi Goswami (Baideau), a couple who were very close to Bhupen Hazarika, sipping drinks and listening to a long-time politician recount of one of his favorite anecdotes in the Assam Assembly. The politician spoke of how a mischief-making MLA had got another Opposition member, who was quite easy to sway, to challenge the then Leader of the Opposition, the late Dulal Baruah, in the House on a point of order. An outraged Baruah thundered at his backbencher to shut up, but the instigator was not done yet. "Press on a point of order," he hissed at his wavering colleague.

"Point of order!" yelled the now-defiant member, who was once again stumped when the Speaker asked him, quite legitimately, "On what grounds?" He fumbled, but then his friend whispered again, "Say, bad grammar." "Bad grammar, sir," suggested the legislator.

The House dissolved in laughter as Baruah gazed balefully at his two tormentors. The name of the questioner is not important, but there is much to be said of the mischief-maker, who was the storyteller himself — none other than Bhupen Hazarika.

Whereas he was a legend in Eastern India for decades, it was his compositions for the film Rudali which won Hazarika recognition across the subcontinent, a recognition which came very late in life. As head of the Sahitya Kala Parishad, he ensured that the Sattirya dance form of Assam was given its rightful place as a classical dance form of India and his own sangeet became immortalised as a new genre, a new school of music, the Bhupendra gharana.

Perhaps the best example of the humanistic ideals that imbue his works is the song Manuhe Manuhar Babe (for man), composed in 1964: If man wouldn't think for man/With a little sympathy/Tell me who will, comrade?/If we repeat history/If we try to buy/Or sell humanity/Won't we be wrong comrade?/If the weak/Tide across the rapids of life/With your help/What do you stand to lose?/If man does not become man/A demon never will/If a demon turns more human/Whom shall it shame more, comrade?

Elsewhere, I have said that Bhupen Hazarika wove the virtues and capacities of several centuries and a handful of truly great Assamese into his life and his compositions, as on the currents of the Brahmaputra, flowed the values and traditions of the Vaishnav reformer Srimanta Sankardeva of the 15th and 16th centuries; the valour and call to arms of Lachit Barphukan, general of the 17th century when Assam defeated a mighty Mughal invasion; the richness of prose and composition of Lakhinath Bezbaruah; the humanity and creativity of Jyoti Prasad Aggarwalla and Bishnu Rabha and then the political steadfastness and courage of Gopinath Bardoloi, Assam's Premier of the 1940s, who stood alone, with Gandhi, against his own Congress party and the Muslim League, refusing Assam to be absorbed into Bengal and thus into East Pakistan.

The Bard of the Brahmaputra has fallen silent but he remains among us through his songs, his music, his films, his convictions and his love for Assam. Just by being amongst us, he enriched us — and single handedly did more for Assam and the region than all politicians, agitators and "underground" groups, media and all of us collectively. Like many others, I have spent these days listening to his music and songs and realising how mighty a figure has fallen and how little we comprehend that he is irreplaceable. And that such a person may not come again for centuries.

The Lohit still flows and rumbles, but where is its singer and interpreter of its maladies? Perhaps the jajabor (wanderer) has, finally, found a resting place. The Bard is immortal.

This is the second of a two-part article on Bhupen Hazarika

When Brahmaputra cried…

2011-12-20T16:35:00.002+04:00

By Bidyut Kotoky , newglobalindian.com , 15 Dec 2011

Wanting to write for the last few days... but was not able to access the proper words... it seemed that the emperor of words had taken his treasure along when he had departed...

The other day, while going through a book I came across an interesting anecdote – narrated by Professor Narayan Parashuram of St. Xavier's College, Mumbai. He was supposedly told by folk-rock legend Bob Dylan that he was inspired by an artiste called Bhupen Hazarika in the early 60s... 'but very unfortunately he hails from a country like India and more unfortunately, he decided to return to that country... had he stayed back here (in the US), a lot of people around the world would have introduced themselves as Bhupenites...'

'Unfortunately return to the country'? Not quite, Mr. Dylan! You should have been in Assam this week (mid—November) to understand how we pay respect our artist ... too bad the national media had not covered it the way they should have to make the people of rest of India experience it first-hand! (On second thought, why should they? After all, this time it was not a serial bomb blasts or discovering of a mass grave in the north-east of India we were talking about! How can the national media think of any other reason to feature Assam/north-east in the front page??).

Over 600,000 people turned out for the funeral of 'the bard of Brahmaputra', Dr Bhupen Hazarika, a record of being the most watched funeral ever (just to understand the magnitude, Michael Jackson's memorial service was attended by 17,500)... However, the statistics reveals only a small part of the complete story. What Bhupen mama means to us, the people of Assam in particular, is impossible to explain in words...As a friend was suggesting the other day, perhaps, the closest analogy could be the influence of Rabindranath Tagore on the people of Bengal –

When we received the news of Bhupen mama's demise after a prolonged illness, we were on our way for a hike to a fort near the hill station of Lonavala. Below the starlight sky up atop the fort, as we were chatting and re-living the moments we had shared with the master weaver of words and melody, one of our 'honorary Assamese' friend commented –'right now we are doing something he would have surely approved off... he was so full of life!'

Lust for life, perhaps, will be a phrase that describes Bhupen mama the best... Even in 85 years of age, he would discuss with us about making a film together... And to live till he is 100, to complete his unfinished work...

Remember vividly the day he came to record the title poem of our bi-lingual film, 'as the River flows'/ 'Ekhon nedheka nadir xhipare...' After recording the Assamese version of the poem, initially he was not exactly happy with how his recitation of the Hindi version was shaping up... and like a small child, was requesting us to give him a little more time to prepare...promising, 'soon you will find my Hindi to be even better than that of Raj Kapoor...'

Remember vividly the time when we went to meet him on his last birthday at the ICU of the hospital, where he was undergoing treatment for the past few months. He was too weak even to open his eyes, but when we requested him to come over to our home to have another meal with fish tenga, he nodded with a smile... one promise which he couldn't keep...

Money never featured in Bhupen mama's life. People close to him jokes about Bhupen mama giving his domestic help Rs 50- to get two kg of fish till recently, unmindful of the fact that was the price of fish more than two decades ago... Kamal Kataky, who played guitar with him in his public performances for last three decades besides doubling as his de-facto manager, had narrated an incident when we went to pay our respect to him in Mumbai's Kokilaben Ambani Hospital. About a decade ago, Bhupen mama was invited for performing in a function close to the Indo- Myanmar border, organised by a minister of the Assam government. At the end of the function, the minister handed over some money in an envelope to Kamal Kataky. Kamal kept the envelope with him – only to discover latter that there was only Rs 10,000 in it. The sum was not enough even to cover their vehicle hiring costs. When Bhupen mama got to know of the amount, his first reaction was whether the minister paid them more or less – so clueless he was about financial dealings. And his immediate next reaction was, 'let's consider it to be another free performance that we have done Kamal...we won't discuss about it ever again.'

'Mriyuo tu eta xilpa,

Jibonor kathin xilat kota ek nirllubh bhaskarya!'

This couplet is penned by one of Assam's premier poet, Hiren Bhattacharya. Roughly translated, 'death is also an art, a stark sculpture carved on the hard rock of life...' It would be difficult to find an Assamese youth who has not quoted this couplet sometime during his/her romantic college life. I was no exception... However, I understood the true meanings of the lines only on the night of November 7. I was awake till the wee hours of morning watching TV, looking at the endless emergence of people on the streets of Guwahati. They had come to visit the departed magician, whose body was kept in Guwahati's historic Judges Field for the people to pay their homage... Initially the body was to be kept there for 12 hours before the funeral scheduled for next morning. But, one could have never imagined what was to follow! People from all walks of life came over from across the country (and abroad) to pay their respects...the queue stretched up to 10kms and more, continued throughout the night... the government was forced to push back the funeral by a day...Yet, after more than 36 hours when the body was finally taken out for the last rights, countless number of people were still pouring in to pay their respect to the departing soul of Bhupen mama ...Doubt whether any artists at any corner of the world had experience such a spontaneous outburst of public adoration! At his death, Bhupen mama succeeded in bringing people from all walks of life together, cutting across all man-made boundaries... a dream which he dreamt of throughout his musical life, which was spread over seven decades ...Truly, can there be a greater 'art'??

On the title poem of As the River flows, which has been one of his last works, he spoke as the voice of the river Brahmaputra –

I know

long ago

the River used to speak.

but when he realised

every drop of pain

flows above horizon of words

he surrendered to silence...

as the funeral fire was embracing the body of Bhupen mama, I could almost hear the great River weep, silently... I told him not to. Because, legends never die...they just turn into folklore...

Potrolekha by Kamal Kataki

2011-12-20T15:14:00.000+04:00

Source : Sadin Online , 16 Dec 2011

Meeting Tej Hazarika

2011-12-20T11:35:00.003+04:00

By Bikul Das, Source : Easternpanorama.in

On a clear sunny morning, when the mortal remains of the great Assamese cultural icon Dr. Bhupen Hazarika was raised to a decorated cremation mound on the banks of Brahmaputra, something extraordinary was unfolding in Guwahati, and the rest of Assam, the eastern-most state of India, bordering Burma (Myanmar). There was a spontaneous outpouring of hundreds and thousands of common men, women and children streaming in to the streets, united and fearless. This was an unprecedented event of mass awakening in an otherwise violent and conflict-ridden region of India.

There was this rising hope in the minds of the common citizens gathered around the cremation mound that Bhupen-da (brother Bhupen in Assamese) was about to achieve something miraculous through his death, a process of resurrection in the souls of every Assamese, enhancing the spontaneous unity that he sought to achieve in his seventy years of relentless efforts through music, cinema and poetry.

But, in that very moment of spontaneous mass awakening and hope, there was just one big ‘unknown’ factor – a tall American, Tej Hazarika, the unknown son of Bhupen-da. This man was supposed to light the funeral pyre to start the process of resurrection of the beloved cultural maestro. But, most Assamese heard his name for the first time. Separated from father during childhood, he grew up in Canada and then in New York, and does not speak the language of Assamese. He kept occasional contact with his father, but spent a “parallel life”. Hence, Assamese folk did not know if Tej would rise to the occasion of the holy, Vedic cremation process. “ Who is Tej Hazarika?” this was, thus a disturbing question in the mind of the commoner of a terror stricken land, in their rare moment of rising hope for cultural unity.

The suspicion and doubt surrounding Tej Hazarika was understandable. Back in 2005, when I got an invitation to meet Tej Hazarika, my immediate reaction was: I never knew that Bhupen-da had a son! Does he share the same love and affection of his father for the culture and people of Assam? I had an opportunity to find an answer to these questions, when I spent an evening at his home in Brooklyn, New York in the spring of the year 2005.

On that spring evening, when I opened the wooden door of an old Victorian house at Brooklyn, a tall man wearing a pair of blue denims greeted me with folded hands. The man identified as Tej Hazarika took me straight to his basement studio where, all of a sudden I was surrounded by various musical instruments including African drums, guitars, and tablas. I decided not to ask Tej anything about his relation with Bhupen-da. Soon, dinner was served and I started feeling at home.

After dinner, Tej Hazarika started singing some of Bhupen-da’s songs. I explained the meaning of several songs, and his singing got more viral, more exciting. We spent hours like that and then, all of a sudden, Tej Hazarika leaned on his chair, his two hands behind his head, eyes fixed on the ceiling. Then he threw these bombshells at me: “Am I really fit to be Bhupen Hazarika’s son? Do I really understand the music, the culture of Assam? I am just not sure about myself.” The moment past, and soon Tej Hazarika talked about how he made the choice to live according to his own life style, independent of his father’s influence. But the moment, the way he was looking at the ceiling, his whole expression took me back to 1992, to a bright sunny morning in Guwahati, India, where I found his father having a similar moment of crisis.

Sitting at Tej Hazarika’s basement, I tried to recall that moment of 1992. I was at Bhupen-da’s home in Guwahati. Bhupen da was sitting just in front of me, looking at the ceiling, his hands tucked together behind his head. It was a warm morning, and the sun was shining bright through a window, near where, another man, an emerging cultural leader of Assam, professor Bimal Bhuyan was sitting. Bimal Bhuyan was my friend who introduced me to the legend. Bhupen-da was working on a plan to re-energize the Assamese youth. As a part of the plan, Bhupen da dropped his filmmaking career in Mumbai to return to Guwahati to instill new energy into Assam Sahitya Sabha, a literary organization having profound influence on Assamese culture. Bhupen da was sure that the Sabha was the right organization to instill a sense of new hope and cultural unity to the terror ravaged Assamese youth. But there was heavy criticism against his plan because some people thought that Bhupen da was not suitable to lead the Sabha as he was essentially a singer and filmmaker, not a literarati. So, the conversation was mainly focused on how to address this criticism, and then decide on a plan to rejuvenate the Sabha. All of a sudden, something unexpected happened. Bhupen da leaned back on his chair, looked at the ceiling, and threw some questions to the air that were something like this: “Am I a writer? Am I singer? Am I fit to be the president of the Sabha? I am just not sure about myself......”. The moment passed, and soon we started talking about the task ahead to lead the Sabha to new heights........For the full story Click here

Rest, Dear Jajabor

2011-12-20T11:00:00.000+04:00

SAMYABRATA RAY GOSWAMI , The Telegraph , November 6,2011

Death at 4.37PM

Three-Day state mourning

Body at JudgesField on Monday and Tuesday

Final farewell on Tuesday at noon

Mumbai, Nov. 5: The jajabor will travel no more.

Balladeer Bhupenda breathed his last at 4.37pm at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital and Medical Research Institute in Mumbai, a few minutes after his partner for 29 years, Kalpana Lajmi, assured him she would take him back to Assam once he got well.

He had been under treatment since April 2009 after he suffered a stroke while performing at a Bihu function at Noonmati in Guwahati. He was 85.

"I was with him from 3.45pm to 4pm. He was conscious. I told him I would take him home after he got well. He rolled his eyes in response and I asked him to rest," Lajmi told The Telegraph.

She came out and told the doctors she didn't think he would survive the day. "They said he would not go away suddenly but I knew he was a fighter and he would not go slowly," Lajmi said.

It was at 4.15pm that the doctors came out and told her that he was "sinking." She went back to his room and after a while the doctors said he was "gone." "They said they could continue keeping him like that for long and that the call was mine. I could not see him in that state any longer and asked them to take him off life support," she said

As news of his death spread, admirers started pouring into the hospital to pay their respects and it was after 7pm that Manisha Hazarika, his sister-in-law, started ushering in visitors in twos into the room inside the ICU where he lay, with his trademark cap on.

"A few days back when he was still conscious he had told me to make sure that his cap was put back when he died and to keep the air conditioner on because he felt hot," Lajmi said.

"He had also wanted to have pabo macher jhol, fried brinjal, aloo posto and kasha mangsho cooked in Bengali style," she said, adding that she told him she would give him all of these once he got well.

"I don't generally cry, but for the past eight days I have been crying... perhaps I knew he was going," she said.

Sandip Hazarika, his nephew, said he had gone to Hazarika's room at 2.30pm. "He was conscious and I connected my phone to our family members who spoke to him. He didn't speak, but it looked like he was recognising the various voices as tears were rolling down his cheeks," he said at the hospital.

The Assam government has declared a three-day state mourning. Hazarika's body will be taken to Guwahati on Monday and kept at Judges Field till noon on Tuesday for people to pay their last respects.

Initially, family members, friends and Lajmi were in two minds about whether to take Hazarika's body to Assam tomorrow or the day after, given the overwhelming pressure from the people to take the body there tomorrow.

The issue was settled after discussions among family members, friends, Lajmi, hospital authorities, Maharashtra health minister Suresh Shetty, Assam chief secretary Naba Kumar Das and officials from Assam chief minister's office.

Hospital authorities said the body could not be sent for embalming today as people were pouring in to pay their last respects till 9.30pm. Since mourners would be allowed between 4pm and 5pm tomorrow as well, the embalming could begin only after that and the body flown to Guwahati the day after. It was then decided to keep the body at the convention centre of the hospital and have it flown to Guwahati by an early morning flight on Monday.

Family members and friends thought of requesting the Assam government to send a special aircraft to take the body. But Shetty pointed out that though Hazarika deserved a special aircraft, at most the government could charter an eight-seater or a 12-seater. In that case many family members and friends would not be able to travel with the body, as the coffin would take up space of about six seats.

Shetty also pointed out that more time was required for a state funeral, as it is conducted by the armed forces and they have to prepare to the last protocol detail and something might be amiss if it was rushed. He cited the instance of Sunil Dutt, who was also accorded a state funeral but full justice could not be done, as his family had wanted the last rites to be completed before sun down that day.

"To make his (Hazarika's) last journey beautiful, give the administration a day," he advised family and friends.

Expressing sadness over his death, chief minister Tarun Gogoi described Hazarika as a legendary figure in many respects who won the hearts of everybody. "He was broad-minded like an ocean," he said in Delhi.

Assam governor J.B. Patnaik said he was shocked to hear about the demise of the "greatest music maestros of our country and one of the most renowned sons of Assam. It is an irreparable loss," he said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also condoled the demise of the legendary singer and composer. "Prime Minister condoles the demise of Bhupen Hazarika," a PMO spokesperson said.

Scores of young Assamese students arrived in Mumbai from Pune in buses to pay tribute to the icon. The turnout of admirers and well-wishers, in fact, comprised 60 per cent of the young.

The jajabor at 86 was as much a youth icon.

Book Cover : Anya Ek Jajabor by Arnab Jan Deka

2011-12-19T11:15:00.002+04:00

Site Report of last three years Google Analytics - Visitors from 100 countries

2011-12-18T16:36:00.002+04:00

Total Visit : 27,497

Visit Per Day : 25

Average Time per visit : 3 Minutes

Total Country : 100

New Visit : 71.51%

Bounce Rate : 59.18%

Open letter to Bhupen Hazarika from Kalpana Lajmi

2011-12-15T10:30:00.001+04:00

Source : Assamiya Khabor , 06-12-2011

Bhupenda writes about Mamoni Raisam Goswami

2011-12-05T16:58:00.000+04:00

Source : Asomiya Pratidin , 30 Nov 2011

With M F Hussain

2011-12-05T13:47:00.001+04:00

One article by Jivraj Burman

2011-12-05T12:09:00.005+04:00

Asomiya Pratidin , 04-12-2011

With Lata Mangeshkhar - 1984

2011-12-05T11:39:00.001+04:00

Bhupen Hazarika : An Obituary

2011-12-04T17:41:00.000+04:00

By Subhash K Jha ,santabanta.com

The voice of Assamese-folk music was stilled on 5 November. Bhupen Hazarika’s close associates went into mourning. Kalpana Lajmi his companion for 4 decades was shattered. I had occasion to meet them both together several times. One can’t imagine the one without the other.

In an interview some years ago Bhupenda had said to me, “I came from Assam to Mumbai to work with the Indian People’s Theatre Movement. It was composer Hemant Kumar who introduced me to everyone in Mumbai including Lata Mangeshkar. I was in love with her voice and wanted her to sing in my first film as a director Tunes From The Deserted Path. She agreed. ”

In the interview Bhupenda had singled out A R Rahman as the notable contemporary composer. However he had warned Rahman against over -work.

Said Bupenda, “He is a great talent but his talent shouldn’t be over-utilized…I’m saddened by presentday music trends. You can’t kill a raga like Bhairavi or a clean melody by Hemant Kumar or Lata Mangeshkar.

Why don’t they have music as a subject in schools? We shouldn’t criticize youngsters for falling tastes. We should berate music composers and companies for marketing rubbish…I want to make a film in Aassamese. ”

Each time we would meet with his faithful companion Kalpana Lajmi besides him he was full of anecdotes songs and dreams. Bhupenda loved beautiful melodies, women and landscapes.

Javed Akhtar who had written words for some some of Bhupen-da’s most memorable songs in Kalpana Lajmi’s Darmiyaan, remembers him as a happy-go-luck soul.

“He always had a smile on his lips, and a twinkle in his eyes. In his songs one could smell the scent of the earth…. Assam ki mitti ki khusboo aati tthi. Whenever I heard him sing his own compositions I could feel the Bramhaputra River flowing through the veins of his compositions. He brought the folk tunes of Assam into Hindi cinema. ”

Javed Akhtar worked in two films with Bhupenda. “One was a film for Amit Khanna’s now-defunct Plus Channel which never got released.

The other was Darmiyaan, a film about an actress (Kirron Kher) and her eunuch son. It was a great challenge writing lyrics for this film. I even had to write a nonsensical lyric Sheena gorey hazy hazy gobbling for Darmiyaan. Not a word of it made sense.

I don’t know who had more fun with it…me while writing the words, or Bhupenda while composing for it. Every time we’d run into each other he’d ask me to recite two nonsensical lines for him. When I did he’d double up with laughter. ”

Javed says Bhupenda had a great sense of humour. “He was always up to something or other. But when he composed he poured his heart into it. And when he sang…oh my God!

I get goosebumps when I hear him sing Duniya parayee log begane in Darmiyaan. We’ve lost a true artiste. That breed is becoming progressively defunct. I feel we artistes now have to walk on our knees to look like dwarfs. ”

Raveena Tandon who worked with Bhupen-da in Daman which Lajmi directed, is shell shocked. “I’ve just got back from Delhi to hear this. You know when I heard Bhupenda was critical I wanted to go and meet him. But Kalpana never replied to my SMS.

I thought maybe they wanted to be left alone. I will always cherish the good times we shared during the making of Daman. We were on a tea estate shooting in Assam for a month. Every night after shooting we’d be sitting around a campfire.

Bhpenda really took care of him. He looked after me like a father. In fact he reminded me of my father. When I got the National award for Daman he was the happiest. God, we’re losing all the great artistes one after another. Soon there’ll be nothing left except mediocrity. ”

Kirron Kher who played the lead in Darmiyaan remembers all the time she shared with Bupenda and Kalpana during the shooting of the film.

“My heart goes out to Kalpana. She stood by him. She was his pillar of strength. It is so sad that Bhupenda is no more. He was supremely talented. He was a legend in his lifetime and full of life. His death is a huge loss to the music world. ”

Shabana Azmi who had the privilege of working with Bhupen Hazarika in Kalpana Lajmi’s Ek Pal and M F Hussain’s Gaja Gamini recalls the musician with misty-eyed affection.

“I loved his music and voice which was unique. He used to come over to my home in Janki Kutir and sing for Abba and Mummy (father Kaifi and mother Shaukat Azmi). You can’t even begin to comprehend his popularity in the North-East specially in Assam.

He was their absolute hero who respresented the voice of the Common Man. He was very inspired by Paul Robeson and used his music as an instrument for social change. My condolences to his family and to Kalpana Lajmi. ”

With Mamoni Raisam Goswami

2011-12-01T12:10:00.000+04:00

The Assamese with a Nepali cap

2011-11-30T23:53:00.000+04:00

Bhupen Hazarika, the voice that represented Assam, its people and its culture for over seven decades fell silent on Saturday. Millions in his home state are still mourning the eternal void created by his demise.

His death has also affected music lovers in neigbouring Nepal, a country whose people and culture, Hazarika loved dearly. The black Nepali cap which he wore for the past many decades and till his last breath is just one example of that close association.

“I wear the cap because I love its shape and also because I love Nepali people, their features and beauty,” he had mentioned in a television interview to an Assamese news channel. Hazarika said that though he had worn the trademark cap since early 70s, he doesn’t remember when exactly he started donning it.

“The black Nepali cap, which is his signature, he began wearing, he says, when his father died many years ago and someone in the neighbourhood gave him a topi to wear. The khukuri pin that adorns the topi is a gift from Hazarika’s friends and admirers in Nepal,” writes eminent writer Sanjoy Hazarika in a piece titled ‘Bard of the Brahmaputra’.

“Hazarika’s internationalism (or regionalism) goes further than his vocal chords as is evident when he talks of his special relationship with Nepalis. He was born in Tezpur, a town that has quite a significant number of them,” he adds further.

The association was not limited to the topi alone. Several of Hazarika’s songs have been translated to Nepali including the popular ‘Dola he dola’. While the original talks of a palanquin, in its Nepali avatar, the song (Doke he doke), translated by lyricist Hari Bhakta Katuwal, is about the bamboo basket carried on their backs by many in Nepal to transport belongings.

Hazarika also sang several duets with Anju Devi, a popular Nepali singer from Assam. Devi has adapted one of the maestro’s creations ‘Asom desor bagisare suwali’—I am girl from Assam’s tea gardens—to ‘Assam ki cheli hun ma Nepali’—I am a Nepali girl from Assam.

During a concert in Kathmandu two years ago, she enthralled the audience with immortal classics of Hazarika like ‘Buku hom hom kore’—the original Assamese version of ‘Dil hum hum kare’. No wonder every one among Assam’s 2.5 million Nepalis is feeling the loss of his passing away.

“The Nepali community of the state will never forget this legendary artiste who showed his sense of belonging to the community by wearing by wearing a black Nepali hat (topi) till his last breath,” says Madan Thapa, general secretary of Assam Nepali Sahitya Sabha is a press release mourning the legend’s death.

Newspapers in Kathmandu also carried news of Hazarika’s death prominently. But more than what appeared in print, it was humbling to meet many Nepalis in the past few days who love Hazarika, know his compositions and have been affected by his carefully-crafted words.

Bhupenda aru Gouripur

2011-11-30T17:20:00.001+04:00

Source : Asomiya Pratidin , 27 Nov 2011

Obituary by Zubeen Garg

2011-11-30T10:52:00.000+04:00

Source : India Today , 15 Nobember ,2011

LOOKING BACK AT DR.BHUPEN HAZARIKA'S LEGACY

2011-11-30T10:06:00.001+04:00

By Gautam Prasad Baroowah , gpbaroowah.blogspot.com
“Music is the highest art, and to those who understand, is the highest worship”
Swami Vivekananda

LOOKING BACK THE LEGACY:
The departure of Bhupenda created a void in the world of music, culture and human warmth. But greatest loss would be to the value for which he strived most, the human brother hood and for a field of integration (Somonoyer Khetra). His all lyric, stories, personal essays and even music were to achieve this purpose of emotional integration amongst the humanity of the world. He traveled and traversed from Ottawa to Columbia, Brahmaputra to Volga ,Sunghphoo to Padma with only one intent in mind. Unification of human mind .He lead the life of a gypsy but embraced the entire world as his family. . It is almost impossible to bind Hazarika’s personality to any dogma. He is free as a bird yet he would always like to live amidst the humanity like Wordsworth’s Cuckoo. It is not important where he lives now. But for whom he stands today? The answer is simply he wants to live for the wellbeing of humanity.
FAMILY INCLUDES ADMIRERS:
In strict sense of the term he was not a family man. He had no fixed relatives but had only relations with humanity. In his broader vision, he had neither wife, nor son; not even his brothers and sisters. They were his friends along with the timing millions who lived in this world. Once in my Kolkata home, during the planning session of poetry recording in 1977 we were discussing mundane things as always and I suddenly asked him …

: Bhupenda, don’t you feel the absence of a family now?
: Not really! My family extends to my friends like you and beyond… to the struggling people in the field and plants.
: You are kidding Bhupenda, I replied
: No, I am not. I am a restless man, you know. I resigned my jobs at the university and Radio for my soul need to remain unbound.
: What about your relations with your parent?
: I greatly love my Mom! I dreamt her often. But I have been a worthless son, a worthless husband, a bad father too. I even could not play with my son during his formative period.
: But you have been a loving brother, by you own admission!
: Even I could not take care of them fully except for initial education for sometime. I could not help my father during his retired life. He did so much to settle me down. Actually, I am not really destined for a planned and bgugdmd/lifikwtyle. I am a roving minstrel ….. And Bhupenda suddenly started reciting aloud…..
“I am a gipsy
I scour the ends of the earth
But wouldn’t look for a home
From Luit to the Mississippi
I marveled at the Volga
From Ottawa through Austria
I made Paris my own.”
(Moi ek jajabar)

ON RECITATION OF POETRY:
Many of his friends knew that Bhupenda was a great in recitation. He used to recite poem of joytiprasad “ JUGANTORER MOI , KALANTORER MOI” with his husky voice to a great effect . He however had not recorded too many recitation of poetry, either of his own or of others. In 1976 when Gramophone Company of India had cut the first ever poetry recitation record of Assamese poets, Bhupenda’s natural choice was the poem composed by Joytiprasad Aggarwala. Other declaimers like Ishan Barua, Manjumla Das, Amarjooyti Chowdhury and Arunima Saikia, who also participated in the recording, were thrilled to hear his recitation. It was an unique experience for them and his way of recitation brought out goose pimples on them .No sooner he finished recording, unknowingly all of them, including the sound recordist Mallabuzar Barua, clapped in unison. The name of the record was “Saptarshi”. The record was produced by me and music was scored by Dr. Bhupen Hazarika. The record is not easily available now. But some of the Assamese families have kept that record as their prized passion. I recommend to every admirer to listen to the recitation of the poem by Bhupen Da. It would be a unique experience. In fact this recitation could be reproduced and rerecorded by any of his admirer for the posterity, before the last copy is lost in oblivion“
Give me a white man whose blood is white
Give me a Black man whose blood is black
You would get whatever you want
If you can give me in return”
(Jonab Fakir of Bangladesh)
This song reverberated from the voice of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika of Assam long before Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in America. Dr. Hazarika was a true disciple of the great Saint Sankardeva of Assam and was later influenced by the philosophy of the greatest cult singer Paul Robson of USA. He transcended the walls of his classroom at the University of Gauhati, India in fifties of the last century and took the high road to various corners of the world. He traveled the world from Arunachal to Chicago, from Ottawa to Austria. He spoke of Gorky while sitting at the grave of Mark Twain.

ASSOCIATION WITH GUWAHATI UNIVERSITY:

More than his life, he got tumultuous ovation on his death from common men of the street. People came from every walk of life to pay their homage to the soul of the man whom they loved from the core of their hearts. It was a unique scene. There were tremendous people on the street of Guwahati, at his residence, at judges field where his body was kept to enable his ardent admirers to pay respect and also during the cremation ceremony at Guwahati University campus. Altogether more than million persons physically paid homage to Bhupenda at Guwahati. I was in Los Angeles in 2009 and was witness to the human euphoria of mourning the death of Michel Jackson. I was in Kolkata when legendary Satayjit Ray died . There were seas of humanity in all these mourning. But love and affection for Bhupenda drew much bigger crowd at Guwahati. Approximately 1.5 million people came out to pay their last respect. It was a rare sight to find that many people kept on visiting the place of cremation even after a week. Incidentally, his first job was in the same campus. Here he wrote one of the finest songs of the century which was sung as chorus on the inaugural day of the university.
“The Banks of the Luit will brighten
Breaking the barrier of darkness
In Pragjoyotish flows
The fountains of light
Hundreds of light .
In a Depawali of wisdom
Will brighten the banks of Luit
The parchment will give us words
The siphung hope
And the Ranghar will open the doors
Society will embrace
Mighty humanity
And science will bring a tide.” (Jilekaba Luitore Par)

A cult figure to us:
I met Bhupen Dada, for the first time, in 1955 at Calcutta Movie tone Studio. He was in Calcutta those days to score the music of “Piyali Phookan”, a film directed by another giant Phani Sharma. I was brought to Calcutta by Lakshydhar Chowdhury to act in his film “Nimila Anka”. From that day onward I became a fan of Bhupenda and our association lasted till date. Like him I settled in Kolkata later in my life and we were neighbour when I started living at Thana House of Tollygung .
To many people in India he has been a great singer. To some people he was a wonderful film maker, to some he was an excellent lyricist. For some he was a dear and respected teacher. But to us he has been a cult figure who empowered our generation with his voice, deeds and writings. Whenever the country is in turmoil he has been there to raise his voice for the upliftment of the downtrodden. He is a humanist per excellence. The lyrics are his bullets and his voice is the machine gun. He has inspired several generations in India through his lyrics, songs, films and writings. His greatest weapon is his system of communication. He can communicate with everyone of every age and can persuade to his point of view at ease. The mother and the daughter, the father and the son are always competing with each other to have a share of Dr. Hazarika vocal tonic, companionship and friendship. Always Bhupen Hazarika had remained a youth full persona : an eternal Dada. He has retained the eternal youthful vigor. Even a child can communicate with him as Dada but we have became “grandfather”. Often we marveled at how he managed his time. He was sought after by the communists in West Bengal, the Congress always wanted him and the BJP asked him to come to their side. But Bhupenda always remained with the mass. No freshman social was a resounding success in Bengal with his participation. In Calcutta all the employees associations of merchant offices wanted Dr. Hazarika in their cultural shows. On many occasions I was approached by the McLeod Russell cultural association to put a word to Bhupenda so that he can accept the invitation to their cultural bash. Bhupenda always obliged.

VIEWS ON RELIGION AND FAITH:
Once in 1975 Bhupenda and I had to share a room at Kaziranga Tourist lodge. I was on my way to visit Jorhat and stayed back at the tourist lodge. In the evening when I returned back from the inner sanctuary then Tourist officer came and met me. He told me that Bhupenda is on his way to Guwahati and had to stay for the night and there was no room. Would I min if he share the room for the night. I told him that it would be pleasure to spend the night together. That night was a great night for we talked many things of his life.
: Bhupenda, you have been activist of IPTA. Some says you are communist. Is it true? I asked
: I am a Marxist. I read Marx and Angel and that inspired my mind to elevate downtrodden.
: But you have been visiting Kamakhya temple too. Are you a religious person?
: Yes I am religious. My religion is service to humanity. I do not worship God with flowers. My flowers are my lyrics. I believe in Divinity. To me, Religion is the expression of divinity in human being. You know my music is my offerings to God. I have no personal God. I worship with music to empower downtrodden, he replied.
:Do you feel elevated when you sing.
: I feel greatly happy when I compose a poem, a lyric and when I sing
: I have already written that my songs harbour no destructive vision. it envisages an unprecedented peace.

His songs empowered us to raise our voice. We were motivated to fight back against corruption, terrorism and social degeneration and poverty. For last few years, Dr. Hazarika was mostly in Bombay in the loving care of Kalpana Lazmi and his Doctors.. He felt reassured there. But his mind always travels to Assam. Physically he feels sometime very weak but mentally as strong as steel. Bhupenda is as iconic to Assam as Rabindranath is to Bengal and Robert Burns is to Scotland, Tolstoy to Russian and Mark Twain to America. He is a phenomenon which arrives once in a blue moon in a society. To me his most outstanding song is: “Bimurta Nishate”…

“This my ethereal Night
Is a blue scarf
Woven of silence
In its folds
Tender breathing
And live warmth”.
This is the song Bhupen Da also loves most. He loves all his creations. But this song appeals to him the most.

ON LAST MOMENTS OF LIFE :

He was 85 years young man when he died. None of his blood relations were present, except “Toto”(Sanjib Hazarika) his favourite nephew, near his death bed. He however was surrounded by his soul mates of life. From Kalpana to Anuradha, Pradip to Manjula beside Manisha Hazarika (his
Sister in law) Rajshri and Baba were also present. Anuradha gave the vivid account of the last moments of Maestros life in the hospital at Bombay. …..(sADIN)
“When I reached his room in the hospital his eyes were closed. Kalpana whispered to the semi conscious Bhupenda “, look Bhup who has come! It is Anuradha from Guwahati”. There was no response for a while. A moment later his eyes opened up for a moment and closed down again! Jayashri( Marthi friend of Kalpana) shouted “ look he responded. .His sixth sense must have realized some one nearer to him has come”…. I knew that these were only expression of optimism. In fact I turned stone seeing his conditions with three pipes entering into his throat and host of monitors recording his physiological data. Bhupenda who always hated gadgets, even cell phones, is now struggling with such artificial help!
On 5th November Dr. Sailendra Goyal came to examine him. We all were outside his room only pradip and Baba were inside the cabin along with the Doctor. His blood count seemed ok but platelets was falling down. --- Those were the most of agonizing moment. Maha Mritunjoy Slokas were played for his wellbeing. I asked Joyoshri, why not his own songs? Doctors came next day, examined and told to stop these songs. This is the time to play Hazarika’s own creation. He would understand that better. Doctors kept on examining him. We were out side the room but his body monitors were visible to us.
It is around 11.30 am Dr. Goyal visited his chamber. Examined him for twenty minutes.
He came out, aftr examinations and told Kalpana his blood pressure is falling rapidly. It will be difficult to stimulate him any more. You may loose him sooner or later. We all felt depressed. Monitors in front of us were fluctuating rapidly.
Whenever blood pressure came up we hoped for good news. We could realise he was fighting. He was a great fighter always. Kalpana started her prayers aloud…. Suddenly we saw on the monitor blood pressure and pulse rate were loosing grip. It was falling rapidly. The curves on the monitor reflected the depression and right in front of our eyes the moving graphs on monitors became straight lines.. …. He was no more”
The news of his departure was conveyed to me immediately by a friend of mine. Anuradha flew back next day from Bombay via Kolkata. She gave me the full description. My mind filled with emotion and nostalgia of yester years. I remembered his lyric “When I’ll have gone from this life”……

When I‘ll have gone from this life
Breaking all tie and bonds
I hope by my pyre I‘ll find
Your solicitude.
I do not want memorial services
Nor false eulogies
A drop of tear from you
And I’ll have had my due. (Moi Jetia ei jivnor)

HIS COMPANION FOR LIFE:

Kalpana is misunderstood by most, but is admired by Bhupen Dada. She has been a friend philosopher and companion all combined together to Bhupenda. Bhupenda was her guide. Let us accept the reality. Despite opposition of a section of well wisher Bhupenda admires her relations with him. That is the truth and whole truth. Let us honour his feelings and emotion, if we love him.

THE VALUES OF BHUPEN DA’S THOUGHTS :

Bhupenda had gone but his values would always remain alive with timing millions. Building up of a memorial edifice does not always make a person immortal. It is the love of people which make a person everlasting. The culture of “ Bhupendra Sangeet”, if taught to our children, would perhaps be able to keep Bhupenda alive in the heart of timing millions even after hundreds of years, like Rabindra Nath was kept alive not by government but by the effort of his admirers. That would be a real tribute to Bhupenda ;s Legacy who made world his home. Let every district of Assam have an institute of Bhupendra Culture. Can this work be taken up by AASU with concurrent grant from Government of Assam? If one Million mourners who came to pay respect contribute Rs 100/- a person organizers would be able to gather Rs 5crore with matching grant from Govern met and NRI from Assam a good amount will be available to start the work. Would someone take the lead? Otherwise posterity would say Assamese is a race of “Memoriall Service Attendees” only (in the language of Homen Borgohain Soradh Khowa Jati: Amar Asom of 12th November).

RESPONSIBILITIES OF OUR SOCIETY:

Aftermath of demise of Bhupenda the responsibility of our society has increased by manifold. We must protect whatever values he has built up over the years. Mostly all the mourners of the country have shown commendable discipline while his body was lay in estate .Only sad incident which marred the cremation ceremony was uncivilized behavior of one of the well-known artist who, perhaps was considered by some ,as successor to Bhupenda . There were large scale condemnations of such behavior. Our society must be vigilant that such incident does not occur again for that would be an act of disrespect to the great soul whom everyone considers as an icon of love and tranquility. While he was alive he declared…

“Let my songs be
A profound assurance
Against the pervading lack of trust.
Let my songs be
A hymn to truth
Against false imaginings “

AIR saves maestro’s works

2011-11-27T09:26:00.001+04:00

The Telegraph , 16 Nov , 2011

Guwahati, Nov. 15: The All India Radio Archives, the treasure house of precious recordings, has preserved songs, interviews and compositions of Bhupen Hazarika.

“We have 50 hours of recording of Bhupen Hazarika that has been preserved in the All India Radio Archives. His recordings have been collected from various stations of the All India Radio such as Guwahati, Calcutta, among others,” said Alka Pathak, additional director general of AIR, Delhi.

AIR has the largest library of Indian music.

“He made remarkable contribution in the field of culture and it was very essential to preserve his works. We have collected his original recordings in the magnetic tapes, which has been digitalised to preserve it in a better way,” she added.

“This is one of our precious recordings that have been preserved and we have not finalised anything regarding its release for commercial purpose,” she said.

AIR has already released work of some other artistes for sale, Pathak said.

“What we will do with Bhupen Hazarika’s work is something we haven’t decided yet. The good thing though is that the quality of the material that we have archived is good,” she said.

'His soothing voice was like a hug'

2011-11-26T11:56:00.001+04:00

Bappi Lahiri, Hindustan Times ,November 05, 2011

Bhupen kakababu’s death has left me orphaned. He was one of my father’s closest friends. And I looked up to him as my father figure. I’m sure there must be a zillion followers of his music around the world who must be feeling this pain. He may not have been a fatherly person for everyone personally, but his soothing voice magically threw out stress, pain, anxiety and anger out of one’s body and mind instantly, just like a warm hug from our parents.

I met him around six months ago. And at that point, I didn’t know that this was my last meeting with him. He didn’t seem very unwell at that point but at his age, health is one of the most unpredictable aspects of life. And then I heard that he was hospitalised and was critically ill.

I kept tabs on his health. I was constantly in touch with Kalpana Lajmi, who has been a companion for him for several years now. Once, she even told me that he was responding well to the medicines and was on his way to recovery.

But suddenly, his health began to deteriorate again and this time, he succumbed. I spoke to Kalpana soon after he went. She was inconsolable then. I still have to pay my condolence to the Hazarika family in Guwahati.

My first memory of meeting Bhupenkaka is at my Calcutta residence. I was four years old then. My father Aparesh was a composer, and kaka would often come home to meet him. They would chat for long hours, play their compositions for each other and laugh on myriad topics.

He’s sung so many hit Bengali numbers for my father. One of them was 'Oh Kajol Kajol'. Kaka sounded divine, not only in that song but in every song he recorded.

He’s probably the only musical genius I know who took up the cause of near-extinct forms of folk music. He introduced not only me, but the world to Bihu music and several other lesser-known forms like that.

He gave Assamese-Bangladeshi performing art a platform that it needed for survival. He never shied away from collaborating with younger artistes and musicians, especially if they belonged to the east and Northeast India because these parts he felt were thoroughly neglected.

Today, more than anyone else, and any part of India, it’s Northeast and eastern India that’s mourning his demise because they have lost their face, their voice in the mainstream.

As told to Rachana Dubey

Of Bhupen Hazarika and the sea of humanity

2011-11-26T11:37:00.001+04:00

by Khushwant Singh , The Hindustan Times , 20 Nov , 2011

Once Bhupen Hazarika picked me up from Delhi when I was editing the Hindustan Times and flew me to his home town for his annual bash at Siliguri. On the way and over drinks in the evening he told me about his past and present life. His first marriage did not last long. His second one made him a

happy husband and father. He was known as a one-song-man: his hymn to the Ganga had made him a national celebrity.

As a matter of fact he had many more songs to his credit and was involved in nation-wide artistic activities which were acclaimed. We reached our destination late in the afternoon and spent the evening drinking together.

Next afternoon I noticed people gathering in large numbers on the road outside. The car in front had no hood that Bhupen could acknowledge greetings of his admirers.

I was put in the car following. As we proceeded, people in their thousands crammed the road and on top of their houses to greet him till we reached a vast maidan. It was a sea of humans as far as I,could see: not in thousands but well over half a million. I was alarmed as a trifling incident could have created a stampede costing many lives.

I was escorted to the dais: It was a sea of humanity, the like of which I had never seen before in my life. I sat on the dais listening to speeches, paid a two-minute tribute to Bhupen and slipped away from the rear. It was an empty town. A Muslim officer of the IAS posted as commissioner of the district had been instructed to look after me. I had my evening drink and dinner with his family. The next morning I flew back to Delhi. I thank Bhupen for familiarising me with the expression - sea of humanity.

Tribute : Bard Of Brahmaputra

2011-11-25T14:22:00.001+04:00

Hazarika’s genius manifested itself in its empathy and a vision for a better future

Utpal Borpujari on Bhupen Hazarika, Outlookindia.com , 21 Nov 2011

It is said that in Assam, there is every likelihood that among the first sounds a newborn hears would be a Bhupen Hazarika song. I first met the legend when I was around ten, but much before that I knew him as a near god-like figure. His unique, deep baritone voice and his easy-on-the-ear compositions, which quite often culled out finer nuances of classical ragas and the huge variety of folk music of the Northeast, were already deeply ingrained in my subconscious. It was much later that his songs—the meaning of his words and the mood they evoked—acquired deeper meaning and significance for me.

In the late ’70s, we knew him from his photographs in newspapers and magazines, each with the trademark Nepali cap on his head—reportedly a present from the king of Nepal. And of course, from his voice that almost every single day wafted in from the local All India Radio station. So, there was no scope for confusion when I saw him the first time, sitting in the living room of our neighbour Nirode Chaudhury, one of the greatest Assamese writers whose short story had a couple of years before been turned into the classic Assamese film Chameli Memsab (which, incidentally, also got Hazarika the best music director’s honour at the National Film Awards in 1975).

When Chaudhury, whom I used to fondly call ‘mama’, introduced me to Hazarika, he turned and started talking to me and it went on for quite some time. Later, I realised that he was not just being gracious to a kid. That was just the way he was. He would have time for every person who would approach him. And this trait never changed even when his health began deteriorating after a stroke he suffered during the Rongali Bihu (Assamese new year) celebrations in Guwahati in 2006. His natural instinct for making everyone feel at home, combined with his innate capacity to document society through his creative work, made him connect instantly, both with intellectuals as well as the illiterate.

Hazarika’s genius was not only in being a composer-lyricist-singer-filmmaker but also a journalist-author-painter-politician (having served one term in the Assam assembly as an independent legislator in the late 1960s and making a failed bid as a BJP candidate in the Lok Sabha elections much later).

With his left-leaning idealism (something that started changing after the Chinese aggression in 1962), which saw him become a close associate of the likes of Salil Chowdhury, Balraj Sahni and many others in the Indian People’s Theatre Association, Hazarika used his art as a medium to reflect society’s ills and the concerns of the downtrodden. It was almost with a missionary zeal that he wrote songs capturing almost every important social and political development of Northeast India, from the Second World War to the years of ULFA insurgency. Hazarika was encouraged to write as a child by cultural icon Jyotiprasad Agarwalla. He wrote his first song as a seven-year old, its deeply earnest lyrics yearning for the rebirth of the 15th century social reformer Saint Srimanta Sankardev to cure society of its ills.

A born humanist, Hazarika’s iconic songs have been about the loss of innocence in mankind. Through songs like Bistirna Parore (later translated into Bengali and Hindi as Ganga Boicho Keno/Ganga Behti Ho Kyon), in which he remonstrated against his beloved Brahmaputra for flowing silently despite all the inhumanity along its banks, or Manuhe Manuhor Baabe, which spoke about the need for compassion. Hazarika espoused universal brotherhood all his life, much like his friend and inspiration, American civil rights activist and singer Paul Robeson.

Even in his films, one sees the same message. In Era Bator Sur (Song of the Deserted Path), he told the story of vanishing folk cultures, while in Chikmik Bijuli (The Lightning), he looked at the transformation of Guwahati from a small town to a big city.

In later years he was deeply concerned about the atmosphere of social unrest in Assam. He told me more than once that he wished people would understand and use the “power of the gaan” (songs) than the “power of the gun” to resolve problems. In fact, one of his unfulfilled dreams was to make a feature film on the urgency to forsake violence.

(The writer is a film critic from Assam, based in New Delhi)

Face of Northeast,innocent like child

2011-11-25T11:35:00.000+04:00

By Javed Akhtar , The Asian Age, Nov 05, 2011

I have had the good fortune of working with Bhupen Hazarika in two films. And it was remarkable working with a person like him. A warm hearted person, he was always high on life. His chutzpah and enthusiasm to create something all the time made him stand out in an industry, where criticism and negativity is tremendous. He managed to maintain a child-like quality in him, which was rare and it spoke of his innocence and passion in life.

There is no doubt that he was truly an outstanding music composer and singer. But what separated him from the rest was the fact that he was the face of the Northeast to the other parts of India. He brought the traditional folk music from the Northeast with such energy and gave another dimension to music being created in the industry then. The possibilities of having that genre of music incorporated in mainstream Bollywood music were just getting enormous and Hazarika was the man to be credited.

You know, in our country many feel that after they turn 21, it is time to get to the real world after college and stop formal education. Here was a man who never went by the tried and tested policies. He truly looked for what he wanted and carved his path. He always said that he hasn't stopped learning formally or informally. He completed his Ph.D. much later in life and looked for various innovative ways within music was quite heartening.

I fondly remember this one incident when we were working on the film Darmiyan, which was directed by Kalpana Lajmi. During a sitting to compose the music, he quickly composed a song, which was all gibberish. There was no mukhada or no antara and yet he managed to compose. It was quite something as something like that doesn't happen. Every time we met, he reminded me of that day and we would have a hearty laugh. As a person he was a poet, intellect, philosopher, composer and an extremely warm person. He would be missed as such people don't come in our lives everyday.

As told to Ipsitaa Panigrahi

Bhupen Hazarika: His message lives on - By Sanjoy Hazarika

2011-11-23T00:00:00.000+04:00

In every household in Assam, a lamp has burned these past few days to honour the greatest figure that most people of this beautiful but blighted state, locked away in India's eastern borderland by distance, lack of growth and conflicts, have known in perhaps hundreds of years. Why just in Assam? Across India, South Asia and the world, many who are Assamese and many others who are not, have done the same and sung, wept and prayed out of shradha for Dr. Bhupen Hazarika., whose lyrics keep running around in our heads, on radio stations and television channels. I am one of them and although I did not know him as well as those who were close to him, there are many memories of the man I called "khura" or uncle.

But before we get into reminiscences, I wish to say something about the extraordinary outpouring of spontaneous love and affection for this man whom we called the Bard of the Brahmaputra and the Living Legend. For many Assamese, he was a creative genius with his extraordinary songs proclaiming the rights of people, of brotherhood in that rich, velvety baritone which would reach into your innermost recesses, sending shivers down your spine and getting the hair on your arms to stand.

Millions of people, young and old, the rich and the poor, the fit and the fat, the infirm and the healthy, stood in line patiently for hours through the day and night to pay homage. Many wept but many more were singing his songs of humanity and equality, his political signature tunes, which have become part of our folklore and history. They came not just from every corner and isolated village of Assam but from towns and hamlets across the north-east and further. Songs were played through day and night over public address systems on every street of Guwahati from the time of his death.

It was as he had sung, in his unforgettable Sagar Sangame or "At the Confluence of Seas," where he had never tired of swimming. I was unable to go personally but a senior office staff member, who waited and walked for over two hours to reach Bhupen Hazarika's sealed coffin at 1am to pay his last respects, wrote the following to me: "People in the queue came from different NE states, districts of Assam and from areas around Guwahati. Most of the people were heard singing "Bhupendra Sangeet." A group near me who had come from Dhubri, which included elderly persons and the young, was singing with such melody all through, especially one person who was over 60 years in the group. Some young boys were shouting "Bhupenda Amar ho!" The Dighalipukhuri park (Shanti Udyan) where Dr. Hazarika's statue is located had live concert of (his) songs sung by different artistes young and old throughout, starting from morning till the time when I was returning home."

As a 21-gun salute was offered by the Assam Police, doctors and forensic experts took his foot impressions for posterity. I do not know if these footprints will now be carried around the Assamese and north-eastern countryside for more to pay their respects and homage but I worry about a cult-like situation developing about this man whose political message was equality, who loved simple home cooked food and the company of friends to have addas, create his compositions (sometimes on the back of an envelope or a scrap of paper) and express his concern and love for his own people, although for decades he lived in Calcutta and Mumbai, cities which, in his middle and later years, gave him both dignity and financial stability.

To millions he was simply "Bhupen da," including those of the younger generation who have never seen him barring on television nor heard him live -- but on CDs and DVDs. I was privileged to call him "khura," partly because of his closeness in the 1960s to my parents, the late Chaitanya Nath Hazarika and Maya Hazarika of Shillong, and their mutual respect and affection. One of my mother's fondest memories is singing with him (and she was a trained, fine singer) at All India Radio in Guwahati which used to be the great Mecca of music and aspiring stars in the days when television had not seized us with its ugly embrace.

Some years back, I was especially privileged to work with him and Kalpana Lajmi, his companion of many years and partner in many creative ventures, who took care of him with fierce affection, in a documentary series for Doordarshan on the north-east. My collaboration began when the great man called and asked me to help. Could anyone say no to him? He was quick to put me at ease, listening to my ideas with close attention, and used them extensively as I proposed the script and discussed concepts. It was a lesson in humility.

His haunting melodies torment yet inspire us. They fly across the world, on our mobile ring tones, in our personal collections, our memories and experiences.

Many of us called him the Bard of the Brahmaputra. But he was more than that -- he was a passionate fighter for rights, for the poor (notice how both his early and also the later songs drive home the messages of equality, humanity and brotherhood even in times of pain and tragedy) and who believed in the importance of means over ends. But he was also an incorrigible optimist and even a prankster, with an impish sense of humour. That was as much part of him as his ability to give love and his creative abilities.

Elsewhere, I have said that Bhupen Hazarika wove the virtues and capacities of several centuries and a handful of truly great Assamese into his life and his compositions as the currents of the Brahmaputra carried the values and traditions of the Vaishnav reformer Srimanta Sankardeva of the 15th and 16th centuries; the valour and call to arms of Lachit Barpkukan, general of the 17th century when Assam defeated a mighty Mughal invasion; the richness of prose and composition of Lakhinath Bezbaruah; the humanity and creativity of Jyoti Prasad Aggarwalla and Bibhnu Rabha; and then the political steadfastness and courage of Gopinath Bardoloi, Assam's premier of the 1940s, who stood alone with Gandhi against his own Congress party and the Muslim League, refusing Assam to be absorbed into Bengal and thus into East Pakistan.

The Bard of the Brahmaputra may be silent but the river flows on. It may be centuries before it finds another. But till then, it will flow and so will his music. His ballads will sustain the river, his true muse, and all of us, for without the Brahmaputra, there can be no Assam or north-east or lands beyond our borders.

The writer is a Journalist, Author, Researcher, Documentary Film-Maker and Field Worker. He is founder and Managing Trustee of the Center for North East Studies and Policy Research which works extensively in Assam along the Brahmaputra (www.c-nes.org) and is Saifuddin Kitchlew Chair and Director of the Centre for North East Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.

The last piece of work

2011-11-22T12:30:00.002+04:00

Source : Sadin , 11 Nov 2011

The bard will flow with the river

2011-11-21T17:14:00.000+04:00

Written by Rahul Devrani , The Pioneer , 06 Nov 2011

Bhupen Hazarika (1926-2011)

Filmmaker Jahnu Barua pays tribute to legendary genius Bhupen Hazarika — who breathed his last in a Mumbai hospital on Saturday — and explains his lasting legacy in the national consciousness .

Bhupen Hazarika was our modern balladeer who kept the faith. That is why he revelled in befriending the man on the street in Moi eti jajabor, an ode to the gypsy wanderer for whom the world is a home.

That’s why he wondered at the eternal flow of the Ganga in a corrupt, sullied world, exhorting it to rescue mankind and help set it on course (Oh Ganga behti ho kyun?). It is the primal appeal of these words that made him a household name in the rest of India and inspired generations of not only Assamese but the country’s youth. A poet, journalist, singer, lyricist, musician, filmmaker and writer, he connected with everybody much before communication skills became a discipline that needed to be taught and acquired.

I respect and know him as second to none. He was my inspiration and the god of music. He composed five songs for my first film Aparoopa and back then I realised that he was also a teacher in his own way. He used to encourage me every time frustration crept in during the making of the film. With time I started looking at him as Dronacharya. He used to guide me saying there was no reason to be frustrated or disappointed. He would just say, “If you want to do something but are confused and unsure about it, don’t worry and give it a try. Only then can you know the impact. The world is not going to stop if you made one mistake. Move on, and prepare for the challenges ahead.”

For people like me he was a leader and will remain one. He was a trend-setter, the flag-bearer for people like us. It is because of him that we could convey our creativity to the entire country. His music is a symbol of creative progress, he acquired the much deserved recognition.

He was a temperamental person though. He used to get angry sometimes when things weren’t done properly. But that was only for the common good. Basically, he hated complacency and inactiveness. I remember on one occasion I was reluctant to use one of the songs he had composed for the film. He just replied in a sentence, “When you have not even used the song, how can you determine its success or failure?” He did not talk to me the entire afternoon and called me later in the evening. He asked me, what I didn’t like about his composition. I said the song didn’t come across too well. He then sang another one which he had made in such a short while and it was fantastic.

This incident became a turning point for me. While I made more films in future, his words were imprinted in my mind, that without trying one cannot predict the impact. The words reminded me that being experimental and incorporating fresh ideas is not only good “commercially” but gives an immense self-satisfaction. Your identity takes a deeper meaning somehow.

Besides, he was a rare musician. I don’t have a particular favourite song of his. He believed that “music is for people, not just for oneself.” Sample any of his songs and you will see that they are a creation of a lot of inspiring words. From a labourer to a poet to a businessman, everyone can identify with his songs. For example in his song Shitore sheroeka rati, which was also sung in Bengali, he talks of a worker struggling to sleep on a winter night. This makes the worker angry and that anger is burning inside him. Every worker who listens to this song can feel the pain and agony like his own.

His voice was timeless. Its texture could gel with the sound of an instrument like the sarangi for Hindi film music or go with the raw element in the sound of the harmonium for a Bihu song. Hazarika was one of the few performers of his generation who could sing comfortably inside a recording studio or in the open. The range of his voice was remarkable, deep and vast. It could transform and define any emotion owing to his easy approach to octaves, low and high. It was for this quality his song Ganga behti ho kyun became so popular. With his singing he could paint a picture of the playful nayika in Gaja Gamini and express the agony of a professional mourner in Rudaali most profoundly.

I am immensely saddened that he is no more with us but I am sure he would continue to inspire the younger generation and the ones to come. He’s left a tremendous spark of good music behind him and we need to cultivate that.

Bhupen Hazarika - An article by Homen Borgohain

2011-11-21T12:33:00.000+04:00

Source : Amar Asom , 06-11-2011

Bhupen Hazarika was a spiritual being: Ravi Shankar

2011-11-20T11:47:00.001+04:00

The Hindustan Times , Nov 09,2011
Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Wednesday described legendary singer Bhupen Hazarika, who died Saturday, as "a deep spiritual being."

In a message mourning his death Saturday, the Art of Living founder said: "Bhupen Hazarika was a legend in Indian music and a pride of our nation. He was not only a musician but a deep spiritual being."

"His valuable contribution in the field of music as well as in visualizing the art and culture of the northeast of India will always be remembered. He will continue to live among us in the form of his soulful compositions, which will stay on to touch the hearts of many."

Obituaries : Bhupen Hazarika: Musician, poet, film director and social activist

2011-11-19T09:21:00.002+04:00

By Ken Hunt Monday 14 November 2011 , independent.co.uk

Bhupen Hazarika was Assam's most famous product not to come off a tea plantation.

In a life as a film industry all-rounder, vocalist-composer, journalist and cultural activist, his name became synonymous with Assam. The aptest comparison is Rabindranath Tagore and Bengal; Hazarika's legacy, like Tagore's in his region, is imprinted on the popular and intellectual Assamese and Bangla imagination.

Hazarika, the eldest of 10, was born in 1926 in Sadiya, then the British Raj's furthermost North-eastern frontier station. In 1935 the Assamese poet Jyoti Prasad Agarwala made Assam's first film, an historical drama called Joymoti. Already writing songs by the age of 10, Hazarika acted and sang his own composition in Agarwala's second film, Indramalati (1939). "The melody he inherited was from my mother, Santipriya, although our father was well acquainted with the kirtan and other holy verses," his sister Sudakshina Sarma said.

Academically gifted, he went to Banaras Hindu University, where he obtained a BA and MA in political science. He then worked as a producer for All India Radio's Guwahati station before obtaining a scholarship to study in New York; he received a PhD in mass communication from Columbia University. Absorbing Greenwich Village's music scene, he sang with Paul Robeson and was briefly jailed for participating in civil rights demonstrations.

He applied his American studies well. His re-contextualisation of the Mississippi in "O Ganga Tum..." flaunted melodic lifts from "Ol' Man River". In 1972 and 1973 he sang at East Berlin's Festival of Political Songs. His extensive song output ranged from escapist fare sung by Lata Mangeshkar and his sister Sudakshina to political songs – and was a beacon of how to fuse folk traditions with classical or popular forms. His "Manush Manusher Jonno" ["Humans are for humanity"] came second only to Tagore's national anthem "Amar Sonar Bangla" ["My country of gold"] in a recent Bangladeshi poll.

Returning home married and with a son, he rose to directing film, first in Assamese then in Bengali. Assamese cinema book-ended his directorial credits, from Era Bator Sur (1956) to Siraj (1988). He also contributed music to entertainment and documentary films and TV programmes in Assamese, Bengali and Hindi. In 1992 the Government of India conferred on him the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, its highest prize for contributions to Indian cinema.

As a social activist he straddled causes. During the Assam Movement protests between 1979 and 1985, he wrote and sang songs that others sang in the streets. Spearheaded by the All Assam Students' Union, this mass populist movement railed against illegal immigrants and their alleged involvement in voting scams – and whipped up xenophobia. He also took up the cause of the indigenous peoples, known in Indian parlance as "Tribals", and their cultures. This included directing For Whom the Sun Shines (1974), a documentary about Tribal folk music and dance. He was fêted with many of the subcontinent's most prestigious awards.

Hazarika led an unconventional life by Indian standards. Aged 45, he met the 17-year-old Kalpana Lajmi, the niece of the film director, producer and actor Guru Dutt; Kalpana's mother, the artist Lalitha Lajmi, was Dutt's sister. A year later they were living together. Still stung by his first marriage's failure, they entered into what amounted to a no-marriage pact. Their personal and professional lives remained entwined until the end, with Hazarika contributing music to a series of her "parallel cinema" films, many socially engaged, many addressing women's issues, including Ek Pal (1986), Darmiyaan (1996) and Kyon (2003). After his stroke, she effectively put her career on hold from 2007.

Bhupendra Kumar Hazarika, composer, poet, film director and actor, journalist and social activist: born Sadiya, Lakhimpur district, Assam and Eastern Bengal (now Tinsukia district, Assam) 8 September 1926; married Priyamvada Patel (one son); partner to Kalpana Lajmi; died Mumbai 5 November 2011.

Tribute To Bhupen Hazarika : Singing the song of humanity

2011-11-18T16:04:00.000+04:00

By Nashid Kamal , thedailystar.net , 11 Nov 2011

I was 21 years old and studying for my masters at Carleton University, Canada. I spotted an ad in the tunnel of my university: Bhupen Hazarika, the famous singer, was going to sing in Ottawa! I looked at the date; it was that very day. I decided I would go. I had no time to go home for a change and rushed to the venue undaunted by the bitter cold of the month of November in Canada. The venue was deserted, seemed as if the organisers did not have enough time to campaign and advertise for this programme. For me, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

I found Bhupen Hazarika with his wife Pushpa, who I heard lived in Ottawa. I introduced myself and was amazed to find him locating me with his sharp memory. He remembered visiting our ancestral home in Dhaka to meet my uncle Mustafa Zaman Abbasi. Then he revealed to me that he used to know my grandfather Abbasuddin Ahmed. He said that he was just a young singer in those days when he met the folk legend Abbasuddin Ahmed in Kolkata (1930s). Abbasuddin told him: “Bhupen, when you sing Nodir kul nai… you imagine the wide expanse of the unending river and you stretch your imagination as well as your breath to express the feeling of endlessness. When you say O dheu khele re, you render that in short breath and give the feeling of the waves bumping against each other!”

In return, I could only say that I had heard about him from my father. My father always cited him as an example, saying he earned a doctorate in audiovisual technique from Cornell University and he was also a singer. Bhupen Hazarika was very pleased to hear that. He called his wife: “Pushpa, her father cited me as an example and here she is studying mathematics and statistics!” I could see the grin of gratification on his face.

I listened to him in silent admiration, all of this happened while we waited for the audience to fill up the hall. As the organisers asked him to start the programme, he suddenly looked at me and he said, “Nashid please sing a song or two and then I will follow.” With my heart in my hand, I tried to sing a couple of songs. When he sang, his rich voice, clear pronunciation and his purpose of bringing human beings together, created a remarkable experience. As I left the venue, rushing towards my home in the cold winter night, I heard him singing in the background Hey dola hey dola, giving the effect of the palanquin bearers skirting up and down the mountainous path of Assam (where he hailed from), the beautiful zari border of the sari creeping out to tempt the bearers whose children went naked and matched those of Bangladesh, India and the rest of the poverty-stricken world, against which he had lent his voice with adequate force. That voice is no more.

The writer is a Professor at North South University and a noted singer.

The River Flows On

2011-11-18T12:56:00.001+04:00

Written by Reema Moudgil , unboxedwriters.com

The 0ther day while watching Kalpana Lajmi’s unsung, little cinematic ballad Ek Pal, I was amazed at how seamlessly Bhupen Hazarika’s voice wrapped itself around sprawling tea estates, gracious bungalows and the heart of its protagonist Priyam (Shabana Azmi) as she falls into a self-destructive passion for the frivolous Jeet Barua (Farooque Sheikh). Hazarika’s voice flowed through Priyam’s impetuous girlhood, first heartbreak, marriage, loneliness and self-discovery almost like a deep, fathomless, golden river. My most favourite Hazarika song in the film is the wedding ditty Zara Dheeme Zara Haule where Priyam wrapped in a beautiful bridal saree is marrying Ved Hazarika (Naseeruddin Shah) while Jeet, oblivious to the storm within her, is playing the enthusiastic yet detached guest.

There was a certain sinuous resonance in Hazarika’s voice that defied the cliches of Hindi film music as he brought with him the freshness of a region unrepresented in mainstream cinema. His voice smelt of a culture we have never really exerted ourselves to discover. What is incredible is that he chose to root himself in his own culture as a folk balladeer even though he had earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University in New York in 1952 and a Fellowship from the University of Chicago to study cinema as an educational tool of change. The impact of American folk music on contemporary culture inspired him to use Assamese folk music for similar ends. The turning point was his encounter with singer and activist Paul Robeson whose classic Old Man River became another cult favourite O Ganga Behti Ho, in Hazarika’s hands.

..... To read the full story click here

Bhupen Da an incredible voice: Onir

2011-11-16T17:58:00.001+04:00

Source : Zeenews.india.com , November 06, 2011
New Delhi: Director Onir, who started his film career with Bhupen Hazarika, says he will always remember the late singer-composer for his incredible voice.

"Very sad to hear about the demise of Bhupenda. I started my career in the Hindi film industry by working in `Daman` with Kalpana Lajmi and Bhupenda.

"Remember Bhupenda for his warmth and love and the incredible voice and melody. (I) Will remember him with love," Onir posted on micro-blogging site Twitter.

Directed by Kalpana Lajmi, "Daman" was released in 2001 and saw actress Raveena Tandon winning the best actress national award for her role as Durga Saikia.

Hazarika, who died of multiple organ failure, had composed the music for the movie.

"Worked with BhupenDa for the music of `Daman` and his music album `Ganga`. Remember our love for good food and the lunches and dinners we had together," he further posted.

Known for his haunting, resounding melodies like "Dil hoom hoom kare" and "Ganga behti ho kyon", Hazarika, who was on the ventilator for four months and had been in and out of hospital, passed away saturday at the Kokilaben Hospital.

When Bhupen Hazarika refused to work with Jahnu Baruah

2011-11-16T15:23:00.001+04:00

Rediff.com , 09 Nov , 2011

Noted Assamese and Hindi filmmaker Jahnu Barua remembers prolific composer, songwriter and singer Bhupen Hazarika, who passed away on November 5.

He tells Patcy N what it was like working with Dr Hazarika in his very first film Aparoopa, how it almost ended in disaster, and his last few visits to the music legend.

I have been a big fan of Bhupenda ever since my childhood. I dreamt that if I ever became a filmmaker, I would work with him.

I grew up listening to Bhupenda's music; I knew all his songs and we sang his songs at home.

The first time I met him was when I approached him to do the music for my first film Aparoopa. Before that, I had seen him performing on stage a couple of times.

Bhupenda did not only compose the music for Aparoopa but he also wrote the songs for the film. There were five songs in the film and he sang three of them.

I was studying at the FTII (Film and Television Institute of India in Pune, when I wrote to him to say that I wanted to work with him. Later, I spoke to him over the phone after trying for four or five days to get through to him.

I told him that I wanted to work with him and he was very nice about it and asked me to send him the script of my film and to meet him whenever I came to Kolkata .

I met him in Kolkata and he told me he liked my script and was ready to work with me. He did not look at me as a newcomer but spoke to me very professionally. He encouraged me and tried to help me out with my first film. He was very excited about the project. He came to Mumbai and wrote the lyrics.

He had a very unique style of writing. He got up very early in the morning, at dawn, around 3:30 or 4:30, and started working.

He was a very friendly man, but at the same time he was short tempered -- you had to be really careful when you spoke with him. Every creative person has this problem -- even I am short tempered -- and you need to understand that.

He wrote the lyrics for one of the songs in Aparoopa, and I did not like it. I told him so as I was very possessive about my film. I was a little scared to express my feelings, and rightly so, because he got very offended and angry and said, 'No, I can't work with you, I won't work for you any more, you can go now'. He asked me to leave the house and said, 'Don't come and meet me again'.

I left the house and all day I was very upset. I cursed myself for saying what I did. I was restless; I did not know what to do next. I tried to call him but I was told that he was in his room and had asked not to be disturbed. I could not contact him… I was in a terrible position.

Then, in the evening, I got a call from him, a very loving call. He said, 'Bapu (that's how you address a younger brother), I have written new lyrics; come and listen to it.'

I was so relieved! I went immediately and heard the lyrics he had written. It was the beautiful theme song Aparoopa Aparoopa, which was later sung by Usha Mangeshkar.

After I heard the song, he said: 'Don't feel bad that I got upset and got angry with you.' He further explained, 'Till today nobody has ever said that they did not like my creation. I had never encountered that kind of confrontation, so don't feel bad.'

Hearing that, I also apologised, told him I was terribly sorry that I had upset him and I promised myself that I would never do that again.

He said some beautiful things to me that day. 'You should always speak up if you feel very strongly about something. Because you spoke out, I could create good music for the film.'

That is the greatness of the maestro. I was so touched

I remember well the things he said to me that day. He told me, 'In any creative expression you must voice your thoughts; if you don't speak up you will never come to know what it could have been finally.' And, 'sometimes what you say may be a mistake but it doesn't matter as the world will not come to an end if you make a mistake, but you must say what you want to express.'

It was like a blessing for me to get advice from him in my first film.

After Aparoopa I did not get a chance to work with him. I wanted to, especially on my Assamese film, but he was very busy making other films and later he was mostly trying to recreate his own compositions in other languages and somehow it did not work out with me. He also told me that we should work together but it never happened.

I met Bhupenda many times; in fact, we shared the stage once as representatives in our own fields, and every time I met him it was a very encouraging and inspiring moment for me.

He used to be very homely and by that I mean he would talk to you as if he has known you all your life. And you could say anything to him, he would make you comfortable. He was very simple, any person could approach him and he had no hang-ups.

Everyone can identify with his songs, whether you are lover or a farmer or a worker or a businessman -- that is what was so unique about him. In the song Jonakore Raati (Night full of stars), sung by Lata Mangeshkar , he is describing a night full of stars, and no matter what situation you are in, you will suddenly feel like you are sitting alone in a field under the open sky full of stars and that song is written for you.

There is a certain ornamentation that he gives through his voice to the song, which is remarkable; if that same song is sung by another singer you won't feel that.

I met him about six months before he was hospitalised, at his house. I sang the songs he had composed but he was not able to sing them and I felt really sad.

I met him for the last time about one-and-a-half months ago, when he was in hospital. After that I went abroad and I came back the day he passed away. I immediately went to the hospital to pay my respects.

When I met him in hospital he had not opened his eyes for four days and was not eating and was not reacting to anyone. I spoke in his ear: 'Bhupenda, I am Jahnu here.' The nurse also tried to shake him and Kalpana (Lajmi) was also there.

Suddenly, he caught my hand and gave me a smile. Everyone was shocked because he had not opened his eyes for four days leave alone smiling. I was very touched but, unfortunately, he could not speak.

Kalpana told my wife that she was very hopeful that he will recover soon.

I don't think that with his death a chapter has closed; in fact, the chapter will continue as his is a different kind of creation: Bhupen Hazarika is not just a man but a complete institution in himself.

He must have written about 1000 songs in Assamese and each song is full of energy. Even after all these years, when you listen to his songs, every word feels new.

feel like an orphan after losing him, and not only I, but all Assamese feel like that

Memories of a gana ratna

2011-11-15T15:06:00.000+04:00

By Srutimala Duara , The Sentinel

A man with that charismatic smile, who led an enigmatic jajabori life, a gana shilpi who composed lyrics and created music that have touched the heart and stirred the soul of mankind is no more. We all know man is not immortal, yet when it comes to a man like Bhupen Hazarika, we refuse to face the truth, we refuse to believe that death could take away a man like him, for we fear that if such a man is no more amidst us we would be staring in despair at a void, an abyss that would engulf us. And that is, I suppose, exactly the feeling of every person when Bhupen da lay without his soul confined in a box, and later when his mortal body was reduced to ashes.

I first came to know Bhupen da closely when I was in school and went with my mother to Calcutta for the making of an LP record of recitation – Saptarshi – and along with Dr, Bhupen Hazarika, Dr. Amarjypti Choudhury, Ishan Barua, my mother, Dr. Manjumala Das too rendered her contribution. In the studio, I watched with awe how he composed the music for the album, how the renowned musicians of the Calcutta of the yesteryears had tried to create what the great musician wanted. Bhupen da would even take the instrument from the hand of certain musicians and play out what he wanted. The sheer magnetism of the man struck me with wonder.

That was years back. Down the passage of time, I had compeered quite a few shows of Bhupen da. I remember when Assam was celebrating his 70th birthday in Bharalumukh function where many well known artists of Assam sang his compositions, and I was backstage, he said to me – “I am seventy in age but at heart I feel seventeen.” I smiled up to him and said – “Age doesn’t matter for a person like you.” Then again, when I was compeering another show of his in Rabindra Bhawan, I requested him backstage, “Bhupen da, will you sing my favourite song – bimurta mur nixati jen mounatar xutare bowa ekhani neela sador?” He said with a smile, “You have asked me to sing a very difficult song. But I will try.” After two more songs, he sang bimurta mor nixati and I sat near the wings of the stage listening to this romantic number, my eyes moist with the sheer beauty of the lyric and the music. When he came backstage, he asked me, “Was it ok? Was I able to sing well?” The utter humbleness of the way he said it touched a cord in my heart and I could still hear his voice and the smile that twinkled in his eyes that moment backstage that evening.

My husband, Romen, who I have never seen idolizing anyone, is so full of admiration when it comes to Bhupen Hazarika, and he has beautiful memories associated with this people’s musician. Those years back, those quiet times, days when television did not invade our homes, when evenings were a sweet leisure, my father-in-law, Brojendra Narayan Duara, would invite Bhupen da to his home in Shillong and very often he would come to chat, and also sit with the harmonium singing in an informal way and neighbours would come to listen.

I am sure there are many who have such memories associated with this great man. How can we say that Bhupen da has died when he is living in the hearts of all he has left behind? The legend that was Bhupen Hazarika has become just a memory today, but such a memory actually is a treasure, a treasure that will be cherished in every heart of the lovers of this gana shilpi. His soul, his music will live as the Luit flows. This was a man who was aware of the demands of his land, people, and incorporated into his music encompassing every aspect – be it the Chinese War, liberation of Bangladesh, dignity of labour with the introduction of auto-riksha, forbidden love of a tribal and a plainsman, bond of a Godapani with his Dalimi in the modern context, Assam Agitation, need for a definition of Asomiya, on Subansiri, Kameng, the list is endless...Bhupen Hazarika had his responses in his songs. It had taken hundreds of years for the birth of a man like Bhupen Hazarika on the soil of Assam, and it will take hundreds more years for such a man to walk again on this soil.