The legendary Bhupen Hazarika's songs of Struggle and Love

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Credited with introducing the culture and folk music of Assam and Northeast India in Hindi cinema at a national level, Bhupen Da's songs- written and sung mainly in the Assamese language- are steeped in humanity and universal brotherhood. His songs have been translated and sung in many languages, most notably into Bengali and Hindi. Needless to say, Hazarika's talent had scaled unprecedented heights and he became a well-known entity outside the state of Assam.

The Bard of Brahmaputra endearingly called Xudha kontho (meaning cuckoo/ 'the nectar-throated') sang his first song at the tender age of 11 or 12. His inclination for singing had developed because as a child he had grown up listening to tribal music. He inherited his singing skills from his mother, who sang lullabies to him and introduced him to the folk music of Assam. His talent was spotted by the noted Assamese lyricist Jyotiprasad Agarwala and the acclaimed artist Bishnu Prasad Rabha. According to him, he had used one of his mother's lullabies in the movie Rudaali (1993). With the professional guidance of Jyotiprasad Agarwala and Bishnu Prasad Rabha, Bhupen Da (as he is popularly and fondly referred to even today) went out of the state and eventually emerged as a near unparalleled legend in the world of music. Credited with introducing the culture and folk music of Assam and Northeast India in Hindi cinema at a national level, Bhupen Da's songs- written and sung mainly in the Assamese language- are steeped in humanity and universal brotherhood. His songs have been translated and sung in many languages, most notably into Bengali and Hindi. Needless to say, Hazarika's talent had scaled unprecedented heights and he became a well-known entity outside the state of Assam. Sangeeta Barooah Pisharoty wrote in 'The Wire', "It was a voice that was not just Assamese alone but also northeastern, pan-Indian and global. Bhupen Da is an unparalleled talent, the likes of which haven't been discovered in Assam till today."

His songs that have a discreet social flavour remind us of the songs of Paul Robeson and Nachiketa Chakraborty or Kabir Suman. Bhupen Da was introduced to Kalpana Lajmi in the early 1970's by his childhood friend and India's leading tea planter Hemendra Prasad Barooah in Kolkata. Bhupen Hazarika mainly concentrated on Hindi films, most of which were directed by Kalpana Lajmi. What was uncanny however was his ability to bring the world to the people of Assam, long before globalisation had made the word smaller. Even in the commercial films of Bollywood, Ek Pal (1986),Rudaali (1993) and Daman (2001) he had created a safe and sure niche for himself. Bhupen Hazarika was awarded the National Award (for Best Music Director) for Rudaali in 1993. Many of his earlier songs were re-written in Hindi and used as play-back songs in these films. These songs strived to cater to the Hindi film milieu and their social activist lyrics were browbeaten into the lowest common denominator. Later he became a film director and made award-winning Assamese films like Shakuntala Sur (1961) and Pratidhwani (1964). Some of his directorial ventures include Lati-Ghati (1966), Chik Mik Bijuli (1969), For Whom the Sun Shines (1974) and Mera Dharam Meri Maa (1976). He had also composed music for many Assamese and Bangla movies such as Aarop (1973), Chameli Memsaab (1975) and Shimana Perye (1977). His musical versatility was truly amazing (ranging from romantic to societal) and he could spontaneously move in a graceful rhythm from a song like 'Bimurto Mor Nixati Jen' to 'Bistirna Dupare' or 'Manuha Manuhor Babe'.

The Gauhati University anthem 'Jilikabo Luitore Paar' composed by Dr Bhupen Hazarika revealed his love for academia. He had excelled in equal measures as a poet, music composer, singer, actor, author and filmmaker. His outstanding contribution to the musical world stems from his artistic focus on Assam's rich folk heritage.

Bhupen Hazarika's educational life and adolescent growth were no less amazing. In 1926 Bhupen Hazarika was born in Sadiya of Assam. After receiving his early education from high schools in Guwahati, Dhubri and Tezpur, Hazarika joined the Banaras Hindu University from where he received his BA degree in 1944 and MA degree in political science in 1946. He briefly worked at the All India Radio Station at Guwahati before embarking for his doctoral studies at Columbia University. He joined the Columbia University and earned his doctoral degree in 1952. Soon after completing his education, he became a teacher at the Guwahati University. Hazarika started a close association with the leftist Indian People's Theatre Association soon after returning from the US in 1953 and became the Secretary of the Reception Committee of the Third All Assam Conference of IPTA, held at Guwahati in 1955. Dr Bhupen Hazarika was decorated with tall honours. He received the National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 1975, the Padma Shri in 1977, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987, the Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1992, the Padma Bhushan in 2001, the Asom Ratna (Assam's highest civilian award) in 2009 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 2008. He had held the position of chairman at the Sangeet Natak Akademi from 1998 to 2003.He was posthumously awarded both the Padma Vibhushan; India's second-highest civilian award in 2012 and the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award in 2019. The Bharat Ratna was conferred on him posthumously for giving Assam a distinct musical identity. This was a long deserved recognition. From the early years of his life, he was at the forefront of a social battle against the entrenched forces of casteism. Eventually, when the spirited Hazarika married it was to a Brahmin woman and this was his revenge of sorts against a caste-ridden society.

His songs, based on the themes of communal amity, universal justice and empathy, are especially popular among the people of Assam, West Bengal and Bangladesh. He is also acknowledged to have introduced the culture and folk music of Assam and Northeast India to Hindi cinema at the national level. His songs gradually developed the social content and songs like 'Manuhe Manuhor Babe', 'Ganga Amar Ma' made him a household name both in Assam and Bengal. Hazarika befriended Paul Robeson, a prominent civil rights activist, who influenced him to compose the famous song 'Bistirno Parore' which is based on the imagery and theme of Robeson's Ol' Man River. This song, considered as one of his epical compositions, has been translated into various Indian languages. He was also considered as a trend setter in Bengali music (the famous musical genre of West Bengal- the Jivanmukhi Geet started by Kabir Suman and especially Nachketa Chakraborty in 1990's). He was involved with the All Assam Conference of Indian People's Theatre Association. He taught at the Gauhati University but left the job after a few years and shifted to Kolkata. Quite naturally, the music legend also had a brush with politics. Between 1967 and 1972, Hazarika was an independent MLA. In the 2004 elections he unsuccessfully contested the Guwahati Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket. India's longest road bridge Dhola-Sadiya, built over river Lohit (Assam), is referred to as Bhupen Hazarika Setu. Guwahati's Barsapara Cricket Stadium was renamed as Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Stadium (2010). A docu-feature film on Hazarika's life titled Moi Eti Zazabor (I am a wanderer), which was jointly directed by late Waesqurni Bora and Arnab Jan Deka has been under production since the year 1986. Bhupen Hazarika composed music for films from Bangladesh too which got international acclaim. At the age of 85, the nectar voice finally went silent on a November day in 2011 on a hospital bed of Kolkata.

By: Dr.Ratan Bhattacharjee

The writer is an associate professor and head of the post graduate English department at Dum Dum Motijheel College Kolkata. He is also a trilingual poet may be reached at profratanbhattacharjee@gmail.com

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