Life of Bhupen Hazarika to come alive at his Samadhi Khetra,museum to be inaugurated

GUWAHATI: Life and work of music maestro Bhupen Hazarika will come alive on Monday at a place where he was cremated seven years ago.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal will inaugurate a museum, housing personal effects and photographs of the legendary singer at the Dr Bhupen Hazarika Samadhi Khetra in Jalukbari on Monday. The three-storey museum named ‘Xunuwali Xuworoni’ (golden memories) will be dedicated to the people of Assam on the occasion of the singer’s seventh death anniversary.

Bhupen Hazarika’s clothes, shoes and the cap that adorned his head, will be displayed at the museum. Two kurtas, a pyjama, a lungi and the cap of the musician have been donated by his sister-in-law Monisha Hazarika to the museum. The Assam Government has provided nearly Rs 14 crore the construction and Rs 377.60 lakh for interior work of the museum.

“The museum will be a real tribute to Bhupen Hazarika. It will symbolize that the singer’s life and work will remain immortal in hearts and souls of the people of Assam. Millions of fans of Bhupenda will be able to refresh their memories about the singer by visiting the museum,” an official of State Cultural Affairs department said.

On other hand, the Assam Government has acquired Hazarika’s house in Kolkata. Cultural Affairs minister Naba Kumar Doley and press adviser to the Chief Minister Hrishikesh Goswami last year visited the house on 77 Golf Club Road in Tollygunge area of Kolkata on the directive of Sarbananda Sonowal. The government bought the house at Rs 1.65 crore from the previous owner Sushil K. Dangi. The house is an important part of Bhupenda’s legacy as he wrote most of his great songs and composed the music there since the 1950s. The government has also sanctioned Rs 25 lakh for repairing the house, which will be taken up by the PWD.

Documentation work, related to the purchase of the Kolkata house from Dangi, is in progress. The initial sale deed of the house, when Hazarika sold it to Dangi while relocating to Mumbai, will be acquired for display at the museum.

Another house of Hazarika in Kuthori of Nagaon district is in the process of being acquired by the State government. Both the houses where Bhupen Hazarika spent his golden days as a legendary singer will be converted into heritage houses.