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Bhupen Hazarika

Bhupen Hazarika (8 September 1926 – 5 November 2011) was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, music composer, poet, filmmaker and cultural icon from Assam. Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Assamese culture, he was popularly known as Sudhakantha ("the nectar-throated"). His songs, written and sung primarily in Assamese, often dealt with themes of communal amity, universal brotherhood, humanism and the lives of ordinary people, and have been translated into Hindi, Bengali and several other Indian languages.

Key facts

Born 8 September 1926, Sadiya, Assam, British India
Died 5 November 2011, Mumbai, Maharashtra
Parents Nilakanta Hazarika (father), Shantipriya Hazarika (mother)
Spouse Priyamvada Patel
Children Tej Hazarika
Education Banaras Hindu University (BA, MA); Columbia University, New York (PhD, 1952)
Occupation Singer, lyricist, composer, filmmaker, poet, writer
Languages Assamese, Bengali, Hindi
Notable awards Padma Shri (1977), Padma Bhushan (2001), Padma Vibhushan (2012, posthumous), Bharat Ratna (2019, posthumous), Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1992), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987)

Background and early life

Bhupen Hazarika was born in Sadiya in present-day Tinsukia district of Assam, the eldest of ten children of Nilakanta Hazarika and Shantipriya Hazarika. His mother introduced him to traditional Assamese lullabies and folk tunes, which shaped his early musical sensibility. The family moved to Guwahati and later to Tezpur, where Hazarika came under the influence of the cultural luminaries Jyotiprasad Agarwala and Bishnu Prasad Rabha, both pioneers of modern Assamese culture.

He recorded his first song at the age of ten, and at twelve sang two songs for Jyotiprasad Agarwala's film Indramalati (1939), becoming one of the earliest child performers in Assamese cinema. He completed his Intermediate Arts from Cotton College, Guwahati, in 1942, and went on to earn a BA (1944) and MA in Political Science (1946) from Banaras Hindu University. In 1949 he travelled to the United States on a scholarship and obtained a PhD in Mass Communication from Columbia University, New York, in 1952, with a dissertation on the use of audio-visual techniques in adult education in India's villages.

Career

Music

Hazarika composed and sang several hundred Assamese songs, drawing on Borgeet, Bihu, tea-garden songs, boat songs and other folk traditions of the Brahmaputra valley, and fusing them with influences from American folk music, including the work of Paul Robeson, whom he met in New York. His best-known compositions include Bistirno Parore (an Assamese adaptation of "Ol' Man River"), Manuhe Manuhar Babe ("Man for Man"), Ganga Behti Ho Kyon (Hindi), Bimurto Mur Nixati Jen, Moi Eti Jajabor ("I am a wanderer"), Buku Hom Hom Kore and Dil Hoom Hoom Kare.

He brought Assamese music to a national and international audience and collaborated extensively with Bengali musicians, becoming a popular figure in West Bengal and Bangladesh. In Hindi cinema he is particularly remembered for his music in Kalpana Lajmi's films, including Rudaali (1993), Daman (2001) and Gaja Gamini (2000).

Cinema

Hazarika directed, produced and scored music for several Assamese films. His feature Shakuntala (1961) and Pratidhwani (1964) won the President's National Award for Best Feature Film in Assamese. He also worked on documentaries and on films in Bengali and Hindi, and served as music director for the Assamese film Era Bator Sur (1956), one of the earliest works in which he took complete charge of the music.

Public life

Hazarika served as an independent member of the Assam Legislative Assembly from the Naoboicha constituency between 1967 and 1972. He was Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi's music section and later President of the Asam Sahitya Sabha (1993). In 2004 he contested the Lok Sabha election from Guwahati on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket but was unsuccessful.

Timeline

  • 1926: Born in Sadiya, Assam.
  • 1939: Sang in Jyotiprasad Agarwala's Indramalati.
  • 1946: Completed MA at Banaras Hindu University.
  • 1952: Awarded PhD by Columbia University, New York.
  • 1956: Music director for Era Bator Sur.
  • 1961: Shakuntala wins President's Silver Medal for Best Assamese Feature Film.
  • 1967–72: Independent MLA, Naoboicha, Assam.
  • 1977: Awarded Padma Shri.
  • 1987: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
  • 1992: Dadasaheb Phalke Award for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.
  • 1993: President of the Asam Sahitya Sabha; music for Rudaali.
  • 2001: Awarded Padma Bhushan.
  • 2009: Asom Ratna, the highest civilian award of the Government of Assam.
  • 2011: Died in Mumbai on 5 November.
  • 2012: Awarded Padma Vibhushan posthumously.
  • 2019: Awarded Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, posthumously.

Significance

Hazarika is credited with internationalising Assamese music while keeping its folk roots intact. His lyrics, often political in nature, addressed poverty, social inequality, the unity of the working class and the cultural identity of the people of the North-East. Songs such as Manuhe Manuhar Babe are widely regarded as anthems of humanism in Assam and are routinely sung at public functions, schools and protest movements. His Hindi rendering Dil Hoom Hoom Kare from Rudaali is among the most enduring film songs of the 1990s.

The Bhupen Hazarika Setu, a 9.15-km bridge over the Lohit river connecting Dhola in Tinsukia district of Assam to Sadiya, was inaugurated in May 2017 and named in his honour; at the time of opening it was the longest river bridge in India. The Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust, headed for many years by his companion and collaborator Kalpana Lajmi, manages his archives and intellectual property.

Selected works

  • Films directed: Era Bator Sur (1956), Shakuntala (1961), Pratidhwani (1964), Lati-Ghati (1966), Chik Mik Bijuli (1969), Mera Dharam Meri Maa (1976).
  • Music direction (Hindi): Ek Pal (1986), Rudaali (1993), Saaz (1997), Darmiyaan (1997), Gaja Gamini (2000), Daman (2001).
  • Books: Bandha Hahor Babe Loke Geet Aru Bhupendra Sangeet, autobiographical writings, and collections of essays in Assamese.

Honours and awards

  • National Film Award for Best Music Direction (1975) for Chameli Memsaab.
  • Padma Shri (1977).
  • Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987).
  • Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1992).
  • Padma Bhushan (2001).
  • Asom Ratna (2009).
  • Padma Vibhushan (2012, posthumous).
  • Bharat Ratna (2019, posthumous).

References

  • Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Padma Awards announcements.
  • Directorate of Film Festivals, Government of India: National Film Awards records.
  • Sangeet Natak Akademi: list of award recipients.
  • Asam Sahitya Sabha: list of past presidents.