Genius from the banks of Luit

Genius from the banks of Luit*    

Bhupen Hazarika is the most loved and admired artist in the north eastern region. His death last year brought tears to the million of Assamese living across the globe and to his listeners. He is regarded as the greatest Assamese of this century. He was a multi faceted personality. We know him as a poet, lyricist, film director, writer, thespian and above all a humanist who could communicate to all age groups.  His philosophy transcends the boundary of the northeastern region of the country and anyone who could grasp the Assamese and Bengali language  can feel the magic and compassion of his words and his music. He won recognition from the Indian Government in the form the Padma Bhushan in 2001. During his lifetime he was loved and criticized by many. He never escaped criticism and at times he became very upset with them. He even doubted if the Assamese people any longer loved him.  At the time of his death he had become a cultural icon of the whole of the northeast region.  Jnanpith award winning writer late Indira Goswami once noted that the socio cultural map of Assam is impossible to draw without the name of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika.

Bhupen Hazarika connected with people irrespective of caste, community, tribe and appeals to a human hearth. His simple yet powerful lyrics covey the message of humane perspective to which even a laymen can connect to. “ On a cold, wintry night/ let me be the smouldering fire/ Warming the tumbledown cottage/ Of some poor unclad peasant”.  His simple choice of words and the innate message it carried are easily communicated to the audiences. He called for unity and compassion and he often finds inspiration in the mighty Brahmaputra, which he regards as a thread connecting the people of the state. “The mighty Brahmaputra, Holy site of great synthesis/ Has for untold centuries been propagating / the message of unity and harmony. “  The artist often uses the mighty Brahmaputra to convey his philosophy of unity and sometimes of lament on the erosion of human values. On your vast banks/ live multitudes of people / You witness their pain and suffering / then silently, oh old river/ How do you flow away? / The world is no longer ethical/ Even humanity lies eroded/ Then shamelessly, oh old river/why do you flow away? .

The artist loved to be called a “setu” meaning a bridge. He indeed was a bridge between the different northeastern states and his homeland and also with his nation. The fault line of identity has divided the northeastern states and the region has been a catalyst for many militant movements. The singer with his poetry tried to assimilate the various tribes of the region. The Khashi, Nepali, Deory, Missing, Nagas and numerous tribes could identify with Bhupen Hazarikas songs.

During the Indo China war of 1962, he saw 56 death bodies when he went to the battlefields to report for the war, when he was still a fresh journalism student from the University of Colombia. The 56 frozen  death bodies pour out of his pen as a song: “How many soldiers died, their youth their lives are now gone/ In Death , the are invincible/ I should have been one of them”. The people of North east felt a sense of betrayal when Nehru said goodbye to Bomdila and Goodbye to Assam and Bhupen Hazarika too felt betrayed by Nehru which the artist expressed through his songs.  The music maestro also wrote songs for the Bangladesh’s war of liberation. “ Glory to the new country  Born to the world /  Oh Bangladesh glory to Muktibahini/ together with the Indian Army , you have created a friendship…”   this song became an unofficial anthem to the liberation movement. Soon after his death Bangladesh conferred its highest civilian award “Muktijodha” to the artist.

Well known Assamese filmmaker Jahnu Baruah noted about the artist as, “Bhupen Hazarika was inspired by the landscape of his homeland Assam. The people of Assam always look towards his songs for answer whenever they are confronted with any danger to their nationhood. Every time I listen to any of Bhupen Hazarikas songs, I feel sad that the Assamese language is understood by only 0.3 per cent of the people in the entire world. I feel sad that appreciation of the true genius of the man is confined to a very small section of people, compared to the number by whom he actually deserved to be admired.”**

* Luit is another name of the Brahmaputra.

**Indian Express, New Delhi, Tuesday, 8 November, 2011

8 september is the birthday of the music maestro. The article is written in this day remembering him.

Deepmoni Gogoi