Last month we lost noted ghazal singer, Jagjit Singh and again this month we mourn the loss of one of Indian music’s greatest legends. Dr Bhupen Hazarika the Golden Voice Of Assam is no more. Award winning composer, singer, poet, film maker, actor, writer and political activist, Bhupen Hazarika was all that and more. He was pivotal in popularizing Assamese folk music in the rest of the country and also globally. Though people knew him for his music and films, he has contributed immensely towards the welfare, upliftment and education of the tribal folk. For the people of the North Eastern states Bhupen Hazarika was a symbol of the social and cultural aspirations of the region.
To list Bhupen’s numerous achievements would be impossible here but this revered icon of the film and music world leaves behind a legacy of some of the finest music and films produced in India, from the first song he sang in 1939, Biswa Bijoy No Jowan for the Assamese film Indramalat , through the award winning Ek Pal, Rudaali and Chameli Memsaab to Gandhi to Hitler in 2011. He died in Mumbai on 5, November at the age of 85 due to multi organ failure. His body was flown to his home in Guwahati for the last rites but so great is his popularity that the cremation was deferred until Wednesday, to accommodate the sheer number of people who had queued up to pay their last respects. He will be remembered for long after he is gone.
With the passing away of these two great singers the question arises who will fill the vacuum they have left behind? No doubt they were incomparable but the situation does present an opportunity for talented youngsters to eventually take their place. Given the ever changing music scenario today it could be several youngsters for all you know. The days of a few prominent singers ruling the roost are gone. A young generation moving along at F1 speeds wants a new high every day and we surely have enough talented people if the growing live music scene is anything to go by.
Talking of F1 the first ever Formula 1 circuit motor race in India was a memorable success but for the fiasco of the pre race Metallica concert. The much awaited Lady Gaga live performance at the Indian Grand Prix F1 Rocks after party event on the other hand certainly lived up to its hype and included the promised Indian element by way of the sitar accompaniment by Delhi artist Fateh Ali. India’s growing economic clout and the increased awareness and interest in our diverse musical heritage, is bound to attract more and more top international acts like Lady Gaga and Metallica. This presents a potential platform for Indian musicians to collaborate with international artists.
The annual Nokia Music Connect 2011-India Music Forum supported by IMI will be held on 16-17 November and will witness the coming together of the best minds in the music business both from India and abroad. Lastly, Diwali has gone by but the festive season in India which actually starts with Ganpathi still has a lot of steam left with Christmas and New Year yet to come and we look forward to a lot of happening music events in the next couple of months.
Bhupen was born in Assam and gave his first performance on All India radio at the young age of 11. At age 13 he achieved fame for his song Biswa Bijoy No Jowan in the Assamese film Indramalati. Despite his youth he took an active interest in India’s freedom struggle was closely associated with noted intellectuals of the time.
He did his BA and MA in political science from BHU and later his PhD in Mass Communications from Columbia University, USA. While in New York he became friends with and was influenced by singer, actor, law school graduate and civil rights movement activist, Paul Robeson. He directed his first Assamese film Era Bator Sur in 1956 for which he managed to get Lata Mangeshkar to sing in the film. Bhupen. He was awarded the Padma Shree in 1977 and the Padma Bhushan in 2001.
- Savio D'Souza