BHUPEN HAZARIKA: Music is the Remedy
This is the birth centenary year of the recipient of Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Dadasaheb Phalke and Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian awards of India, popular singer, lyricist and music director Dr. Bhupen Hazarika. To mark this momentous year many programs and initiatives are planned all across India, especially Northeast. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently launched these celebrations. A biography of Dr. Hazarika was published on the occasion in 18 Indian languages. A musical program was organized in Mumbai, Maharashtra to pay homage to him.
A few years ago, Daniel Langthasa, Deepak Bora and Ratan Bardoloi of the Digital Suicide band from Assam’s violence-stricken area visited Sarhad as Pune. They had a chat with the Kashmiri students of Sarhad. Speaking about the influence of music in the Northeast the lead singer of the band Daniel said, ‘I’m from Haf Lang, a village in Assam with a total population of 10,000 people. When the terrorism started in the State my father fell victim to it. Thereafter the armed conflict between the army and the terrorists started in our village. However, it affected even us, the local people. Soon I took admission in an Engineering college. I was very frustrated and there were times when overcome by the feeling of vengeance I thought of picking up gun. Thankfully, at that time a guitar fell in my hands and I turned to music with my colleagues. I remember, I was quite influenced by Bhupen Hazarika at the time…’
These youths were enamoured by Mumbai and Bollywood, and wanted a larger platform to present their music. They wanted to meet Hazarika for which they had come to me. Through a journalist friend in Mumbai, I organized the meeting of the two. Around the same time, journalist Nitin Gokhale had sent me a photograph of a young man from Northeast. He was seen carrying a gun on one shoulder and a guitar on the other. The photo reflected the affinity for music of even those who have picked up the gun. I had written an article on this in Marathi Daily Sakal.
The man who thought that not just the Northeast India, we should make use of music for peace anywhere where there is unrest and resentment, Bhupen Hazarika was born on 8th September 1926 at Sadia in Assam. I have had the opportunity to meet him on several occasions, the first of which was in 2008. In this meeting whe had discusses about how we could use music in the violence-stricken parts like Punjab and Kashmit. His companion Kalpana Lajmi was with him during this meeting. Kalpana is the niece of legendary Guru Dutt. She lived with Bhupenda in Mumbai. After that first meeting I was in touch with Bhupenda till 2011, when he unfortunately died. We had even submitted a proposal to the central government to start a Music University on behalf of Sarhad on Bhupenda’s suggestion. Alas, nothing happened in the matter further after his death.
Bhupenda insisted that the efforts initiated by Sarhad to connect the people from Northeast with the mainland India, especially Maharashtra need to be on a larger scale and that modern technology must be harnessed for education and music. This, he firmly believed, would enable the nation to turn the young men and women to peace and development from violence and terrorism. He had done his higher education in the US, where the topic of his thesis was use of technology in the Indian education system. Whatever suggestions he had put forward then in this regard are in practice today. This is a mark of his farsightedness.
With the objective of working in line with the thought of Bhupen Hazarika that music is the remedy for terrorism and violence, Sarhad instituted an award in his name after his death. His wife Priyamvada, son Tej Hazarika and companion Kalpana Lajmi supported the idea. After that even the Govt. of Assam instituted an award in his name. The first recipient of Sarhad’s award was veteran producer-director from Assam Jahnu Barua. Later it was conferred upon eminent personalities from Assam like theatre artiste Ratan Thiyyam and journalist Samudra Gupta Kashyap. The award helped bringing the people of Maharashtra and Northeastern states of India closer emotionally. Bhupen Hazarika was born and grew up in Assam but in the later life, spent many years in Mumbai, Maharashtra. No wonder he often said Maharashtra is my karmabhoomi and I owe a lot to it. He was very closely associated with Bollywood here since his youth. He had an affectionate relationship with the Nightingale of India, late Lata Mangeshkar, who had sung for an Assamese film years ago and Bhupenda was the music director. At that time in Kolkata, Bhupenda had even hosted Latadidi at his home. He was also close to Dev Anand.
He enjoyed immense popularity in Assam for writing songs, music direction and singing. So much so that he was elected to the Assam State Assembly in 1967 and had successfully completed his term. Ideologically, he was a liberal man and advocated social integrity. He was famous for his music not just in Assam or India but internationally. Filmmakers of Bangladesh also invited him to do the music for their films. At that time, his songs were so popular with the Bangladeshi youth that they ranked them just below their national anthem. While working at All India Radio Bhupenda had travelled far and wide in the rural parts and had collected folk music from there. The rustic touch of Assamese folk music found in his music is because of this.
Sarhad has started working in Northeast in 1987 when the atmosphere in the region was aboil because of social and political conflicts. During that time, we came to know of Bhupenda’s social orientation from close. In our last meeting, I had proposed to him that we should organize a Northeast Indian Music Festival in Kashmir and thereby give a message of ‘Music for Uniting the Nation’. He opined that we should start the initiative in a Northeastern State first, to which I happily agreed. Kalpana Lajmi was a part of this meeting as well. Sadly, Bhupenda suddenly left for heavenly abode on 5th November, 2011. The news rocked the world of Indian music. Nevertheless, his enormous contribution to the industry and the songs that he composed and sung even today make us feel that he is around us. The deep feelings he carried for the social and political situation in Northeast manifested in his words can never be forgotten.
Sarhad felt orphaned when Bhupenda passed away. Although his dream of connecting the youth of Northeast India to the mainstream remained unfulfilled, we decided to give away the Bhupen Hazarika Memorial National Award every year to a well-known writer-artist from Northeast. We have also decided to publish the his yet unpublished music. We firmly believed that this would not only help preserve his memories with respect but also to bring to the fore outstanding talent in Northeast India.
In this centenary year of his birth, Sarhad is organizing various programs in Maharashtra, Kashmir and Northeast India. They include setting to music and presenting his unpublished songs, organizing seminars, publication of books on Bhupenda, translation of his songs, setting up a Bhupen Hazarika Studio in Pune and laying the foundation of Late Smt. Jamnabai Firodiya Northeast India Bhavan. There programs shall be held at Delhi, Mumbai and Pune. We feel that this would be an appropriate and humble tribute to this great son of Mother India!
Sanjay Nahar, Founder President, Sarhad, Pune
