DR. BHUPEN HAZARIKA: A CULT FIGURE BEYOUND OUR TIME

“Give me a white man whose blood is white
Give me a Black man whose blood is black
You would get whatever you want
If you can give me in return”
(Jonab Fakir of Bangladesh)


The song reverberated from the voice of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika of Assam long before Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated in America. Dr. Hazarika was a true disciple of the great Saint Sankardeva of Assam and was later influenced by the philosophy of the greatest cult singer Paul Robson of USA. He transcended the walls of his classroom at the University of Gauhati, India in fifties of the last century and took the high road to various corners of the world. He traveled the world from Arunachal to Chicago, from Ottawa to Austria. He spoke of Gorky while sitting at the grave of Mark Twain. He not only acquired degrees from Guwahati, Benares, and New York (Columbia University), but learnt from the streets of the world. Calling himself a gypsy, he moved from place to place not in search of a dream house but to spread the message of happiness of life to humanity. He always spread the message of universal fraternity, brotherhood, and emotional understanding.
I met Bhupen Dada, for the first time, in 1955 at Calcutta Movietone Studio. He was in Calcutta those days to score the music of “Piyali Phookan”, a film directed by another giant Phani sharma. I was brought to Calcutta by Lakshydhar Chowdhury to act in his film “Nimila Anka”. From that day onward I became a fan of Bhupenda and our association lasted till date.
To many people in India he is a great singer. To some people he is a wonderful film maker, to some he is an excellent lyricist. For some he was a dear and respected teacher. But to us he has been a cult figure who empowered our generation with his voice, deeds and writings. Whenever the country is in turmoil he has been there to raise his voice for the upliftment of the downtrodden. He is a humanist per excellence. The lyrics are his bullets and his voice is the machine gun. He has inspired several generations in India through his lyrics, songs, films and writings. Even in his late seventies, when his comrades in arms like Hemanta Kumar, Salil Chowdhury and Naushad sahib retired as musician, his “Dil Hum Hum Kare” took India by rage. Unknowingly people started humming the song from slums to palaces. His greatest weapon is his system of communication. He can communicate with everyone of every age and can persuade to his point of view at ease. The mother and the daughter, the father and the son are always competing with one other to have a share of Dr. Hazarika’s vocal tonic, companionship and friendship. He was an amazing personality. Dear to every one. Anuradha Sharma Pujari once wrote that Bhupen Da was not very happy of his statue erected at the southern fringe of Dighali Tank., Guwhati .He would have been happy if the statue could be remade,as told by Anuradha.
It was his eightieth birthday celebration at Guwahati in the year 2003. A lot of his admirers attended a function atop a steamer on the mighty river Brahmaputra. On that day my poem, especially written on Dr. Bhupen Hazarika, was published by Homen Borgohain in his daily newspaper Ajar Asom. The distinguished novelist, playwright and dramatist Arun Sharma called me and said that he wanted to recite the poem that evening. It was a matter of great pride to me that one giant was paying respect to the other all-time-great through the conduit of my poem. I told Arun Sharma that it would be an honor for me as well. After the poem was recited, Bhupen Da started his speech. As he completed his speech a few people went up to the dais to congratulate Dr. Hazarika. We were sitting in the audience that included Pradip Baruah of Prantik, Pulak Lahiri, Ishan Barua and many others. A young boy of around 12 years came to us and asked:
“Hello Koka, (Grandpa) can I be excused?”
“Yes my son, tell me what do you want?” quipped, Pradip Baruah.
“I want to get ahead a bit and…”, the child told
“And where do you want to get to?” Pradip asked.
“I want to meet “Bhupen Dada.”"
We were not surprised. Always Bhupen Hazarika had remained Dada. He has retained eternal youth. Even a child can communicate with him as Dada but we have become “grandfather”. Though biologically we were almost nineteen years younger! This is the charisma of Dr. Hazarika. In1956 his radio play “ERA Bator Sur” was broadcast through All India Radio. Bupenda selected me do a role in the radio play. Later when he made a film out of it, Mridul Baruah played the role instead of me! In 1977 when the Gramophone Company of India brought a record of Assamese recitation the responsibility was given to me. I requested Bhupenda to score the music of “Saptarshi” and to recite a poem. He readily agreed and never charged a fee. At that time he was the most sought after singer of Calcutta. “Moi Ek Jajabar” was all over the country then:-
“I am a gipsy
I scour the ends of the earth
But wouldn’t look for a home
From Luit to the Mississippi
I marveled at the Volga
From Ottawa through Austria
I made Paris my own.”
(Moi ek jajabar)
Often we marveled at how he managed his time. He was sought after by the communists in West Bengal, the Congress always wanted him and the BJP asked him to come to their side. But Bhupenda always remained with the mass. No Bihu celebration was complete in Assam without Bhupendsa and no freshman social was a resounding success in Bengal. In Calcutta all the employees associations of merchant offices wanted Dr. Hazarika in their cultural shows. On many occasions I was approached by the McLeod Russell cultural association to put a word to Bhupenda so that he can accept the invitation to their cultural bash. Bhupenda always obliged. One day I asked him where from he got so much vitality. He replied through a lyric of his:
“The raging storm questioned
Tell me your due
I boldly opened the door of my mind and said
“Give me your prowess”
The thunder roared:
“Tell me your desire”
I said- “Give me your powerful free voice” ( Prasanda Dhumuhai Prasna Korile Mok)
Perhaps Nature did accede to his demand for it bestowed him his powerful voice. It came naturally to him. Whenever there was turmoil in Assam, nay in the country he raised his voice:
“Let my songs be
A profound assurance
Against the pervading lack of trust.
Let my songs be
A hymn to truth
Against false imaginings”. ( Mor Gan Hok)
His songs empowered us to raise our voice. We were motivated to fight back against corruption, terrorism and social degeneration and poverty. Dr. Hazarika is taking life easy now. He is mostly in Bombay in the loving care of Kalpana Lazmi. He feels reassured there. But his mind always travels to Assam. He keeps visiting the state to meet his admirers and his sisters and brothers. His sense of humor and wit are as strong as before. Physically he feels sometime weak but mentally as strong as steel. Long live Bhupenda!, our cult figure from Assam. Bhupenda is as iconic to Assam as Rabindranath is to Bengal and Robert Burns is to Scotland, Tolstoy to Russian and Mark Twain to America. He is a phenomenon which arrives once in a blue moon in a society. I was asked by a Bengali journalist friend of mine to identify the best song of Bhupen Hazarika. I replied that to us all his lyrics are excellent because he spoke the language of humanity. But to me his most outstanding song is: “Bimurta Nishate”…
“This my ethereal Night
Is a blue scarf
Woven of silence
In its folds
Tender breathing
And live warmth”.
This is the song Bhupen Da also loves most. He loves all his creations. But this song appeals to him the most.He was 86 years young man in 2010 but remained romantic. He has been young at heart all the time. Perhaps he does not sing in concert now yet his creativity continues. He wrote a poem sitting in his home at Guwahati during the month of June 2010. It is almost impossible to bind Hazarika’s personality to any dogma. He is free as a bird yet he would always like to live amidst the humanity like Wordsworth’s Cuckoo. It is not important where he lives now. But for whom he stands today? The answer is simply he wants to live for the wellbeing of humanity. Every Assamese loves him and wants him back in Assam but is there anyone to willingly take full responsibility of his cerebral food, mental agony and physically incapacity? Yes, there is one who is an admirer of his from her childhood. Kalpana is misunderstood by most, but is admired by Bhupen Dada. She is now a friend philosopher and guide all combined together. Despite opposition of a section of well wisher Bhupenda admires her relations with him. Let Bhupenda pass his days with a sense of pride and happiness. That would be a real tribute to his personality who made world his home.
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