Guwahati/Tezpur (Assam), Sep 8: The year-long birth centenary celebrations of legendary singer Bhupen Hazarika commenced in Assam on Monday, with Governor Laxman Prasad Acharya and Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma paying tributes to the musical doyen.
The inaugural ceremony of the celebrations was held at the Dr Bhupen Hazarika Samannay Tirtha in Guwahati, the place where he was cremated in November 2011.
The governor and the chief minister paid tributes to the maestro on his birth anniversary, while 100 prominent personalities raised a flag in his honour. A musical programme was also held on the occasion.
Hazarika’s only son, Tez Hazarika, along with the latter’s wife and son, have arrived here from the US to attend the centenary celebrations.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend the celebrations on September 13, on the first day of his two-day visit to Assam.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, in an X post, said Hazarika remains an inspiration for all.
“His life and times are an example in itself. His love for Assam and Bharat is one to take inspiration from by all,” Sarma said.
“Today, we celebrate the life of a legend who carried Assam to the world through his soulful melodies and made humanity his tune & love his anthem. We celebrate the Bharat Ratna Dr Bhupen Hazarika, on his jayanti, remembering his life which was poetry in itself,” the CM said in another post.
He said that the legendary singer-music composer is being honoured like never before, with the BJP-led government at the Centre bestowing Bharat Ratna on Hazarika posthumously, renaming Dibrugarh Airport after him and issuing a commemorative coin featuring him.
Sarma also shared a video clip of Samar Hazarika, the younger brother of Bhupen Hazarika.
Samar Hazarika appreciated the initiative of the state government to celebrate his brother’s birth centenary on such a grand scale.
He said that it was for the first time that an Assamese artiste was being honoured on such a scale across the nation.
He also thanked other non-governmental organisations and institutions, which have also lined up different events to mark the year-long celebrations.
The Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust, founded by him during his lifetime, will also organise events at the Srimanta Sankardeva Kalakshetra during the day. The programmes include musical events and lighting lamps in front of the museum dedicated to the maestro on the premises.
The Nagaon district administration will organise a musical programme on September 10 to create a record where 15,000 students of universities, colleges and schools of the district will sing his evergreen song ‘Manuhe Manuher babe’ (If humans do not care for humans) at the Nurul Amin Stadium. Officials of the ‘India Book of Records’ (IBR) will be present on that day to record the event.
Hazarika, popularly called ‘Sudhakanta’, was born at Sadiya in Tinsukia district on September 8, 1926.(PTI)
