It is an age-old idea that music is a form of creative art
through which emotions and sentiments are expressed. When we look at it in
terms of the myriad folk musicians in India our understanding of life gets a
better comprehension. Most of these singers are unknown to the world owing to
several factors. It is a known fact that these singers are a treasure, the
value of which has never been gauzed. Dr. Bhupen Hazarika is one of such singer
and composer who is rooted in the folk tradition of Assam and made it popular
across the boundaries.
Dr. Bhupen Hazarika’s songs not only reflect the emotions
and sentiments that we come across in our day-to-day life, but they also
approach the realities, the social problems at the moments of depression of
common men. Moreover, his music has proved to be an important agent for raising
our social consciousness, and that is why every Movement and Revolution of
North-east India is found to be associated in a number of inspiring and
motivating songs.
As a young man, Dr. Hazarika was a friend of Paul Robeson,
the Afro-American singer, actor and civil rights activist. Robeson’s passionate
crusades for social justice and black pride have permeated Hazarika’s own
worldview. As an outcome of this friendship, one of the greatest compositions
of Dr. Hazarika, ‘Bristino Parore’
was born, which was inspired by Paul Robeson’s ‘Ol’ Man River’. Huddie
Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly, of ‘We Are in the Same Boat Brother’
fame gave rise to Dr. Bhupen Hazarika’s soul-stirring song on universal
brotherhood ‘Ami Ekekhon Naore Jatri’. Dr.
Hazarika was also greatly influenced by Pete Seeger, a prominent singer of
protest music in support of international disarmament, civil rights, and
environmental causes.
Allying himself with the Indian people’s theatre Association
(IPTA) – the cultural branch of the Communist Party of India – Bhupen Hazarika
started expressing his social and political consciousness through Assamese folk
music. Thus came the famous song ‘Dola O
Dola’ which musically is set to the rhythm of the barefoot run and quick
breathing of the men carrying the palanquin of the king across the hilly areas
of Assam. The text of this song is in the form of a monologue of the palanquin
bearers. The best example of the humanitarian ideal that instills his works is
the song ‘Manuhe Manuhor Babe’
composed in 1964.
Dr. Hazarika was without doubt one of the greatest living
cultural communicators of South Asia. He has swayed the hearts of millions with
the power and passion of his voice, and the call for universal brotherhood and
humanism, which comes through his songs. He straddles both Assamese folk
tradition and his lineages with the political and social issues in his songs
and compositions. With this increased alertness towards the situations of the
North-east Indian people and his constant engagement with the problems of the
downtrodden, Hazarika is staking a claim at the helm of social criticism.
Dr. Bhupen Hazarika’s music has pronounced affinities with
traditional language and methods with all its informal characteristics and
remains as a purposeful activity rather than simplistic entertainment. His
music is always political and is a medium to resist oppression.
Dr. Bhupen Hazarika—the true son of the mighty Brahmaputra—has
gained immortality through his music not only among the people of North-east
Indian but among all Indians.
You are a legend, a phenomenon. You are larger than life.
Long live Dr. Bhupen Hazarika!
