Assam postpones Bhupen Hazarika's funeral till Wednesday

Guwahati: In view of the huge turnout of people wanting to pay their last respect to the music legend Bhupen Hazarika, the Assam government has postponed the funeral to Wednesday morning which was otherwise scheduled to be held today. “People from all parts of the state have descended on Judges Field where his body has been kept and have queued up since 3 am. It will not be possible for all to pay their respect till 2 pm today,” Assam Culture Minister Pranati Phukan said. The government has therefore decided not to cremate the body today and has rescheduled the funeral to 7 am tomorrow, she said. [caption id=“attachment_126085” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Bhupen Hazarika. PTI”] [/caption] All shops and business establishments remained closed and public transport off the road, but people walked all the way to the venue where Hazarika’s body, draped in traditional Assamese ‘gamosa’, was lying inside a glass casket. The state government had declared a state holiday today and following the postponement, all offices and other institutions would remain closed till 12 noon on Wednesday, Phukan said. The last rites will be conducted at Shishu Udayan in the Gauhati University campus in Jalukbari area by his son Tez Hazarika. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi will be represented at the funeral by DONER Minister Paban Singh Ghatowar. Meanwhile, Hazarika’s son Tez Hazarika who arrived from New York this afternoon said he was moved by the outpour of affection from the people for his father. “I am moved by the tremendous outpour of love for my father by the people of Assam, the country and the world,” Hazarika junior told reporters at the Lokopriyo Gopinath International Airport in Guwahati. “Thank you very much for the love and support shown to my father and the family during our hour of grief. I am very touched,” Hazarika, who will be performing the last rites of his father, said. He said that his son Akash Tez would also be arriving in a few days. The maestro had said in an interview earlier that he regretted not spending enough time with his son when he was a child but after he grew up they came to know each other better as father and son.