Assam remembers Bhupen Hazarika on first death anniversary

Guwahati: Rich tributes were paid across the state to Assam’s cultural icon Bhupen Hazarika on his first death anniversary today. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, paying his respects to the maestro at his samadhi (cremation ground) at the Gauhati University campus in Guwahati, said that “as long as the mighty Brahmaputra flows, the maestro’s music will continue to reverberate”.[caption id=“attachment_515364” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Bhupen Hazarika. PTI[/caption] Later, addressing another memorial meet at the Latasil Field in Guwahati, the chief minister said Hazarika would continue to inspire people, especially youths, for generations to come through his rich musical legacy. The chief minister also attended a prayer meet at Hazarika’s residence in Nizarapar where noted filmmamker and his companion of 35 years Kalpana Lajmi was present. Prayer and memorial meetings were organised across the state where people from all walks of life gathered to pay musical tributes to the late musician. In Golaghat district, more than ten thousand people from different walks of life, social and cultural organisations gathered to sing the maestro’s popular number ‘Manuhe Manuher babe’ as a tribute to him. Hazarika’s statue, along with those of two other cultural giants of the state, first Assamese filmmaker Jyoti Prasad Agarwala and revolutionary singer and artist Bishnu Prasad Rabha, was also unveiled at Golaghat. Kalpana Lajmi would also be felicitated for the first time in Assam at a public function in Golaghat on Thuesday as a recognition of her contribution to his life. Hazarika’s son Tez and his estranged wife Priyamvada Patel Hazarika, who arrived in Guwahati from Canada earlier, had performed the annual ‘sradh’ according to the Hindu calendar on 25 October last.