Bhupen Hazarika Acclaimed singer dies at 85

The 86-year-old Dada Saheb Phalke Award winner was undergoing treatment at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital since June 29 after he complained of breathlessness. Ever since he has been confined to his hospital bed.

Perhaps the only living balladeer in the country, composing his own lyrics and music, Hazarika lent his voice to the film " Gandhi To Hitler", where he sang Mahatma Gandhi's favourite bhajan 'Vaishnav jan'.

Bhupen Hazarika, who has a genius for weaving a magical tapestry out of traditional Assamese music and lyrics, is regarded as one of the greatest living cultural communicators of South Asia. He has been a poet, journalist, singer, lyricist, musician, filmmaker and writer. 


A poet, music composer, singer, actor, journalist, author and filmmaker, the self-proclaimed 'jajabor' (wanderer) took the rich folk heritage of Assam and interpreted it beautifully for the world through his songs.

With his death, the country has lost not only one of its few balladeers but also one of its greatest cultural icons, cherished in Dhaka as much as in Guwahati.

Born in 1926 in Sadiya into a family of teachers, the academically-talented Hazarika completed his basic education from Guwahati in 1942, BA from Banaras Hindu University in 1944 and MA (Pol Sc) in 1946. He did his PhD in Mass Communication from Columbia University. He also received the Lisle Fellowship from Chicago University, US to study the use of educational project development through cinema. 


"As a child, I grew up listening to tribal music - its rhythm saw me developing an inclination towards singing. Perhaps, I inherited my singing skills from my mother, who sang lullabies to me. In fact, I have used one of my mother's lullabies in 'Rudali'," the Dadasaheb Phalke winner had said.