A BIRTH CENTENARY TRIBUTE UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH MUSIC MAESTRO DR. BHUPEN HAZARIKA

At a time when Government of Assam is celebrating the yearlong birth centenary celebrations of music maestro, Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhupen Hazarika, I fondly remember my close encounter with the legendary singer, music composer, filmmaker, actor, poet, journalist and author all rolled into one dating back to the year 1995.

- SABIR NISHAT

That year around mid March, I was just transferred from Hatsingimari, Mankachar in South Salmara, which was a subdivision of Dhubri district then, now a district, to the Chief Minister’s Public Relations Cell during the Government led by Chief Minister Hiteswar Saikia. I was placed with another Officer, Anupjyoti Choudhury, youngest son of eminent dramatist and actor, late Lakshyadhar Choudhury under the Chief Information Officer to the Chief Minister, Bimal Bhuyan.

A month later, one fine late evening in last part of April, Chief Minister Saikia called Bhuyan Sir and me to his official chamber. When we stepped into his chamber, we saw the Chief Minister busy at a meeting with officials. The PS to the Chief Minister took us to an adjacent room where we waited there for close to an hour. Saikia turned up and in his inimitable style asked us whether the waiting was too long. He said the purpose of calling us was that he wanted both of us to accompany the doyen of music Dr. Bhupen Hazarika from Tezpur to Nazira. The occasion: Basanta Utsav (Spring Festival) at Nazira playground.

The Chief Minister informed us that he had already apprised Dr. Hazarika about the event and that he had consented to come down to Nazira despite his busy schedule. Saikia instructed us to take every care of Dr. Hazarika in course of the long journey.

The very next day in the wee hours, we set off for Tezpur. My excitement knew no bounds that I was soon going to meet a multifaceted towering personality, a living legend in his own lifetime, Dr. Bhupen Hazarika, whose fame and popularity extended far and wide.

After three-and-a-half hours journey in an Ambassador car with a brief stopover at Amoni for the morning breakfast, we reached our destination - a wooden bunglow in the midst of a lush tea plantation on the outskirts of Tezpur situated on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River.