Bhupen Hazarika
Bhupen Hazarika (Assamese: [bʱupɛn ɦazɔɹika] ⓘ) (8 September 1926 – 5 November 2011) was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet, actor, artist, editor, filmmaker, professor and politician from Assam, widely known as Sudha Kontho (meaning cuckoo, literally "nectar-throated"). His songs were written and sung mainly in the Assamese language by himself, are marked by humanity and universal brotherhood and have been translated and sung in many languages, most notably in Bengali and Hindi.
Bhupen Hazarika | |
|---|---|
Hazarika in November 2011 | |
| Born | 8 September 1926 Sadiya, Assam, British India |
| Died | 5 November 2011 (aged 85) Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Other names | Sudha Kontho |
| Education | Cotton College, Benaras Hindu University, Columbia University |
| Occupation(s) | poet, lyricist, songwriter, composer, singer, music director, filmmaker, politician |
| Years active | 1939–2010 |
| Notable work | Rudaali Darmiyaan: In Between Gaja Gamini Daman Indramalati |
| Political party | Bharatiya Janata Party (2004–2011) |
| Movement | Indian Peoples Theater Association |
| Spouse | Priyamvada Patel |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Sudakshina Sarma (sister) Jayanta Hazarika (brother) |
| Awards | Bharat Ratna (2019) (posthumously) Padma Vibhushan (2012) (posthumously) Padma Bhushan (2001) Padma Shri (1977) Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1992) Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (2008) Asom Ratna (2009) Friends of Liberation War Honour (2011) |
| Member of Assam Legislative Assembly | |
| In office 1967–1972 | |
| Preceded by | constituency established |
| Succeeded by | Lila Kanta Das |
| Constituency | Naoboicha |
| Website | bhupenhazarika |
| Signature | |
His songs, based on the themes of communal amity, universal justice and empathy, are especially popular among the people of Assam, West Bengal and Bangladesh. He is also acknowledged to have introduced the culture and folk music of Assam and Northeast India to Hindi cinema at the national level. He received the National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 1975, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987), Padma Shri (1977), and Padma Bhushan (2001), Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1992), the highest award for cinema in India and Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (2008), the highest award of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. He was posthumously awarded both the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award, in 2012, and the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 2019. Hazarika also held the position of the Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi from December 1998 to December 2003.