by Dr. Dilip Kumar Datta
‘Bhupen Hazarikar Git Aru Jibon Roth or song and chariot of Bhupen Hazarika’s Life’ is a painstaking and biographical look at the creative works of the prolific artist. According to this author, Hazarika has left behind lyrics of more than six hundred songs that are a blend of the humanism of Buddha, Marxism, and the best of western thoughts. Bhupen Hazarika composed music for his songs by blending together the ragas of Indian music with the melodies of the west but always setting them on the traditional and folk tunes of Assam, the land of blue hills and red rivers on the foothills of the Himalayas.This book is a complete collection of his songs analyzed and classified by the mathematician and author for whom the art of Assamese lyrics is both a passion and a pursuit. Dr. Bhupen Hazarika (1926-2011), a true jewel of Assam, was a many sided genius—a legendary singer, a lyricist, a composer, a scholar, an artist and above all a genuine humanist who dreamt of establishing a casteless and classless society in Assam, India and everywhere else in the world. He left enough evidence to understand his earnest desires and efforts in his writings, paintings, lyrics, lectures etc. Above all he sang from the depth of his soul in a manner that had so captivated the people that the hills and plains of Assam were empty and desolate as people thronged to Jalukbari to have a last glimpse of their beloved bard after his death on November 5, 2011 in Mumbai. As the sea of people and their earnestness were telecast, people all over the world saw a sight they had perhaps never seen.
