I was nine years old when I first came across the name of Bhupen Hazarika (unaware of the musician's contributions to the world of music), courtesy the audio cassette of the Hindi movie, Rudaali , for which he composed the score. I could not follow the lyrics then. I did not follow much of his musical works thereafter. But when I listened to the songs of Rudaali years later, I was convinced that only a genius could have rendered such compositions. His death is an irreparable loss to the world of classical Indian music.
R.K.P. Ushas,
Kollam
Hazarika was the symbol of Assamese identity to the rest of India and the world at large. Almost all leading singing voices in Bollywood have rendered his compositions. As early as the 1950s, he had the living legend, Lata Mangeshkar, sing her first song in Assamese Jonakore rati asomire maati …, a timeless and soulful song, the lyrics of which he himself wrote. He also composed the music for the film Gajagamini directed by M.F. Husain. His Bengali number Ganga aamar maa, Padma aamar maa made him very popular in Bangladesh.
H.K. Borah,
Guwahati
The death of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award winner has caused a void in the cultural world of Assam and the rest of India. A legend in the music world, his talent was not confined to Assam. His songs in Hindi, Bengali and English are equally popular.
There are very few who are at once a writer, composer and singer of patriotic, romantic, folk and movie songs in different languages. Among the many songs he composed and sang in Bengali, the song on the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971 is still popular in that country.
Sarat Ch Talukdar,
Guwahati
