He died in 2011. His country’s highest civilian honour took eight more years to catch up.
Timeline
- 8 September 1926: Born in Sadiya, Assam. Sings his first film song at age 10, for Jyoti Prasad Agarwala’s Joymoti.
- 1952: Earns a PhD in Mass Communications, from Columbia University.
- 1993: His Hindi song “Dil Hoom Hoom Kare,” from the film Rudaali, is released.
- 5 November 2011: Dies in Mumbai, at age 85.
- 2019: Receives the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, posthumously.
Must Know
- Bhupen Hazarika (1926-2011) was an Assamese singer, composer, lyricist, and filmmaker.
- He is known as the “Bard of the Brahmaputra,” for his songs on Assamese culture and the river.
- He sang his first film song at age 10, for Jyoti Prasad Agarwala’s Assamese film Joymoti.
- He earned a PhD in Mass Communications from Columbia University, in 1952.
- His Hindi song “Dil Hoom Hoom Kare,” from the 1993 film Rudaali, made him a household name nationally.
- He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, in 2019.
Good to Know
- He studied at Cotton College, Guwahati, and Banaras Hindu University, before his Columbia PhD.
- “Dil Hoom Hoom Kare” adapted his own earlier Assamese song, “Buku Hom Hom Kore.” Gulzar wrote its Hindi lyrics.
- He served as an independent MLA from Nauboicha, in the Assam Legislative Assembly, from 1967 to 1972.
- In 2004, he unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election from Guwahati, on a BJP ticket.
- He won the National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 1975. He later won the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, India’s highest cinema honour, in 1992.
- See ArtnCulture0101 — Sattriya: The Monastery Dance of Assam, for another major art form from his home state.
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Great to Know
- His awards span over four decades. Padma Shri came in 1977, and Padma Bhushan in 2001.
- Both the Padma Vibhushan (2012) and the Bharat Ratna (2019) arrived after his death.
- Beyond music, he worked as a journalist, poet, and university teacher, briefly at Guwahati University.
- His career spanned Assamese, Hindi, and Bengali cinema, reflecting a broader vision of cultural integration across India.
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