The Sangeet Natak Akademi and its associate bodies deeply mourn the sad demise of the iconic figure of Indian culture and former Chairman of the Akademi, Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Hazarika, on 5 November 2011 in Mumbai. Dr. Hazarika was Chairman of the Akademi from December 1998 to December 2003. He also held the most prestigious and rare position as a Fellow (Ratna Sadsaya) of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, an honour which was conferred on him in 2008.

A multifaceted personality, Dr. Hazarika was a poet, composer, singer, actor, journalist, author and film-maker of the high repute. He was born in 1926 in Sadiya, Assam. He did his Inter (Arts) in Guwahati in 1942 and went on to Banaras Hindu University to obtain his B. A. in 1944 and his M.A. in Political Science in 1946. He earned a Doctorate degree in 1952 from the Columbia University, USA on the subject of education and mass communication.

A child prodigy, Dr. Bhupen Hazarika wrote and sang his first song at the age of ten, and worked for the second Assamese talkie Indramalati, when he was twelve years old. As a singer, he was known for his baritone voice and flawless pronunciation; as a lyricist, he was known for compositions that touched on a wide range of themes; and as a composer for use of folk music with a contemporary touch. He was immensely popular, and even revered, in Assam, West Bengal and neighboring Bangladesh. In addition to his native Assamese, Hazarika had sung in several other languages including Bengali and Hindi. The corpus of his lyrics and compositions came to be known as Bhupendra Sangeet in Assam.

As a pioneer in Assam’s film industry, Dr. Bhupen Hazarika had helped to bring the Assamese cinema on the world map. He successfully integrated all the north-eastern states through the medium of cinema and music. He had been editor of the popular Assamese monthly magazines Amar Pratinidhi and Pratidhwani.

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika had been associated with several organizations of national importance in different capacities. His tenure as the Akademi Chairman was marked by significant initiatives and advances made in different regions of the country, and specially in the North East. Akademi also celebrated its Golden Jubilee under his stewardship with memorable programmes in 2003.

During his life time, Dr. Hazarika received several awards, including the Arunachal Pradesh Government’s Gold Medal in 1977 for his outstanding contribution to tribal welfare and upliftment of tribal culture through cinema and music, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1992, the Padma Shri in 1997, the Padma Bhushan in 2001. He had won the National Award as music director thrice for the films Shakuntala, Pratidhwani, and Loti Ghoti. The Government of Assam bestowed its highest honours -- the Srimanta Shankardev Award and the Assam Ratna in 1987 and 2009 respectively.

With the passing away of the maestro Bhupen Hazarika the world of India’s performing arts has lost an outstanding personality whose contribution will be remembered for years to come.