Aasu pays ‘thiya naam’ tribute to Bhupen

GUWAHATI: A month has passed since Assam lost its favourite singer, the legendary Bhupen Hazarika, but the state is yet to come out of mourning. To commemorate the completion of one month of Bhupen Hazarika’s demise, the All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu), in association with Akhanda Brihat Dolutsav Udyapan Samiti, on Sunday organized a special two-day ‘thiya naam’ programme at Dighalipukhuri in the city.The function, which commenced on Sunday, and lasted for 10 hours, featured five groups that performed ‘thiya naam’ — a special kind of stand-up religious chant performance from lower Assam. The programme, which will be held on Monday for 10 hours as well, will feature six ‘thiya naam’ groups in all. The groups gave a mesmerizing performance which included dexterous hand movements with traditional Assamese brass cymbals, which is an important musical instrument in the chanting of sacred hymns. The air at Dighalipukhuri resonated with sacred music, especially dedicated to the singer and meant to bring peace to his soul.“Bhupenda is the soul of Assam. A day before the completion of one month of his death, we at Aasu, along with the Akhanda Brihat Dolutsav Udyapan Samiti, decided to pay a fitting respect to our beloved Bhupenda.The programme was initiated by the Barpeta Burasatradhikar (senior satra leader), Bashistha Deva Sarmah. On Monday, we will light earthen lamps at all regional headquarters across the state and also at Dighlipukhuri to commemorate the event and different programmes will be held in various parts of the state,” said Samujjal Bhattacharjee, Aasu advisor.Family members of Bhupen Hazarika also turned up for the event in the morning. Kalpana Lajmi, on her way to the airport, dropped by the venue and paid her tribute to the man she loved and stood by for many long years.The programme was inaugurated by the Barpeta Burasatraadhikar and Deka Satraadhikar (junior satra leader), Navadas Pathak, on Sunday morning. Sunday’s performing troupes were from places like Bhawanipur, Nalbari, Barpeta and other remote places from the state.