Missing the maker of an unequal music

GUWAHATI: It's been 10 months since the stalwart of modern Assamese music, Bhupen Hazarika, passed away, but the void that he has left in the world of music, and especially in Assam, is nowhere near being filled up. In fact, even as the Assamese music fraternity gears up to celebrate his 86th birth anniversary on September 8, it is yet to come in terms with the fact that their beloved Bhupenda, musician extraordinaire and their guiding star, is no more.
Of course, one man doesn't make the entire industry, and there are scores of musicians churning out tunes for music lovers across the state, and some of them have even cut out a niche for themselves at the national level, but stepping into Hazarika's shoes is a distant dream, and an almost unachievable one at the moment. This is a fact local singers themselves acknowledge and they don't even want to attempt the feat.
Tarali Sarmah, a well-known Asamese singer, says, "Bhupenda was the undisputed patriarch of the music fraternity in Assam, and losing him was like losing our father. He was a source of our inspiration for all of us and the void left by him is tremendous. It is our social and moral duty to keep his spirit and music alive, and the new generation must take cognizance of his ideals so that they can usher in a new beginning based on his philosophy of life and music."
"Looking at the present volatile situation in the region, we should turn to Bhupenda's music for solace and imbibe his message of peace through his songs. His contribution to Assamese music is immense. He had a great impact on the artist and music fraternity and we have to continue his legacy. On his birthday, which is on Saturday, we are planning to observe a peace day and will urge the people to sing his immortal song 'Manuhe Manuhor Babe'," said Komol Kotoky, a close associate of Hazarika and a popular musician.
It was the likes of Jyotiprasad Agarwala, Bhupen Hazarika and his brother, Jayanta Hazarika, among others, who laid the foundation of the Assamese music industry, which at later dates spawned musicians like J P Das, Tarali Sarma, Sangeeta Goswami, Zubeen Garg, Jitul Sonowal, Anagarag Mahanta and others.
Hazarika, along with his brother, ushered in what was heralded as a new era in the Assamese music. "It was the philosophy underlining their songs that gave birth to a new sub-genre of Assamese music known as Bhupendrasangeet. Bhupenda and Jayantada composed tunes that appealed not only to the ears but offered something for the heart, mind and soul as well. After his death, the younger generation of musicians, inspired by Bhupenda, has tried to pay tributes to him in various ways by improvising on his music and creating new tunes as well, but no one can take Bhupenda's place," says J P Das, a noted Assamese singer who is part of a new album dedicated to Hazarika.
Over the last decade, however, with commercialization of music and the onslaught of snazzy music videos, Bhupendra sangeet was forced to take a backseat, as the music maestro refused to jump onto the music video bandwagon during his lifetime. With the emphasis shifting to videos from content and lyrical chutzpah, which was an omnipresent element in Hazarika's tunes, his genre of music lost some of its sheen as the mainstream market succumbed to the glitz and glamour of new 'packaged' music.
In fact, with musicians becoming market oriented and glitzy music videos being the order of the day, a lot of old music is getting lost to the new generation. "Nowadays, no one tries to reflect the society in their work. The focus is more on music videos than the music itself. Bhupenda used to write for the mind, heart and the soul," says Das.