Bhupen Hazarika

Guwahati, Sept. 16: Rongmon, the rhino mascot for the 2005 National Games, is in elite company.

Assam’s cultural mascot, Bhupen Hazarika, has consented to be the event manager for the opening and closing ceremonies of the showpiece sports event. As a bonus, he has agreed to pen and perform the theme song of the Games.

The decision to bring Hazarika into the picture was apparently taken by the Congress government to go one-up on the BJP, which is under fire for omitting the singer-writer-filmmaker’s name from the list of presidential nominees to the Rajya Sabha.

Hazarika gave his consent to the state government’s request during a meeting with sports minister Robin Bordoloi last night. The minister and deputy director of sports Rajib Prakash Baruah had called on him at his Nizarapar residence.

Sources said Hazarika readily agreed to lead the organising committees for the opening and closing ceremonies, which are expected to feature popular singers, including Zubeen Garg, and people from the state’s film industry.

A source in the sports department said Hazarika had a 45-minute chat with the minister on the progress of the preparations for the Games, undoubtedly the biggest sports event organised in Assam. He said Dispur zeroed in on the icon primarily because he was the “father figure of Assamese culture” and its best-known representative outside the state.

“Moreover, he has the calibre to organise the event without any hiccups or hassles. A proposal or request from him to anyone in the country is worth more than the money paid through professional event managers,” the source said.

Hazarika has already penned and sung a song, Aey Prithivi Ek Krirangan (the world is a playground), for a promotional album for the Games. The government released the album, titled Swagatam Rastriya Krira 2005, a few months ago. It includes songs by Zubeen Garg and Sangeeta Kakaty.

There was a hue and cry in Assam when Hazarika was not nominated to the Rajya Sabha. The culture icon today thanked the Asom Gana Parishad for offering to make him its candidate for a seat in the Upper House.

In the aftermath of the controversy, Hazarika had said he was unwilling to “become a political football”.