Family members of Bhupen Hazarika at his Nizarapar residence and (below) fans wait outside Judges Field to pay their last respects on Tuesday. Telegraph picture and UB Photos

Nov. 8: Bhupenda’s hearse had left his residence.

Under a tree in their sotal (front yard), his siblings sat nudging each other’s memory about the time they first came to Nizarapar.

“It was 1959. We had a traditional Assamese house here. The floor used to be cleaned with cow dung every morning and we hardly had any neighbours,” said Kavita Baruah, one of Hazarika’s younger sisters.

Kavita, Sudakshina Sharma, Balen Hazarika, Amar Hazarika and Samar Hazarika have spent three sleepless nights.

They were tired and found solace in fond memories.

They talked about how Bhupenda was very sentimental about his siblings and how he protected them and never scolded them even if they did not fare well in exams.

“If someone said anything bad about us, Bhupenda used to get very upset about it. He was very protective,” said Sudakshina.

“If we did not do good in exams he never scolded us. Rather he used to explain things to us with a lot of love and patience,” she reminisced.

“This land where our house was built in 1959 was government land and the administration sent forces to evict us several times,” recollected Balen Hazarika.

Their father, Nilakanta Hazarika, was a sub-divisional commissioner and teacher of then chief minister Bimala Prasad Chaliha.

Thanks to his father’s efforts, the entire neighbourhood was saved from eviction.

It was only in the late sixties that they were granted land patta.

“There was no well here at that time and because of the area’s height it was difficult to find one. But luckily, when a well was dug in our compound, it hit a spring. Our father gave it for public use, as it was the only well in the locality,” said Sudakshina.

“We all moved to this house in 1959. Bhupenda, too, came here during that time,” said Balen.

They also fondly remembered their bou (sister-in-law), Priyambada Patel.

“She grew up abroad but was very much an Indian. Besides being the choreographer in Bhupenda’s film Era Bator Xur, she also assisted and supported him at every step then,” said Sudakshina.

Of Hazarika’s nine siblings, Stutey Patel and Pravin Hazarika are settled abroad.

“Pravinda cannot come as he is not well but Stutey will be coming soon,” said Balen.

Stutey was married to Priyambada’s brother Kailash Patel and is the mother of three daughters.

As the afternoon approached, everyone waited for Tez, Bhupenda’s son, to arrive.

Their wait ended around 1.20pm when he stepped into the house.

Dressed in black, his eyes eagerly sought a familiar face in the crowd.

On spotting the family members, he rushed to greet them.

He made his way to the garlanded photograph of his father and with his head bowed prayed for his soul.

While one part of the family spent some quiet moments at their Nizarapar home, others struggled to fight tears among a sea of humanity at Judges Field, 3km away.

It was 1pm. Clad in white salwar kameez, Kalpana Lajmi, accompanied by Bhupenda’s sister-in-law Manisha Hazarika and nephew Mayukh Hazarika stood near the body and prayed for a few minutes.

For more than two hours they watched fans and well-wishers offering tribute to the jajabor sitting on a white mattress, a few metres from the body.

Grief-stricken Lajmi and other family members refrained from speaking to reporters.

Sometimes Lajmi spoke to the relatives and a few close people.

“She discussed the last rites of Hazarika,” said film director Surjya Hazarika.

Dr Shalendra Goel, intensive and critical care specialist who was heading the team of doctors looking after Hazarika, sat with the family.

“I was associated with him for the last four months, as I was treating him. As a man, no doubt, he was great. I am short of words to express my feelings,” Goel said.

Goel said while in hospital, Hazarika had wished to sing more songs.

“He always had the wish to sing and compose more songs,” he said.

“I have come here of my own will to pay my last tribute to him. I will return tomorrow,” Goel added.

People continued to place bouquets of flowers near Hazarika’s body.

All throughout the day, the district administration had a tough time managing the wave of Hazarika fans, from schoolchildren to octogenarians.

The queue to pay tribute to the singer stretched for over 2km.

When Lajmi and other family members left Judges Field, a crowd accompanied them to the exit gate, taking photographs or simply walking along offering their silent sympathy.

Actress Seema Biswas who arrived at Judges Field and offered a tearful tribute, spent more than an hour with the family.

“Bhupenda was just great. At this moment I would only like to pray for his soul,” she said.

Tez, too, reached Judges Field to mourn his father’s demise.

As the sea of humanity stepped up to offer its last respects, many failed to find words to explain Hazarika’s contribution to Assam.

“Through Chameli Memsaab, Bhupenda introduced the tea workers’ communities to the world,” said Joseph Topno, Tezpur Lok Sabha MP.