Guwahati, Nov. 6: It will be the saddest Id-ul-zoha in Assam tomorrow.
Bhupen Hazarika will return from Mumbai after five months but in a hearse.
The man who sang immortal qawalis and made Id a festival of not only Muslims but also of the entire Assamese community will no longer be heard.
“Aji Eidor ei mehfilot, Nafrator sin sab nai, Prane prane khushir toofan, Minnator jabab nai, Aji Eidor ei mehfilot (In today’s Id’s party, there is no sign hatred, there is a storm of happiness in every heart, the unity is unique in today’s Id’s party)” Hazarika had sung in 1984.
Ramzanor roza gol ulal Eidor jun, Senehore mehfilote bohe aji kon?, Aji Eid majlisote eke loge bohise, Aji Eid majlisote Rohim chachau bohise, Aji Eid majlisote Sri Ram kumaro bohise (Ramzan is over and Id’s moon has been sighted, who will be in the favourite Id party today? All are sitting together in Id party, Rahim uncle is also sitting in the Id party, Ram Kumar is also there), is a Hazarika song from a 1966 film, Lati-Ghati.
Most Assamese Muslims would listen to both songs on both Id-ul-Fitr and Id-ul-zoha.
Tomorrow, several mosques and idgahs across the state will hold special prayers for eternal peace of the bard’s soul.
Anowar Hussain, imam of 338-year-old Burah Jame Masjid in the city told The Telegraph that Hazarika was a great soul and everyone, irrespective of caste, creed and religion, is grieving deeply.
He said it is “our misfortune that the singer’s body will arrive on the day of Id-ul-zoha.”
“We will pray for the singer tomorrow,” Hussain said.
“I will personally request all to pray for him and try to highlight Hazarika’s contribution to the society before the devotees,” said Hussain, after a meeting of the Burah Jame Masjid Management Committee this evening.
Mujibur Rahman, secretary of Pub Guwahati Iddgah Committee said every Muslim in the state would miss Bhupenda on Id.
“At the end of Id namaz tomorrow we will pray for Bhupenda. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” he said.
Nurul Haque, who was the lyricist of Aji Eidor ei mehfilot, sobbed when this correspondent called him to remind about the popular qawali.
“Persons like Bhupenda are not born on this earth again and again. I will specially pray before Allah tomorrow so that his soul rests in jannat (paradise),” 74-year-old Haque said over phone from his Jorhat residence.
Syed Eske Alam, chairperson of Haji Musafir Khana Trust Board, said from Tezpur that Hazarika’s death was an irreparable loss.
He epitomised the symbol of unity and brotherhood, he said.
“I will pray for him tomorrow. We miss the singer very much in tomorrow’s Id,” Alam said.
Ilias Ali, head of the emergency medicine and trauma centre, Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, said Hazarika was not only a singer but also a social messenger.
He said the singer tried to build an Assam devoid of clash and religious intolerance.
“His songs on Id are hugely popular. I personally used to listen to these songs. Every song of Hazarika had a social message. The Muslim community will miss him tomorrow on Id. I will pray for his soul,” Ali said.
