Jorhat, May 15: Nothing could dampen the spirits of the several thousand schoolchildren who braved the blistering heat to meet music maestro Bhupen Hazarika.

Schoolchildren gathered at the Jorhat stadium to interact with the Dada Saheb Phalke award winner. Bridging the generation gap, he answered all the queries, in his usual inimitable style.

The function was organised by the Jorhat Sangeet Silpi Sangstha yesterday. The objective was to introduce young minds to Indian culture in an entertaining manner, in a way that would appeal to them. Silpi Sangstha had organised a similar programme with artiste Zubeen Garg, a few months back.

It was a momentous day for the schoolchildren, intera-cting with Bhupen Hazarika from such a close distance, which was like a dream come true. Questions ranged from Paul Robeson, Pablo Picasso, Lakshminath Bezboruah, to his own childhood and college days.

?Talking to him from such close quarters was a very memorable experience for me,? said an excited Santana Baruah, a Class VII student from Shankar Dev Seminary. ?I have witnessed several of his performances. Meeying him was an emotional experience. He is growing old now, but he is still charismatic and still capable of drawing crowds,? said Samiran Bordoloi, a student.

The octogenarian, looking fresh and dapper, sang a few lines from some of his famous numbers to the expectant crowd.