Researcher Umananda Dowerah during the seminar in Dibrugarh on Thursday. Picture by Ripunjoy Das

Dibrugarh, July 6: A music researcher today unveiled a seven-decade-old gramophone record that adds a new dimension to the debate on the lyrics and tune of Assam?s ?national song?, written by Sahityarathi Lakshminath Bezbaruah.

Researcher Umananda Dowerah of Moran made the disclosure during a four-day seminar on old Assamese modern songs, organised by the Dibrugarh-based Jana Sanskritik Samaj at the auditorium of the Dibrugarh Government Boys Higher Secondary School.

He revealed that he had managed to trace a gramophone record dating back to 1937, in which the song O Mur Apunar Desh was sung by the legendary Bishnu Prasad Rabha along with Priyabala Rabha and Prafulla Baruah.

Dowerah already boasts a rich archive of several rare gramophone records, including the first-ever gramophone record in Assamese, cut in 1924.

When he played the 1937 record, the lyrics and tune were different, much to the astonishment of music critics and members of the audience.

?There are significant differences between the song to which we are accustomed and the one sung by Rabha, which you listened to now. I am not saying that this is correct and that was not correct; the point is that since a debate is going on regarding the song, this one sung by Rabha should also be discussed,? Dowerah said.

After the song was played, critic after critic called upon the Asam Sahitya Sabha to resolve the controversy as soon as possible.

?A controversy on the national song, which enthuses the entire Assamese community, has been dragging on. It should end as soon as possible. It is very unfortunate that the Asam Sahitya Sabha, which had declared it the national song of Assam way back in 1924, during the forum?s Dibrugarh session, has not taken effective steps to end the controversy,? said Bhadrawati Gogoi.

Dowerah traced the record to Jibanta Bora of Tezpur. The disc was cut by Senola company (with QS 289 as its number). The director?s name, engraved upon the record, is that of Rabha. The lyricist is Bezbaruah.

?The date or year of recording is not mentioned on the disc itself. But there is a system through which the approximate year when the record was made can be found out through the record number. With the help of these pointers and some other old articles and documents, we can deduce that it would be around 1937 or 1938,? Dowerah explained.

Sometime ago, the song was embroiled in a great deal of controversy, with popular singer Zubeen Garg singing the song in his album Jantra with lyrics different from the commonly accepted form.