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| ‘But his (Bhupen’s) songs encapsulated the cultural, social and political genre of his times’ |
Bhupen Hazarika’s multi-faceted personality is impossible to define or capture in a nutshell. He was all things to all people. For those who loved simple melody, his was the finest voice ever. But his songs encapsulated the cultural, social and political genre of his times. Bhupen the youth, with an enduring lust for life as expressed in the song Luitor parore ami deka lora, gradually metamorphosed into a poet and philosopher who sang his feelings.
His songs were always laced with pathos. You could almost sense there was something deeper that he felt as a human being which he probably could not give voice to. This, despite the outward show of happiness and the smile in his eyes. After all, poets seldom give vent to their own frustration. They are constantly reflecting the burden of humanity.
Bhupenda’s incantations to the Luit (Brahmaputra) are ever so descriptive, so personal. He spoke of the river with such love, it almost feels he is having a conversation with his beloved mother. That was Bhupenda’s style.
He was a patriot, yet did not wear patriotism on his sleeve. Always sober in his expressions, his voice was like the gentle waves of the Luit when it was not in spate.
There are those who attribute ideologies to Bhupenda’s personal and political expressions. I would dare to surmise that his politics was about humanity, as much as it was that of Socrates or Voltaire or, in more recent times, Noam Chomsky.
Bhupenda challenged the state and all that it represented in a manner that was non-threatening. It was a gentle chiding to the powers that be to reflect on their policies and their politics. And that precisely is the role of a philosopher!
The violent period of militancy in Assam haunted Bhupenda as much as it did all those who wished that the aesthetics of life are not rudely disrupted by blood and gore. Yet the bard had nothing direct to say to those who took up guns as a way of challenging the state although his songs lament the crudity of senseless killings.
Humanity has been Bhupenda’s foremost concern. In Manuhe manuhor babe (my favourite song of his by far), his understanding of human nature and how man should relate to man is expressed in the most sublime language. In this song, he urges humans to think beyond themselves. “If man does not think for man/ with a little sympathy/ then who will? Humanity cannot be bought and sold...” — the song was composed in 1964 and I am sure it carries the scars of the Chinese aggression of 1962.
Millions of people across this country have paid their tribute to Bhupen Hazarika. Many bloggers have poured out their feelings. Youtube is now active with songs by the artiste. Many have seen Hazarika’s son Tez for the first time. Most of us saw him only on television. What must it feel to come home to what is Assam’s moment of deep sorrow.
And one wonders how the younger Hazarika must have felt to see the spontaneous response from millions in Assam who paid their personal tributes to his father, braving distances and the hot sun. And what is it about death that makes people forget their grievances against the helpless human lying lifeless?
I am perhaps not the only one who critiqued Hazarika’s entry into politics in 2004. He had remained untarnished by the taints of an institution defined as the “last resort of scoundrels”. And he was doing fine as the state’s ambassador at large.
What is it that prompted this poet to turn to politics as an octogenarian? Was he tired of music and wanted to do more with his life? Or did he want more from life? And why did he turn to the BJP? For the BJP, Hazarika must have been a prize catch. They thought he would win hands down. Politics often tends to lead us on the path of self-deception. I am sure Hazarika too thought he would capture the mind space of his people through songs and thereby influence their political choices. Alas! This was not to be.
These fatal character flaws, however, make us human. I recall that the AGP was livid with Hazarika for joining the BJP, because he had been flirting with them. Besides, the BJP could have spared this bard the ignominy of campaigning in the heat and dust which is the lot of the common man and his politician.
Hazarika was a class apart. If anyone deserved the Rajya Sabha nomination, he did. But the BJP played footsie with this Assamese icon and now the party has the temerity to talk of a Bharat Ratna for him. Why can’t politicians simply pay tribute to the dead and not get into their regular shenanigans?
Now as the memory of Hazarika will slowly fade from public memory, what do we take back as keepsakes from the rich life of this patriot who, like Robert Browning’s character, was once thrashed for not keeping pace with the fleeting nature of public opinion.
Here was a man who lived life to the full and sang his way through sadness and joy, through ups and downs. I can say with certainty that only one who has loved much and lost something of value in life is capable of lending voice to such poignant emotions. In Hazarika’s death we have lost not just a golden voice but also a friend, philosopher and guide.
He may have had his flaws but they are inconsequential when compared to his many virtues. What I will always remember is Bhupenda’s exhortation that life was more than the sum total of its parts. Wherever humans are involved, equations go haywire. But anyone who treats human beings as dispensable creatures must pay the price some day.
Come to think of it, none of us really die, we only pass on into another life. How can one forget a smiling Bhupenda who could compose a song at the drop of a hat and pay tribute to you with that song? And each time the FM stations play his songs and our hearts beat with Boku hom hom kore, he lives on in our hearts. We can only bid him adieu until we meet sometime, somewhere.
(The writer can be contacted at patricia17@rediffmail.com)
