Guwahati, Sept. 7: Many years ago, Bhupen Hazarika's thoughts took wings as the rajhongxo, the swan that spread its wings in a dance by the banks of the Ganga and the Padma, his mind not being able to tell one from the other.

Today, a day before the bard's 90th birth anniversary, the banks of the Padma reverberated once more to his songs as hundreds gathered to sing his creations and celebrate the joy of his legacy.

It was a tribute to the bard of the Brahmaputra in a land where his songs, especially his rendition of Joy joy nabajata Bangladesh, struck an emotional chord during the Liberation War of 1971. Cultural and social organisations of India and Bangladesh today joined hands to remember the life and work of Bhupen on his 90th birth anniversary, in Dhaka.

Guwahati-based socio-cultural organisation Byatikram Masdo, the Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust, in association with Friends of Bangladesh, Dhaka and Assam chapters, are organising the two-day event.

"This is for the first time that cultural and social organisations from India and Bangladesh united to commemorate Bhupen Hazarika in Bangladesh. The objective of the event is to foster deeper cultural ties between the two countries. Artistes from both the countries are taking part in the programme," Saumen Bharatiya, the co-founder of Byatikram and secretary of the Assam chapter of Friends of Bangladesh, told The Telegraph over phone from Dhaka.

Workshops on Bhupen's songs were held at Jatiya Natyashala this morning. The main event was held at the auditorium of the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, the principal state-sponsored national cultural centre of Bangladesh.

"The ambience was electric with an audience, a mix of elderly, middle-aged and young, turning up in thousands. Five songs of Bhupen Hazarika, including Manuhe manuhor babe, Jibon khoje pabi, Ganga aamar ma Podda aamar ma and We shall overcome, were sung by a chorus of 30 artistes," Bharatiya said.

The venue of today's event is about 70km from the Padma (Podda as it is locally called).

In 2011, Hazarika was posthumously conferred the Muktijoddha Padak in recognition of his contribution to the Bangladesh War of Independence.

"The footfall was expected to be high as Bhupen Hazarika is a gono xilpi (people's singer) here too. People in Bangladesh, including the younger generation who know about him, are motivated by the verses and compositions of the bard during the Liberation War, especially his rendition of Joy joy nabajata Bangladesh, which is still sung across the country. The director general of the Shilpakala Academy Liaquat Ali Lucky, is known as junior Bhupen Hazarika here," he said.

"Asad-uz Zaman Nur, the culture minister of Bangladesh, inaugurated the cultural proceedings today while the Bangladesh Prime Minister's foreign affairs adviser Gohar Rizvi will attend the event today. Altogether 30 artistes from the city are taking part in the event," he said.

The 35-member contingent from the city, including Simanta Sekhar, Manisha Hazarika, Arun Hazarika, Amarjyoti Choudhury, Minu Bania, Marami Medhi and Megharanjani Medhi, among others, are in Dhaka for the event.

"Dohar, a folk band from Bengal, will perform during the cultural programme on the concluding day tomorrow," Bharatiya said.