http://www.assamtribune.com/dec3004/letter.html
Bhupen Hazarika ignoredSir, � On December 13 last, the official calender of Government of India was released by Information and Broadcasting and Cultural Minister S Jaipal Reddy for the year 2005. The department of Advertising and Visual Publicity (DAVP) brings out this calender every year and nearly 3.5 lakh copies are printed. This is a routine practice and it does not make news to find place in our local dailies. But what really makes news is that the theme for the Govt�s 2005 calendar is Indian music. Twelve luminaries were carefully selected from the field of Indian music to figure in the calendar. Out of them there are four �Bharat Ratna� awardees � Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar Ms Subbhalaskhmi and Lata Mangeshkar. Others are D V Paluskar, D Venkataswamy, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, T N Rajratnam Pillai, Begum Akhtar, Palaghat T S Mani Ayar, Chambai Vaidynath Bhagavathar and Kumar Gandharva.
There is no denying the fact that our own Dr Bhupen Hazarika has made an unmistakable mark in the Indian musical horizon through his relentless effort over the last fifty years. This one is the lone voice from this region which earned him adulation from every nook and corner of this vast country. As an appreciation for his contribution towards Indian cinema mostly through his music, he was honoured by the Government of India over a decade ago with the coveted Dada Saheb Phalke award.
It surely pains me like many other Assamese to find this illustrious son of Assam missing from the galaxy of dozen stars of Indian musical sky. I am neither an avid follower of Indian music nor a competent person to make a comparative analysis of the contribution made by the doyens of Indian music. But I am fairly convinced that the entire episode smacks politics. This is simply not above public suspicion.
Are we to assume that the great musician Dr Bhupen Hazarika was buried alive on the day of our last general election ? What remains is the remnant Bhupen Hazaria in his new avatar as politician. �The evil that a man does live after his death and the good is often buried with him� � how prophetic was William Shakespeare ! The Government of India cannot use different yardsticks to measure one�s contribution towards Indian music. Is this the way the grateful Assamese people will like our Bhupenda to be treated after his recent electoral debacle ? This is surely the price Dr Bhupen Hazarika is paying for his experiment in politics. The Government of India owes an explanation. � DR. GAUTAM GOSWAMI, Silpukhuri, Guwahati.
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