Bhupen Hazarika Age, Death, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

Bio/Wiki
Full Name	Dr. Bhupen Hazarika
Nickname	Sudhakantha
Profession(s)	Musician, Singer, Lyricist, Poet, Filmmaker
Physical Stats & More
Eye Colour	Light Brown
Hair Colour	Black
Politics
Political Party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Political Journey	• In 1967, he was elected as a member in the Assam Legislative Assembly from Nauboicha constituency and served as an independent MLA from 1967 to 1972.  • In 2004, he joined BJP and contested in the 2004 Lok Sabha polls as a BJP candidate from the Guwahati constituency, but lost.
Career
Debut	Singing (As a Child Artist): Kaxote Kolosi Loi from the film Indramalati (1939) Singing: Siraj (1948) Film Director: Era Bator Sur (1956)
Famous Assamese Songs	• Moi Eti Jajabor • Bistirno Parore • Ganga Mor Maa • Manuhe Manuhor Babey • Bimurto Mur Nixati Jen • Gupute Gupute Kimaan Khelim, and more
Famous Hindi Songs	• Dil Hoom Hoom Kare • Samay O Dhire Chalo • Betain Na Betain Na Raina • Ek Kali Do Pattiyan, and more
Awards, Honours, Achievements	• Padma Shri (1977) • Gold Medal from Arunachal Pradesh State Government for "Outstanding Contribution towards Tribal Welfare and Upliftment of Tribal Culture through Cinema and Music (1979) • Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987) • Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1992) • Padma Bhushan (2001) • Akademi Ratna Award by the Sangeet Natak Akademi (2008) • Asom Ratna by the State of Assam (2009) • Padma Vibhushan (posthumously) (2012) • Honoured with the title "Biswa Ratna" by Asom Sahitya Sabha • Lifetime Achievement Award at Rabindra Bhawan in Guwahati
Institutes/Places Named After Him	• Bhupen Hazarika Museum inside Srimanta Sankaradev Kalakshetra, Guwahati, Assam • The All Assam Students Union built a life size statue of Bhupen Hazarika on the banks of Digholi Pukhuri in Guwahati (February 2009) • Assam Cricket Association renamed the Barshapara Cricket Stadium as Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Cricket Stadium (2010) • India Post honoured him with commemorative postage stamps (in 2013 and 2016) • Bhupen Hazarika Setu or The Dhola–Sadiya Bridge (connecting Assam and Arunachal Pradesh) (opened on 26 May 2017)
Personal Life
Date of Birth	8 September 1926
Birthplace	Sadiya, Assam Province, British India
Date of Death	5 November 2011
Place of Death	Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Age (at the time of death)	85 Years
Death Cause	Multiple Organ Failure
Zodiac sign/Sun sign	Virgo
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Guwahati, Assam, India
School	• Sonaram High School, Guwahati, Assam • Dhubri Government High School, Assam • Tezpur High School, Assam
College/University	• Cotton University, Guwahati, Assam • Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh • Columbia University, New York
Educational Qualification(s)	• Intermediate Arts from Cotton College (1942) • Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (1944) • Master of Arts in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh (1946) • PhD from Columbia University, New York (1952)
Religion	Not Known
Hobbies	Reading, Writing, Singing, Watching Films
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Married
Affairs/Girlfriends	Lata Mangeshkar [1]Hindustan Times Kalpana Lajmi (Film Director) [2]Telegraph India
Marriage Date	1950
Family
Wife/Spouse	Priyamvada Patel
Children	Son- Tej Hazarika Daughter- Not Known
Parents	Father- Nilakanta Hazarika Mother- Shantipriya Hazarika
Siblings	Brother- Jayanta Hazarika (Singer) Sister- Sushma Hazarika Note: He had total 9 siblings.

Some Lesser Known Facts About Bhupen Hazarika

• Did Bhupen Hazarika smoke?: Not Known

• Did Bhupen Hazarika drink alcohol?: Yes
  

  Bhupen Hazarika while Drinking

• Bhupen Hazarika was the eldest child to his parents among 10 children.

• In 1929, his father, Nilakanta Hazarika, shifted to the Bharalumukh region of Guwahati along with the family. Then, he further shifted to Dhubri in 1932, and to Tezpur in 1935, for better prospects.

• He was interested in music since his childhood, so his mother exposed him to traditional Assamese Music and lullabies at an early age.

• He was first discovered by Bishnu Prasad Rabha (an Assamese artist) and Jyotiprasad Agarwala (an Assamese lyricist) at the age of 10, in a public event, when he sang a Borgeet (traditional Assamese devotional songs).

• In 1936, both Bishnu Prasad Rabha and Jyotiprasad Agarwala took him to Kolkata, where he recorded the first song of his life for the Selona Company at the Aurora Studio.

• He wrote the first song of his life, “Agnijugor Firingoti Moi,” when he was in his thirteenth year.

• After completing his MA, he started working at All India Radio, Guwahati. After a brief period, he won a scholarship from Columbia University for his PhD, and he moved to New York in 1949.
  

  Bhupen Hazarika in Columbia University

• In New York, he became a good friend to Paul Robeson (a singer), who influenced him more in music and his song, Bistirno Parore. Bhupen then, translated this song by himself in several Indian languages like Hindi and Bengali.
  

  Bhupen Hazarika and Paul Robeson

• At Columbia University, he met Priyamvada Patel, who became his wife in 1950. The couple blessed with a child, Tez Hazarika, in 1952, and came back to India in 1953.

• After returning to India from the USA, he started working as a teacher at the Gauhati University.

• In 1953, he started a close association with the leftist IPTA (Indian People’s Theatre Association). In 1955, he was appointed as the Secretary of the Reception Committee of the Third All Assam Conference of IPTA, held in Guwahati.
  

  Bhupen Hazarika at an IPTA Event

• A few years later, after working as a teacher in Gauhati University, he left his job and moved to Kolkata, where he started a new journey of his life and established as a successful singer, filmmaker, and music director. He directed and composed music for several films including Shakuntala and Pratidhwani.
  

  Bhupen Hazarika in Recording Studio

• He is acknowledged to set a new trend in Bengali music. The Jivanmukhi Geet, the popular genre of West Bengal, started in the 1990s by Kabir Suman is known to be influenced by Bhupen Hazarika.

• In 1993, he was appointed as the President of the Asam Sahitya Sabha. The same year, he was facilitated with the Best Music Award for the film, ‘Rudaali’ at the Asia Pacific International Film Festival in Japan and became the first Indian to achieve this honour.

• From December 1998 – December 2003, he held the Chairman position of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

• In 2011, he recorded the songs for the film, “Gandhi to Hitler;” which became his last film.

• He died on 5 November 2011 at the Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital in Mumbai. The body of the singer was cremated in a plot near the Brahmaputra River; which was donated by Gauhati University.
  

  Bhupen Hazarika’s Last Journey

• He had lent his voice for several films including Rudaali (1993), Mil Gayee Manzil Mujhe (1989), Saaz (1997), Gajagamini (1998), Daman (2000), Kyon (2003), etc.
  

  Bhupen Hazarika

• He had also composed music for several Bangladeshi films.

• He had received the President’s National Award thrice for the movies, “Pratidhwani,” “Sakuntala,” and “Loti Ghoti,” and the National Award for Best Music Director for his film, “Chameli Memsaab.”

• Throughout his long career, he had written numerous songs and almost 15 books including ‘Demystifying Dr. Bhupen Hazarika: Envisioning Education for India’ and ‘Winged Horse: 76 Assamese Songs.’
  

  Bhupen Hazarika’s Books