State remembers Jajabor on 90th birth anniversary

GUWAHATI: From Sadiya to Dhubri, Assam celebrated the 90th birth anniversary of Bhupen Hazarika on Thursday.
Guwahati marked the occasion with celebrations across the city - the Bhupen Hazarika Memorial at Jalukbari, adjacent to Gauhati University, Dighilipukhuri, the Bhupen Hazarika Museum in Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra (SSK), among other places in and around the city.
"We paid tribute to our beloved Bhupen da at the Kalakshetra museum.We should strive to follow his ideals, his philosophy. That is the best possible way to keep his legacy alive," Padma Shree recipient Surjya Hazarika said. He is the vice president of SSK and compiler of Hazarika's long-listed works.
Former chief minister Tarun Gogoi, after paying tribute to the doyen, expressed his dismay over the absence of important dignitaries from the new state government.
"The Majuli programme could have been scheduled a day later or earlier. The day was an important one. There should have been a representation from the state government at the memorial site," Gogoi said.
On Hazarika's 90th birth anniversary, the state government declared the largest river island in the world, Majuli, as the 35th district of Assam. Because of the official function at Majuli, the representation of important ministers from the state government was negligible at the memorial site.
Amid all the fanfare and cultural extravaganza, senior Aasu leaders demanded that the Guwahati railway station be rechristened after Bhupen Hazarika.
"His former living quarters in the city should also be made into a site for heritage. More land should be given to the memorial site," said Aasu adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya.