Skip to content Skip to navigation

Bhupen Hazarika’s songs in Sanskrit

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika’s beautiful songs with profound and impactful lyrics, sung with his wonderfully memorable warm voice, have struck a deep chord in the collective Assamese psyche for the past seven decades. Ranjan Bezbaruah, M.A., a talented young teacher of Sanskrit at Nagaon Government Girls Higher Secondary School, has translated many of Dr. Hazarika’s songs into Sanskrit, the classical language of the Gods, the primary source of modern Indic languages of the northern and eastern Indian subcontinent. Mr. Bezbaruah has been translating Assamese songs, not only those by Dr. Hazarika, but also those composed by creative giants such as Srimanta Sankaradev, Lakshminath Bezbarua, Jyotiprasad Agarawala and Bishnuprasad Rabha for the past many years.

The song Bistirna Parare, Axankhya Jonore, Haha~kar xunio, Nixobde Nirobe…has been translated as Bistirna Pratire, Ashankhya Nrikrite, Hahakarehyapi, Nihshabdan Nishprihma… Similarly, the song Snehe amar xoto srabonor, Dhraxar bristir plabon ane… has been translated as Premabahati me, Shrabananam dharasharabristi, Plabanasatam… In some ways, the translations are facilitated because the lyrics that Dr. Hazarika writes and sings have a fair concentration of tatsama words. Dr. Hazarika’s powerful vocabulary has been a blessing in this translation project.

 

Mr. Bezbaruah has been translating, retranslating, refining the lyrics and the music from 1999. He is passionate about Assamese songs and his love of Sanskrit. He is also a good vocalist himself. He has been singing these songs on stage all over Assam for the past decade.

 

Mr. Bezbaruah has visited Dr. Bhupen Hazarika several times since the first time he had the honor of visiting Nijorapar in 2002. He has Dr. Hazarika’s blessings in his praiseworthy endeavor. Mr. Bezbaruah has recently spent all his life’s savings and has brought out a unique video album titled Monomohini containing a presentation of a selection of his Sanskrit songs. He sings the songs himself with great flair. Ranjan Bezbaruah recently visited the author in his Nagaon home and showed the videos. The author wishes this earnest young creative man best wishes for future endeavors.

 

Ranjan Bezbaruah can be contacted at

 

ranjanbezbaruah@gmail.com  and also at (011-91) 94012-10402 or (011-91) 3672-284600.

 

By Jugal Kalita, Colorado