The singer and composer Bhupen Hazarika belonged to which state?

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika (1926-2011), the singer, composer, lyricist, poet and filmmaker, belonged to Assam. He is known as "Sudhakantha" ("the nectar-voiced") and the "Bard of the Brahmaputra".

About Bhupen Hazarika:

• He was born on 8 September 1926 in Sadiya, Assam.
• As a child, he was encouraged by the Assamese cultural leaders Jyotiprasad Agarwala and Bishnu Prasad Rabha, and he recorded his first song at the age of about 10.
• He studied at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and earned a PhD in mass communication from Columbia University, New York (1952).

In the USA, he was influenced by the African-American singer and civil rights activist Paul Robeson. His famous song "Bistirno Parore" (about the Brahmaputra) was inspired by Robeson's "Ol' Man River".

His songs, mainly in Assamese but also in Bengali and Hindi, deal with humanity, brotherhood, social justice and the lives of ordinary people.

His famous songs include "Manuhe Manuhar Babe" ("Humans are for humans"), "Ganga Behti Ho Kyun" (the Hindi version of "Bistirno Parore") and "Dil Hoom Hoom Kare" (from the film "Rudaali", 1993).

He was also a film director; his films include "Shakuntala" and "Era Bator Sur".

He was Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (1999-2004).

Honours:

• Padma Shri (1977).
• Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1992).
• Padma Bhushan (2001).
• Padma Vibhushan (2012, posthumously).
• Bharat Ratna (2019, posthumously).
• The Dhola-Sadiya Bridge across the Lohit river in Assam (opened in 2017), India's longest river bridge at that time (about 9.15 km), was named the "Bhupen Hazarika Setu".
• He died on 5 November 2011 in Mumbai, and his funeral in Guwahati was attended by lakhs of people.

Why not the other options?

• ✗West Bengal is where he was very popular, but he was from Assam.
• ✗Manipur and Meghalaya are other north-eastern states.