Google pays tribute to Bhupen Hazarika with doodle
New Delhi (PTI): Google on Thursday paid tribute to iconic singer Bhupen Hazarika on his 96th birth anniversary with a doodle that illustrated the musician with a harmonium and his trademark Gurkha cap.
Besides an acclaimed singer, the Bharat Ratna awardee was a composer, poet and filmmaker who created music for scores of films in Assamese, Hindi, Bengali and a few other languages.
"Happy birthday, Bhupen Hazarika! Your songs and films continue to command respect for Assam's rich culture," Google said.
It termed Hazarika as one of northeast India's "leading socio-cultural reformers, whose creations and compositions united people from all walks of life".
It said the artwork, illustrated by Mumbai-based guest artist Rutuja Mali, "celebrates Hazarika's work to popularise Assamese cinema and folk music".
Mali said she went through a few of Hazarika's songs, photos and videos and tried her best to "reflect his charm" in the doodle.
A Google doodle is a special, temporary alteration of the logo on Google's homepages intended to commemorate holidays, events, achievements, and notable historical figures of particular countries.
Popularly known as the 'Bard of the Brahmaputra', Hazarika was born on this day in 1926 at Sadiya in Assam.
He graduated with a master's in political science from Banaras Hindu University in 1946, and went on to earn a PhD in mass communications from Columbia University in 1952.
After completing his studies in America, he returned to India to continue his work on songs and films that popularised Assamese culture on both a national and global scale.
Over the course of a six-decade career, Hazarika won several prestigious awards that include the national film award for best music direction in 1975, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987, Padma Shri in 1977, Padma Bhushan in 2001, Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1992.
He was given the Bharat Ratna (posthumously) in 2019.
He also held the position of chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi for five years from 1998.
Hazarika passed away on November 5, 2011.
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People of Maha do not like it: Ajit Pawar on Adityanath's 'batenge to katenge' remark
Pune, Nov 7: A day after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath reiterated his slogan "batenge to katenge" at a poll rally in Maharashtra, BJP ally and NCP chief Ajit Pawar on Thursday said the people of the state do not appreciate such remarks.
People of Maharashtra have always strived to maintain communal harmony, said Pawar, a deputy Chief Minister.
"Maharashtra belongs to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj and Mahatma Phule. You do not compare Maharashtra with other states, Maharashtra's people do not like this," Pawar told reporters here when asked about Adityanath's remarks.
Shivaji Maharaj's teaching was to take all sections of society along, he said.
"When people from other states come here, they speak keeping their people in mind, but Maharashtra has never accepted it and it has been the history of all the elections here," the NCP chief further said.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Washim in eastern Maharashtra for the November 20 assembly elections, Adityanath used his famous slogan .
"I am taking inspiration from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and appealing you to not get divided, because whenever we get divided, we perish," he said.
