GUWAHATI, June 4 � When the legendary Dr Bhupen Hazarika was leading his jajabori jeevan (wanderer�s life) devoting more to his creations than anything else, it was Priyambada Hazarika, his better-half, who contributed immensely towards holding the family together even in testing times. Some of the family members are unequivocal in saying that Priyambada�s contribution to upholding the family ties was much more than Dr Hazarika himself.
�Unlike what many believe, the bond between Bhupen Da and Priyam Bou never soured. It was just that they did not agree on some points. Their love for each other remained till the end,� family members here were unanimous in saying, a day after Priyambada left for the heavenly abode.
Her last rites will be performed on Saturday and family members from Gujarat have already left for Canada, where she died. Family members here informed that naam prasanga will also be organised at the Nizarapar residence after Priyamvada�s cremation on Saturday.
If Bhupen Da was like a father figure for the entire family, Priyam Bou was someone we all looked up to as a guide and a guardian till her last breath, said Bolen Hazarika, one of the younger brothers of Dr Hazarika.
Besides looking after the family, Priyam Bou assisted Bhupen Da and even choreographed songs in his movies, including Era Bator Soor.
�I still remember Bhupen Da coming to Guwahati for the first time with Priyam Bou and a two-and-half year-old Tez in 1953. We then used to live in our Kharghuli house and after some time, we shifted to Chenikuthi house with Bou. That is where our sister Sudakshina Sarma�s marriage was solemnised at the initiative of Priyam Bou,� Bolen fondly remembers.
Having completed her master�s in International Law, Priyamvada served as a senior official in a number of countries in different capacities, including United Nation�s Permanent Representative for Uganda.
Agrees eminent singer and sister of Dr Hazarika, Sudakshina Sarma. �Priyam Bou was like our mother. I first came to know about her when she sent some gifts for me from America along with a handwritten letter. She, in her letter, introduced herself as a Gujrati girl who loves dancing. She also wrote about her relationship with Bhupen Da. In that pack of gifts there was a georgette saree, a golden earring and a Cadbury chocolate.�
�Priyam once told me, �I love Bhupen Hazarika and will remain Mrs Hazarika till I die�. She meant what she said. Likewise, Bhupen Da once told my husband that it was Priyam who made him what he is. There was a sense of mutual respect in both of them.�
�Although Priyam was brought up abroad, she knew the values of Indian family. She was a terrific Bharat Natyam dancer. She used to fondly narrate how she met both Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore together in Shantniketan,� Sudakshina recalled with a heavy heart.
Shobha Hazarika, youngest sister-in-law of Dr Hazarika while recalling her association with Priyambada, said, �Even after she left Bhupen Da, she used to visit us frequently. She was always the guiding light for our family.