GUWAHATI, April 23 - Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that the State government would preserve the Tollygunge (Kolkata) residence of music maestro Dr Bhupen Hazarika and a formal decision to that effect has been taken.
�The State government has decided to preserve Dr Bhupen Hazarika�s residence at Tollygunge, Kolkata,� the Chief Minister said while presenting the Dr Bhupen Hazarika Award to artiste and folklorist Ratna Ojah at the Beltola Bohagi Utsav celebration last evening.
�It should be the endeavour of every Assamese to carry forward the legacy of Dr Hazarika, who strove for building a composite Assam. His creations are all-encompassing and, in fact, each of his songs is an epic ,� Sonowal said.
Terming Dr Hazarika as an ideal for the masses to follow, Sonowal said that the diversity of the maestro�s songs was mindboggling and it reflected the Northeast�s kaleidoscopic mosaic besides touching the deeper recesses of the human heart through the emotions as revealed in his numbers.
Referring to the natural landscape of the capital city, the Chief Minister urged the citizens to lend a helping hand to the government in preserving the sylvan heritage of the city in the form of forests, hills and water-bodies.
In his acceptance speech, Ojah said that it was regrettable that a legend like Dr Hazarika was not chosen for the Bharat Ratna.
�Dr Hazarika has kept alive the Assamese ethos through his immortal creations and it is our bounden duty to strive for strengthening the bond of amity and brotherhood among diverse sections of society � something always propounded by the great artiste. He was ignored for the Bharat Ratna but he will live forever in the hearts of the masses,� Ojah said.
