GUWAHATI, Nov 9 � Prayer meetings are being held across the State expressing profound grief at the demise of cultural legend Dr Bhupen Hazarika. At different places, various organisations, institutions and offices organised condolence meetings to recall the contributions of the great soul and his genius.
Our correspondents report:
Jorhat: The employees and officers of BSNL, Jorhat, at a meeting held on the Telephone Exchange premises here today expressed profound sorrow at the demise of Dr Hazarika. The executives, staff and workers of Behora Tea Estate also organised a condolence meet to pay homage to the legendary artiste. Rajeev Mehrotra, senior manager of the tea estate, recalled the contributions of Dr Hazarika in the meeting held yesterday. The employees of the Jorhat branch office of The Assam Tribune also paid tributes to Dr Hazarika today by observing a minute�s silence for eternal peace of the departed soul.
North Lakhimpur: The tea gardens in Lakhimpur district belonging to various companies observed a half-holiday today, which is unprecedented in the history of tea production in Assam on a working day, as they offered last respects to the departed artiste who composed many songs on the State�s tea gardens.
A tribute paying ceremony was organised on the occasion at the Planter�s Club in Deezoo Tea Estate last evening. The ceremony was led by Sazzad Hussain, lecturer of English, Lakhimpur Commerce College, who lighted the ceremonial lamp. Hussain also spoke briefly about the life and works of Dr Hazarika and said he did not belong to Assam but the whole world. Hussain said that Dr Hazarika enriched the Assamese cultural history with varied compositions of songs, music and cinema.
The Senior Manager of Chinatoliyah Tea Estate, Pradeep Kumar Hazarika, also gave a short account of Dr Hazarika�s life in the meeting. Speaking on the occasion, Anil Tiwari, Senior Manager of Ananda Tea Estate, said that the half-holiday observed by the tea industry was a first in the 200-year-old history of tea production in Assam.
The Senior Manager of Deezoo Tea Estate, Roopendra Singh, and that of Harmutty Tea Estate, Abrar Chawdhury, also attended the function and paid tributes to Dr Hazarika. The Welfare Officer of Deezoo TE, Radha Mohan Dagh, coordinated the entire function. Songs written by Dr Hazarika were sung by participants in Assamese, Bengali and Hindi.
Nagaon: Prayer meetings were also held in different places of the district for Dr Bhupen Hazarika. Floral tributes were paid before his portrait and his songs were played throughout the day on the roads, which was arranged by different organiszations. In the evening, earthen lamps were lighted and prayers were offered for eternal peace of the great soul. Condolence meetings were also held in schools and colleges of the district.
