Google celebrates Assamese-Indian music maestro Bhupen Hazarika's birthday with a special Doodle

New Delhi, Sep 08: Google on Thursday paid a rich tribute to renowned Indian singer Dr. Bhupen Hazarika on his 96th birthday. The search giant came up with the doodle, which has been created by Mumbai-based guest artist Rutuja Mali, featuring Dr Hazarika playing the harmonium.

Dr Hazarika was a musician, singer, poet, filmmaker and lyricist. He was also popularly known as 'Sudhakantha', worked in hundreds of films over the course of the six-decade of his career.

Bhupen Hazarika was born on 8 September 1926 to Nilakanta and Shantipriya Hazarika in Sadiya district of Assam.

During his initial years, his mother introduced him to the folk music of Assam. Later, he went on to sing and compose many evergreen songs in Bollywood movies.

His songs, written and sung mainly in the Assamese language marked by humanity and universal brotherhood.

His songs, based on the themes of communal amity, universal justice and empathy, are especially popular among the people of Assam, West Bengal and Bangladesh.

He is also acknowledged to have introduced the culture and folk music of Assam and Northeast India to Hindi cinema at the national level. He received the National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 1975, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987), Padma Shri (1977), and Padma Bhushan (2001),Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1992), the highest award for cinema in India and Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (2008), the highest award of the Sangeet Natak Akademi.

Hazarika also held the position of the Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi from December 1998 to December 2003.

He was posthumously awarded both the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian award, in 2012, and the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 2019.