Bhupen Hazarika: A nomad’s journey echoes on

      The world perhaps found it difficult to describe Bhupen Hazarika. So, he described himself a ‘jajabor’ (nomad) in one of his immortal songs ‘moi ek jajabor’. Ever since, he has been the typical gypsy moving around the world with his songs.

      A singer, composer, director and actor, Hazarika’s balladic voice and the themes of social consciousness and love made his songs immortal. He is credited with showcasing the folk music of Assam to the world. If his songs touch the hearts, it is because of the folk factor. His first feature film as a director, Era Bator Sur (Song of the Deserted Path, 1956), had repertoire of folk music.

     That Hazarika would rise to fame was predicted even when he was barely a five-year-old boy. Hazarika had then mesmerised all by his first public performance at the Cotton Collegiate Higher Secondary School where he studied and his father taught. At 13, Hazarika sang in the second Assamese feature film ‘Indramaloti’ directed by Jyotiprasad Agarwalla, whom he idolized.

        Born in 1926 to Nilkanta Hazarika and Shantipriya Hazarika at Sadiya,Hazarika pursued his higher education at the Cotton College in Guwahati and Benaras Hindu University. He briefly worked with the All India Radio before quitting it to do a PhD at the Columbia University, US.

His songs were about people, about the Brahmaputra, about worldly brotherhood, etc. Hazarika sang a song to commemorate almost every geopolitical event, which Assam and the rest of the region experienced. He is truly a people’s artiste.

        Dubbed a philanthropist, Hazarika was exceptionally humble throughout. “I could have been a better singer had I trained hard and honed my abilities,” he had once said. The legendary singer, who also donned the mantle of Assam Sahitya Sabha president, was given the status of a cabinet minister by the Assam government for his contributions to the world of music.

Meanwhile, Hazarika’s demise has numbed people across Assam who observed a one-minute silence and lit lamps.

       Chief minister Tarun Gogoi said it is the saddest day of Assam. “It is a great loss for the state. I have never seen someone winning that many hearts worldwide,” Gogoi said and added: “He was a philanthropist and his heart was as vast as the sea. His songs were for worldly brotherhood”.

Noted filmmaker Jahnu Barua described Hazarika as the Dronacharyya of contemporary Indian music. Litterateur Nagen Saikia said Hazarika himself was an institution and a living legend.

“This is an end of an era,” singer Zubeen Garg said. “We have lost a guardian,” the All Assam Students’ Union said.

           

A golden voice of Indian music fell silent Saturday when legendary singer-composer Bhupen Hazarika died of multiple organ failure at a Mumbai hospital, plunging millions of fans across the country, especially those in eastern India, into gloom. He was 85

      Hazarika, who was on the ventilator for four months and had been in and out of hospital, passed away at 4.37 p.m. at Kokilaben Hospital in India’s entertainment capital. His long time companion, filmmaker Kalpana Lajmi, his nephews and some well wishers from his home state of Assam were at his side when he died.

“I feel as if I lost my soul. It’s a loss for the entire country. I don’t have words,” Sudakshina Sharma, younger sister of Hazarika, said. She is also a singer and stays in Guwahati.  “Not only it is a personal loss, but his demise is surely the end of an era. He would however continue to live forever by way of his compositions,” said the maestro’s younger brother and singer Samar Hazarika.

                  The singer’s close friend and director Kalpana Lajmi said: “His spirit was great, but what to do, his body gave way. It is a very difficult time for all of us. The doctors did a wonderful job.”

“His loss is a great loss for the country. His music was universal,” said Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

                  The singer’s body will be kept at the Mumbai hospital till Sunday before being flown to Guwahati for the last rites, a hospital official said quoting Hazarika’s family.

                     His body will be flown to Guwahati Monday and kept at Judges Field for two days for the public to pay homage, Gogoi said.

                     The Assam government has taken the responsibility to fly the body from Mumbai to Guwahati and organise the last rites, expected to take place in Guwahati Wednesday or Thursday.

Known for his haunting, resounding melodies like “Dil hoom hoom kare” and “Ganga behti ho kyon”, Hazarika was a Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner. His lyrics and voice lent a special flavour to several Bollywood songs and put the spotlight on music from Assam.

              His death cast a pall of gloom over his millions of fans. Many in Assam were grief stricken as news of his death spread.

             “The voice of India, especially the eastern region, has come to a halt. But his songs would continue to live with us for generations to come,” said Arunim Das, a Hazarika fan in Guwahati.

                The film industry remembered the singer and many paid condolences through social networking sites. Said actor Akshay Kumar: “After Jagjit Singh, India has lost another musical wonder, RIP Bhupen Hazarika. The man who gave us ‘Dil Hoom Hoom Kare’ from Rudaali, truly our hearts recite this song with grief today.”

            Jayanta Saha, media relations incharge of the Mumbai hospital, told IANS that after Hazarika developed pneumonia Oct 23, he underwent a minor surgery whereby doctors placed a food pipe into his system.

           Maharashtra Governor K. Sankaranarayanan in his condolence message described Hazarika as a “gift of Assam to the world”.

         “Bhupen Hazarika at once brought to one’s mind the image of the beautiful state of Assam, its culture, its rustic life and the Brahmaputra river. With his demise, this voice of Brahamaputra has fallen silent,” Sankaranarayanan said.

          “I join the millions of admirers of this great balladeer of India in paying my respects to his loving memory. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” he added.

      

School Closings Seen Across The Northeast After Heavy Snow

      SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. -- Thousands of schoolchildren around the Northeast had one of the earliest snow days in memory Monday after a storm dumped as much as 30 inches of wet, heavy snow that snapped trees and power lines, caused widespread power failures and threatened to disrupt Halloween trick-or-treating.

     Communities from Maryland to Maine that suffered through a tough winter last year followed by a series of floods and storms went into now-familiar emergency mode as shelters opened, inaccessible roads closed, regional transit was suspended or delayed, and local leaders urged caution.

     The storm's lingering effects likely will outlast the snow. Temperatures are expected to begin rising Monday and the heavy, wet snow will start melting, the National Weather Service said.

     The unseasonably early nor'easter had utility companies struggling to restore electricity to more than 3 million homes and businesses. By early Monday, the number of customers without power was still above 2 million but falling. But officials in some states warned it could be days or even a week before residents have power again, even though crews have been brought in from as far away as Michigan and Canada.

     "We are in full restoration mode," said Marcy Reed, president of National Grid Massachusetts.

Trees, branches and power lines still littered roads and rail lines throughout the region, leading to a tough Monday morning commute for many. Some local officials canceled or postponed Halloween activities, fearful that young trick-or-treaters could wander into areas with downed power lines or trees ready to topple over.

     "With so many wires down ... the sidewalks will not be safe for pedestrians (Monday) night," Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton told The Hartford Courant.

      A weekend that should have brought activity no more strenuous than raking colorful autumn leaves left Northeasterners weather-weary.

     "You had this storm, you had Hurricane Irene, you had the flooding last spring and you had the nasty storms last winter," Tom Jacobsen said Sunday while getting coffee at a convenience store in Hamilton Township, N.J. "I'm starting to think we really ticked off Mother Nature somehow because we've been getting spanked by her for about a year now."

     In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie declared the damage to utilities worse than that wrought by Irene, a deadly storm that blew through the state in August. Things were similar in Connecticut, where the power loss of 800,000 broke a record set by Irene. By early Monday, around 400,000 people lacked power in New Jersey and more than 750,000 in Connecticut.

    The snowstorm smashed record snowfall totals for October and worsened as it moved north. Communities in western Massachusetts were among the hardest hit. Snowfall totals topped 27 inches in Plainfield, and nearby Windsor got 26 inches. The snowstorm was blamed for at least 12 deaths, and states of emergency were declared in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey and parts of New York.

    "Look at this, look at all the damage," said Jennifer Burckson, 49, after she came outside Sunday morning in South Windsor to find a massive tree branch had smashed her car's back windshield. Trees in the neighborhood snapped in half, with others weighed down so much that the leaves brushed the snow.

     Compounding the storm's impact were still-leafy trees, which gave the snow something to hang onto and that put tremendous weight on branches, said National Weather Service spokesman Chris Vaccaro. That led to limbs breaking off and contributed to the widespread power failures.

     "This is not going to be a quick fix," said Peter Judge, a Massachusetts emergency management official.

The severity of the storm caught many by surprise, and it disrupted Halloween plans, too.

      Sharon Martovich of Southbury, Conn., who was grocery shopping Sunday morning in nearby Newtown at one of the few businesses open for miles, said she's hoping the power will come back on in time for her husband's Halloween tradition of playing "Young Frankenstein" on a giant screen in front of their house.

     "We would be really sad and it would disappoint a lot of people if we can't play `Young Frankenstein,'" she said. But no matter what, they will make sure the eight or so children who live in the neighborhood don't miss out on trick-or-treating.

"Either way we will get the giant flashlights and we will go," she said.

       She was already making the best of the power failure. After the lights went out around 4 p.m. Saturday, she invited neighbors over for an impromptu Halloween party with wine and quesadillas in front of her propane fireplace.

       Around Newtown, snow-laden branches were snapping off trees every few minutes, and roads that were plowed became impassible because the trees were falling so fast.

       Along the coast and in such cities as Boston, the relatively warm ocean helped keep snowfall totals much lower. Washington received a trace of snow, tying a 1925 record for the date. New York City's Central Park set a record for both the date and for October with 1.3 inches.

       But in New Hampshire's capital of Concord, more than 22 inches fell, weeks ahead of the usual first measurable snowfall. West Milford, N.J., about 45 miles northwest of New York City, had 19 inches by early Sunday.

      Rail service was getting back up to speed across the region, though delays were expected. Amtrak had suspended service on several routes, and one train from Chicago to Boston got stuck overnight in Palmer, Mass. The 48 passengers had food and heat, a spokeswoman said, and were taken by bus Sunday to their destinations.

      North of New York City, dozens of motorists were rescued by state troopers after spending up to 10 hours stranded on snow-covered highways in Dutchess and Putnam counties.

    Deaths blamed on the storm included an 84-year-old Pennsylvania man killed by a tree that fell on his home, a person who died in a traffic accident in Colchester, Conn., and a 20-year-old man who was electrocuted in Springfield, Mass.

Bodhi Dharma ,7am arivu story, tamilkey, shaolin temple, 7aum arivu, epl standings

                             


                            After making the super hit, " Ghajini", six years ago, Surya and Murugadoss team up again for " 7th Sense". The story takes you through two eras. In the 16th century, when the Pallava dynasty is ruling over South India, a king from that dynasty, Bodhi Dharma (Suriya), who is an expert in martial arts and medicine, travels to China to teach there. After staying in China for years, he sacrifices his life and is cremated there. 

                            Cut to the modern world and the Chinese government sends Dong Lee (Johnny Tri Nguyen) to India to spread a deadly virus here as part of Operation Red. He is also ordered to kill Subha (Shruti Haasan), a genetic engineering student, who is researching on Bodhi Dharma. Meanwhile, Subha befriends Aravind (Suriya), who works in a circus company and it is he who saves her from Dong Lee. The rest of the film explores Aravind's story and his connection with Bodhi Dharma. 

                            The subject is new and interesting, but the director fails to narrate it convincingly. The film, that starts off in the 16th century, enagages you in the beginning, but loses your attention once the period scenes come to an end. The director doesn't establish a convincing link between Bodhi Dharma and Aravind as he is busy concentrating on the romance between the lead pair, which is not too great either. 

                            When it comes to performances, Suriya is excellent as Bodhi Dharma. In the second part of the film, where he plays a circus guy, his character is not etched out too well. Sruthi Haasan looks good and is watchable in her role. The highlight of the film however, is Johnny Tri Nguyen, who plays the baddie. The dialogues are passable and so are the songs. Ravi K Chandra's cinematography is a visual treat. The action sequences in the beginning of the film and in the climax are worth watching. 

                            With neither an interesting narrative nor an enjoyable romantic track, the movie tests the audiences' patience. Bad screenplay kills a promising story and the film is good only in parts.