DIPALI Barthakur, Assam’s Nightingale, Passed Away

NOTED Assamese singer Dipali Barthakur, called Nightingale of Assam, has passed away at Nemcare Hospital in Guwahati. 77 years old Barthakur was hospitalised following respiratory problems on December 15. A family member said that although she was showing signs of recovery, her condition deteriorated suddenly and she breathed her last at 1.25 pm on December 21. Her last rites were performed with full state honours at Navagraha in the north-east’s premier city next day as per Vedic rituals. Born in 1941 in Sonari was the daughter of Bishwanath Borthakur and Chandrakanti Devi. She was a singer of many memorable Assamese songs which are evergreen and are equally popular even today. Apart from being a singer, Borthakur had been the creator of many remarkable numbers.A winner of multiple prestigious awards and honours including the Padmashree, Dipali Borthakur was the wife of noted artist Neelpawan Baruah.The late singer is known her songs like ‘Xunor Kharu nelage muk’, ‘Senai moi jau’, ‘Aji moi ulalu’, ‘O Bondhu Somoi Pale Amar Phale’, ‘Konman Boroxire Sip’ and many others.Prime Minister Narendra Modi ,State Governor Jagdish Mukhi, Chief Minister  Sarbananda Sonowal besides  scholars and writers and poets have  expressed  shock over her demise.She was an outstanding singer who had broken geographical and language barriers  to reach out to the people across the country through her songs, PM added while conveying condolence to the bereaved family. The Assam government had provided a financial aid of Rs 1 lakh for the treatment of eminent vocalist Dipali Borthakur.Chief Minister Sonowal says Dipali Borthakur’s death will leave the Assamese and Indian cultural world with a deep void which will perhaps never be fulfilled by a second person. The Assam Tribune says Barthakur, whose singing career was cut short four decades back following a debilitating disorder, rendered some of the best-remembered Assamese songs during her short career. A child prodigy who took to singing early, she recorded her first song Mor Bopai Lahori on All India Radio, Guwahati in 1958 while she was a Class IX student. Next came the song Joubone Amoni Kore Chenaidhon for the film Lachit Borphukan (1959). This was followed by the evergreen Bandhu somoy pale amar phale ebar ahi jaba composed by Rudra Baruah. The song was a raging hit and thereafter, she went on to render a number of evergreen hits during her decade-long career before she was diagnosed with a complicated motor neuron disease which hindered her singing and forced her to get around with a wheelchair. Later, she had to remain confined to bed for several years. The ‘Nightingale of Assam’ recorded her last song Luit o nejabi boi in 1969. Some of her other popular Assamese songs, sung in her distinctive, inimitable style, include Senai moy jao, Jondhone jonalite tarawatik sai, konman boroxire sip, Dale dale kuli bulbuli, Kon ke rupawati jay, Bakul banat jonak jamini, Agali Baahore, Ahile pujare bela, etc.(with inputs from The Assam Tribune)