Sudakshina Sarma (1934-2023) was an Indian singer associated with Assamese music. During his career spanning eight decades, Sarma recorded songs in various classical and modern genres across Assamese music including Borgeet, Kamrupi Lokgeet and Goalpariya Lokokeet. He was instrumental in popularizing Jyoti Sangeet and Rabindra Sangeet. He is known for voicing the evergreen Assamese songs Kotha Aru Shur, Jetuka Bolere, and Sharatkalor Rati. She is the elder sister of legendary Assamese singer Bhupen Hazarika. He died of an age-related illness on July 3, 2023.
Wiki/Biography
Sudakshina Sarma was born Nirupama Hazarika on Wednesday, 8 August 1934 (age 88 years; at death) at Bharalumukh in Guwahati, Assam Province, British India (now Guwahati, Assam, India). His zodiac sign is Leo. His paternal side is from Nazira, Assam. Growing up in a culturally inclined artistic family with 9 siblings, Sudakshina was first exposed to music listening to her mother who would sing Assamese lullabies and folk songs to her children. His passion for music was later fueled by his brother singer Bhupen Hazarika. In an interview, he recalled hearing Bhupen’s songs on the radio during his childhood and said,
There are only two radio sets in the area — one at Tarun Ram Phookan’s house and one at MP Rohini Choudhury’s residence. Every time, Bhupenda informed us, we used to rush to one of these houses to listen to his songs. But sometimes it is frustrating because we usually miss the first part of the song during the initial formalities in their household.”
He would accompany Bhupen to his musical events in Dhubri, Tezpur, Sonitpur, and Mangaldoi, exposing him to artistic and cultural activities in Assam. During this time, he got the opportunity to interact with the stalwarts of Assamese culture like Rupkonwar Jyotiprasad Agarwala, Bishnu Prasad Rabha, playwright Phani Sarma, and others. He used to listen to gramophone records of Pankaj Mullick, Saigal and Kanan Devi during his childhood. She attended Panbazar Girls’ High School in Guwahati. His mother was an active member of the Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samiti. Sudakshina would accompany her mother to Samiti meetings, where she met various freedom fighters and activists like Chandraprabha Saikiani, Amalprava Das, Begum Abida Ahmed (wife of Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed), and others. She got married in 1954 when she was about to appear for her BA final Examination at Handique Girls’ College, Guwahati.
Physical appearance
Hair Color: Gray
Eye Color: Black
Sudakshina Sarma performed with her son Rishiraj Sarma
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father, Neelkantha Hazarika, is a music composer and ACS officer. His mother, Shantipriya Hazarika, was an active member of the Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samity. Sudakshina was the fourth child among ten children of her parents. Sudakshina’s elder brother, Bhupen Hazarika (1926-2011), popularly known as Sudha Kontho, was a famous singer, lyricist, musician, poet, actor, artist, editor, filmmaker, professor and politician from Assam. Bhupen is eight years older than Sudakshina.
Bhupen Hazarika
His brother Samar Hazarika is a playback singer and an employee at the Food Corporation of India. He has a sister named Sushma Hazarika. His younger brother, Balen Hazarika, is a cultural activist and educator. He is the music secretary of Cotton College and a retired professor at Saint Anthony’s College, Shillong. His brother Jayanta Hazarika (singer and composer) was the ninth among 10 children. One of his brother’s names is Nripen Hazarika.
Brother Sudakshina Sarma Samar Hazarika
Brother Sudakshina Sarma Jayanta Hazarika
Sudakshina Sarma Balen Hazarika’s brother
Nripen Hazarika and Sudakshina Sarma
Husband & Son
In 1954, she married singer and composer Dilip Sarma, son of Dinanath Sarma, founder and editor of the Assamese Magazine Awahan.
Dilip Sarma and Sudakshina Sarma
Dilip first met Sudakshina in 1943 in Calcutta, where he recorded the song Kalaguru Nahor Phule Nusuwai Tagar Phule Suwabe under Senola Records. Dilip recalls his first meeting with Sudakshina and says,
During one such program at the Kumar Bhaskar Natya Mandir in Uzan bazaar, Uday Shankar presented a novel dance drama with members of his troupe performing robotic artistic movements. That night, she (Sudakshina) also performed a beautiful classical dance.”
The couple has two sons, Rituparna Sarma and Rishiraj Sarma, and a daughter, Rijushree Sarma Majumdar. Both his deceased sons, Rituparna Sarma and Rishiraj Sarma, were eminent singers. Rishiraj Sarma is also a lawyer. His daughter, Rijushree, married the famous writer Paramananda Majumdar.
Sudakshina Sarma gave a musical performance with her son Rishiraj Sarma
Sudakshina Sarma’s son, Rituparna Sarma
Rijushree Sarma Majumdar with her husband, Paramananda Majumdar
Caste
He belongs to the Jalia Kaibarta family, a Dom fishing caste of Assam. Historically, they were considered an untouchable caste. Doms are listed as a Scheduled Caste for Reservation in India.
Career
His career spanned over eight decades, beginning in the mid-1940s. In 1944, when he was just 10 years old, his mentor Bishnu Prasad Rabha accompanied him to Kolkata (then Calcutta), where he recorded the songs Nahar Phule Nushuwai and Biswar Chande Chande with Assamese actor and music director Kamal Narayan Chowdhury. Composed by Bishnu Rabha, the songs became instant hits. In the same year, he recorded two more hit songs, Duronir Hou Rini Rini, written by Anandiram Das, and A’ Moina Ketia Ahili Toi, composed by his father, Neelkantha Hazarika. In 1946, Sudakshina got the chance to sing “E Joy Raghur Nandan” for Mahatma Gandhi in front of a crowd at the Jubilee Garden in Guwahati, which she considered one of the greatest moments of her life. In an interview, he recalled the same and said,
I can never forget a special moment in my life. Gandhiji wanted to hear Assamese bhajans. Then Gopinath Bordoloi asked me to sing a song, and Bishnu Rabha suggested E Joi Roghunandan.”
Nirupama had another important moment in her life when Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes were ceremoniously placed in the Brahmaputra at Shukhreshwar Ghat following his assassination. He sang Prithibir Shirot Bajrapat Porile, a song composed by his brother Bhupen Hazarika, for the solemn occasion. He also acted in plays and participated in folk dance performances. In 1948, he became an artiste for All India Radio when its unit opened in Guwahati. Her marriage to singer and composer Dilip Sarma in 1954 opened a new door for her artistic career. The duo recorded great albums together and produced hits like Moyu Bane Jao Swamihe, Nahar Phule Nushuwai, Kamalkuwari More Praneswari, Rati Puwaelre Kuruwai Pare Rao and Ur Ur Ur Neel Akashat.
Music album cover by Dilip Sarma and Sudakshina Sarma
Apart from folk and classical music, he worked as a playback singer in three LP record sets in dramas including Prabin Phukan’s Maniram Dewan, Sarbeswar Chakraborty’s Piyoli Phukan besides Lakshyadhar Choudhury’s Vishnu Shakti and Rakshya Kumar. She lent her voice to several Assamese films including Chik Mik Bijuli (1969), Pargat, and Abuj Bedona (1993), directed by her husband Dilip Sarma. He also presented the Assamese version of Rabindra Sangeet — Arup Tomar Bani. His other audio cassettes include Jautijugiya, Aparup Tomar Bani, Geet Gao Ekelage, Sirasundarr Sanskriti and Nijara Parar Sur with music labels HMV, Columbia and Senola Records. The legendary singer is credited with keeping Assamese music alive by lending his voice to various genres like Borgeet, Kamrupi, Goalparia, Bongeet, Biyanam and Bihunam. Later, he also served as a cultural ambassador. Even after she retired from public singing, Sudakshina continued to teach music until old age stopped her ability. In 2020, Sudakshina Sarma collaboratively sang the song “Aai-O-Aai” with her son Rishiraj Sarma.
Aai-O-Aai by Sudakshina Sarma and Rishiraj Sarma
Death
Sudakshina Sarma was admitted to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) ICU on June 23, 2023 as she was suffering from pneumonia and bed sores. Later, his condition improved and he was transferred to the cabin. His health deteriorated again on the night of 2 July 2023, and he died on 3 July 2023 at 8.25 am. His remains will be taken to his residence for the family and the public to pay their last respects. Sudakshina has donated her eyes and body for medical research to Ellora Vigyan Mancha, a Guwahati-based NGO that promotes organ donation. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed his grief on social media and wrote,
I am saddened to hear of the passing away of Sudakshina Sharma, a shining star of the Assamese cultural world and an eminent musician. He enriched the world of music by gifting it with songs that touch the heart, and his death is a great loss to the cultural and social sphere of this state.”
Sudakshina Sharma in her last days
Facts/Trivia
- She was nicknamed Queen during her childhood. Early in her career, she was referred to as Queenie Hazarika. She changed her name to Sudakshina only after she married famous singer and composer Dilip Sarma in 1954. Her sister-in-law Manisha Hazarika (wife of Jayanta Hazarika) revealed that the name Queenie was given to her by Bishnu Prasad Rava, a famous Assamese artist and revolutionary poet. After marriage, her father-in-law Dinanath Sarma gave her the name Sudakshina.
- Interestingly, Nirupama had aspirations to become a nurse during her childhood, influenced by a book she had read about Florence Nightingale. However, his incompetence in mathematics prevented him from continuing his studies in the field of science.
- In 1943, he trained for the role of young Sankardev for a play directed by Bishnu Rabha for a half-hour program on Assamese culture, to be broadcast by All India Radio (AIR). However, he was unable to act in the play because he had an attack of typhoid.
- Sudakshina and Dilip are active members of the Assam unit of the Indian People’s Theater Association (IPTA) (or Gananatya Sangha). The couple are known for their skills in Rabindra Sangeet and have devoted their lives to various forms of music, including folk, classical, light classical and modern. During the fifties, they performed Jyoti Sangeet (a song written by Assamese cultural icon Jyoti Prasad Agarwala) in China under a cultural exchange program. In 1990, they started running Jayjayanti Kala Kendra, a music college and art school affiliated with Pracheen Kala Kendra, Chandigarh, and Sarbabharatiya Sangeet O Sanskriti Parishad, India. They also established the Dilip Sarma-Sudakshina Sarma Cultural Academy.
- In 2002, Sudakshina Sarma and her husband, Dilip Sarma, received the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for their contribution to the research and practice of the State’s folk music and Jyoti Sangeet. It is the first time that a couple has been honored simultaneously.
- In 2022, he underwent leg surgery at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) after collapsing in the bathroom. Previously, he had undergone hip joint surgery.
Categories: Biography
Source: SCHOOL TRANG DAI
