The Assam government has purchased the house where late legendary singer and 'son of the soil' Bhupen Hazarika lived in Kolkata by making a payment of Rs 1 crore.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal signed the order and asked the cultural affairs department to buy back the late singer's house in Kolkata's posh Tollygunge's Golf Club Road.
Assam Cultural Affairs Minister Naba Kumar Doley and the chief minister's advisor, Hrishikesh Goswami, recently visited Kolkata to complete the formalities for the Assam government.
The owner of the house was Sushil Kumar Dangi, who is a renowned chartered accountant in Kolkata to whom Hazarika sold off the house in the late 1990s after he shifted from Kolkata to Mumbai.
The house, 77 B Golf Club Road, Tollygunge, was Hazarika's first residence in Kolkata when he arrived in the city in 1952. He began his career as a musician in Kolkata and the house used to be the venue for discussions between many giants of Indian music. Lata Mangeskar, Hemant Kumar, Kishore Kumar and Manna De all used to frequent the house, which Hazarika had first taken on rent from a Bengali in the 1950s.
Hazarika's famous rendition, O Ganga tum Behti ho Kyun, like many other famous songs, was conceived and planned in this house in Kolkata.
In 1981, Hazarika bought the house after living there for three decades to preserve his memory despite the fact that by then he started working in Mumbai at full pace and used to travel across the world.
However, as he settled down in Mumbai in the late nineties, Hazarika sold the house to Dangi.
Sonowal decided to buy back the house after he became chief minister of Assam. He sent officials and a minister to Kolkata to hold negotiations. Sources confirmed that the deal has been settled with the payment of Rs 1 crore from the Assam government.
Goswami told THE WEEK, "Yes, I went there to seal the deal. Chief Minister Sonowal wished to buy the house of legendary singer Bhupen Hazarika, which would be turned into his memorial in Kolkata. Cultural affairs department would declare the matter soon."
Goswami, however, refused to talk about the exact price of the deal. He also parried questions about the payment of Rs 1 crore.
A leading realtor in Kolkata said, "The price of Rs 1 crore is not much high but, in fact, little less, looking at the position and historic value of the house. In fact, West Bengal government should have preserved it as a memorial as the 'maximum' amount of Hazarika's music is rooted in West Bengal."