Bhupen Hazarika had this great quality of making my
tunes into the sounds of music. He made my tunes, his, and sang them from his
heart to the world. La lala has a sweet musical cadence but blah blah is an odd sound. I would give
the la lala tune and Bhupen Hazarika
would take it into his heart and
transform it into a universal sound.
Singer, music director and composer of yesteryears JP Das who regaled audiences with such evergreen numbers like Porichoybihin and Duronirespeaks of times gone by and the music scenario of today. Music director of Munin Barua’s Prabhati PakhirGaan, Das also says that he would like to remembered through his songs as “Music never dies”. Excerpts from an interview:
How would you like to introduce yourself? Please tell us something about your family and educational background
I am JP Das. I worked in All India Radio for 42 years.Besides that I am a music composer, music director, singer and also did stage shows since my school days, in St Edmunds, Shillong. I formed a band then called the Jetlinerswith two Khasi and one Nepali friend performed at Setes, a kind of show at Loreto Convent, St mary’s and Governor’s House. At these shows a list of thirty to forty songs were put up by us and we sang on request any song from the list at a price of 25 paise per song. We sang songs of Beatles and other English, songs. Initially I started singing from then.
I have a family-- I have a wife and three children. My daughter, the eldest among the three, Jinti Das is also asinger. My elder son works in the AG office and is also apart time singer, but not professional. My younger son is a fashion designer– an alumnus of the National Institute of Fashion and Technology.
I graduated from St Anthony’s College in Shillong and took admission in English at Gauhati University in 1966.
Could you please tell us something more of your journey into music?
Regarding, my musical journey you could say that it is in my genes. My father, Dinesh Daswas a radio artist in 1945. I was born on July 25, 1947.I also loved singing because of the climate and environment in Shillong.The placewe lived in was called Oakland because of a few oak trees growing in the area.When I used to go to school I had to walk besides the Wards Lake-- I could hear the birds chirping, smell the flowers, the road to my school was like a heavenly way. At St Edmunds I was taught by IrishFathers and I had a very good friend Victor Banerjee, the famous actor, with whom I used to sit. I had many friends in school, most of who became famous later in life.
Music as I said came to mein Shillong. I loved to listen to western and English songs on Radio Djakarta and Rangoon-- all radio stations beyond Meghalaya. I also listened to Shillong musicalthough Western music was not popularin Shillong radio station. I grew up listening to lots of English love songs, the romantic western songs in the 60s and 70s. My father also bought me a guitar when I was 14 years old and had cost him Rs 100 then.
My fingers loved the guitar, my fingers and the guitar became close friends, the songs of the birds, and my father’s DNA all combined to take me into the world of music.
When and why did you start making Assamese music?
After passing my previous year in MA, I got a job in All India Radio and therefore could not complete myMaster’s degree. It was during that time that I came into contact with the greats of Assamese music -- Bhupen Hazarika, Tarun Sharma, Jayanta Hazarika and others. When I entered into the Assamese music scenario it was at its height. There was a prolific output in songs and poetry. All the top singers and poets were performing at their best and Assamwas like a cultural heaven. I worked with the geniuses, and I was blessed by their strength and learnt from their way of life. Ibegan as a Production Assistant in All India Radio and appeared for the unionpublic service examin1983, following which I became a ProductionExecutive and was posted at Dibrugarh. This was a gazette post. This was followed by a transfer on promotion to Aizawl in Mizoram as Additional Station Director and then toTezu in Arunachal before serving in Guwahati for the last two years before superannuation. At that time it was the norm to send you back to your hometown before retirement.
Could you please tell us about your first music endeavour
I came to Guwahati with a guitar in my hands and wearing jeans. It followed that I was asked to compose music for a chorus -- in the university week. That was my first music composition. My team’s name was Canteen Party. Canteen Party comprised my hostel mates. I lent the tune to the song which was written by a hostel mate. This song won the first prize in the chorus competition andit gave me inspiration and confidence to write more compositions. I have written about 500 to 600 music compositions for Assamese singers like Bhupen Hazarika,Pulak Banerjee and for Bollywood singers like Abhijit, Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu and others.
As an artist did you face any challenges?
The road to musicmay have challenges but you should not take theseas challenges. Go on, do on, carry on, no one can stop you. When you say Saregamapanobody can put a hand into your mouth and stop you from singing. For a painter on the other hand, however, good his painting might be, the paper or canvas may not last long. The sound of music can never die. Sound never dies. Music never dies.
I have never faced any obstacles, music will never die, The creator of the music will some day die physically but his music will never stop… his music will never die. My tunes will stay forever. Sound never dies.
You have worked with Bhupen Hazarika, Jayanta Hazarika and other great singers of Assam. Could you please tell us something about your experience of working with them
Bhupen Hazarika and Jayanta Hazarika were very accessible. They would askme for a song and I would compose the tune for them. They would then sing it in their own style. Bhupen Hazarika had this great quality of making my tunes into the sounds of music.He made my tunes, his, and sang themfrom his heart to the world. Lalalahas a sweet musical cadence but blah blah is an odd sound. I would give the lalala tuneand Bhupen Hazarika would take it into his heart and transform it into a universal sound. These days there is hardly any sweetness left in music. We can call it the Kaliyug of music. Now nothing seems sweet, nothing seems good or feels good, The trees have not changed, the birds and flowers are still the same way people talk and act is not sweet -- nature has not changed -- people have changed, the way they act, the way they talk, the way they react,
Will you tell us about some of your memorable moments
My performance at ITI Machkhowa was one I will always remember. I was singing songs atan award ceremony for Bhupen Hazarika. The maestro was listening intently to what I was singing from a front seat. After my performance was over he called me and praised my singing --`Khubbhalhoise, Babu, (You sung very well, Babu)’he said. Hazarika never told lies,and this was a blessing for me. Another moment which comes to my mind is when Bishnu Rabha, he was an MLA then, had visited our house in Oakland. He was a bit older to my father but was close as both had met in Kolkata in connection with the recording and singing of songs. My mother while serving tea to him told him that I was suffering from chickenpox. He immediately as for some grass 9bon) and came inside to where I was lying down and with the grass sprinkled some water over my body. This was probably in 1964-65 or 66 I consider this to be another blessing,
However, I would say that every moment is memorable -- for me some moments are better than others. As long as you are alive that is the best moment. Time cannot be quantified into moments – good or bad. Of course when you are degraded then those moments can be said to be bad.
What are the projects you have worked in? Are you doing any new projects?
I have directed the music in three Assamese films apart from singing and giving tunes to innumerable songs. At present I am not doing any project. I would like to give lessons to small children, teach small children for free. I would like to give them something. It is the time for me to give for free. If you take in return that is not good. These are small things in life that later become great things.I hope to be remembered by these small things.
The music industry has seen tremendous change in recent times. The new generation is experimenting with new genres. What is your opinion about this
They are searching for avenues.They are searching --but music is not something you can search and get but something you get on your own and through hard work. The new generation arenot doing their best. Wearing ankle boots, dancing and putting on a show on stage does not make good music. When in Rome, be a Roman.The road to music has slowed down. One has to look back and sing well. One has to dig hard to get gold. Moreover, nowadays everyone is making music with the help of machines. But this is not the way good tunes can be made.All the good things of life have stopped happening.
What are your achievementsand theawards you have received?
I have got several awards and mementos. I have received an award given by the Bhupen Hazarika Foundation and recently I have been presented the Ganashilpi award.The Assam Tribune Journalists’ Association also gave me an award for a film. More than awards I seek rewards. I was rewarded by God the day I was born.
Nowadays awards are meaningless. These have become a dime a dozen. Every day 10 to 20 people get awards which are given by different organisations mostly in memory of someone’s parents.Assam will soon become a land where everyone has received some award or the other, everyone would be an awardee.When an award is given it should be significant like those given in the names of Bhupen Hazarika or Bishnu Rabha. Award is something divine. Innumerable organisationshave given me awards, mementos and citations, all of which have been kept by me. They have also given me love.Speaking about rewards I would like to mention a recent event where ther was a singing competition among some of the good singers of Assam like Shanta Uzir. Here three women from the organising committee washed my and my wife’s feet with water. This was a great reward for me and touched me.
Would you like to say something to our readers
The Sentinel is a very good newspaper. The English is of high standard. It’s a newspaper that still looks like a newspaper. Unlike other papers the whole front page is not taken up by a cement ad. The Sentinel has stuck to true journalism. Melange means a variety of things. The earlier editor D N Bezbaruah had given this name to the Sunday supplement.