Remembering Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha : 20 Jun 14

Kalaguru Bishnu Prasad Rabha, a revolutionary figure, a poet, a writer and a great classical icon of Assam. He was born on 31st January 1909 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. He was a multifaceted artist and revolutionary singer of Assam. He is popularly known as Kalaguru means Guru of Arts. From an early stage, he played an active role in Indian independence. He came to be influenced by left wing ideas and came close to the Communist Party of India. However, when Germany attacked Soviet Union during Second World War and the Indian communists decided to work with the British government, a section of the party favoured a different approach to oppose British imperialism and Fascism simultaneously. So a split happened in the communist party and in 1945 he finally joined the Revolutionary Communist Party of India. In 1951, after the death of Jyoti Prasad Agarwala he became the president of the Assam branch of Indian People's Theatre Association. Apart from being a revolutionary he was also a brilliant academician and researcher. Due to participation in freedom struggle he was forced by the British Govt to leave Rippon College at Calcutta and transferred to Victoria College at Coch Behar. He was not able to continue his formal studies even there due to frequent raid of British forces in his hostel and was compelled to give up his formal educational career for ever. After independence he was probably the only person who said “yeh azadi jhoothi hein”, and started working for the people. This was the time when he was one of the revolutionaries and he was an enemy for the state Bishnu Prasad was an established singer. The level of influence exerted by the Kola Guru can be observed through the fact that most cultural music competitions of Assam feature a segment called Bishnu Rabha Sangeet related to his compositions, lyrics and verse. He had learnt Borgeet of Shrimanta Shankar Deva and gave the genre a new significance for the modern times. There are more than hundred songs composed by him. His songs are collectively called as Bishnu Rabha Sangeet. This was a new genre of Assamese. In his songs one can see diverse themes like tributes to the Mother Nature, the exploitation of the peasant masses by the colonial rulers, the revolts of the workers at tea industries etc. His songs also reflect his revolutionary ideal and the country’s struggle for real freedom. Some of his songs are popular among children even today and will be, for all times to come. Some leading numbers include Xurore Deulore, Bilote Halise,etc. Kalaguru died in 20th June 1969 in Tezpur, Assam. His death anniversary is observed as Rabha Divas in Assam. He is little known in the national arena. His contribution towards culture and freedom movement is always appreciable. Today on his death anniversary let us pay tribute to this great person who used both brush and gun. He was always for the freedom and rights of the people so his contribution in political or in cultural field would be always important for generations to come.

The last resting place of this great son of Assam & India at the bank of river Brahmaputra, in Kolibari, Tezpur, Assam.