Bhupen Hazarika at 100

A tribute to Bharath Ratna’s legacy as IME receives his harmonium

September the eight 2026, marks the 100th birth anniversary of one of India’s most memorable voices, Bharat Ratna Dr. Bhupen Hazarika. And this year, the Indian Music Experience Museum gets to commemorate his birth centenary with a deeply special moment as IME’s trustees and leadership formally receive Dr. Hazarika’s harmonium, handed over by members of his family and the Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust.

This is a particularly significant addition to the IME collection. The Bharat Ratna is India’s highest civilian honour, and Dr. Bhupen Hazarika is one of only six musicians to have received it, alongside M.S. Subbulakshmi, Ustad Bismillah Khan, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi and Lata Mangeshkar. With the addition of Dr. Hazarika’s harmonium, IME will now hold memorabilia associated with all but one of these musical legends.

5:00 PM: High Tea
5:45 PM: Handover ceremony for Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s harmonium with the legend’s family, members of the Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust and IME Leadership
6:15 PM: Musical Tribute

Born in Assam in 1926, Dr. Bhupen Hazarika was a musician, lyricist, filmmaker, poet and cultural ambassador whose work brought the stories, sounds and spirit of Assam and the Northeast to audiences across India and the world. His songs, deeply rooted in Assamese folk traditions and the life of the Brahmaputra, spoke of humanity, dignity, equality, social justice and cultural identity.

For IME, receiving an instrument that was once part of a musical legend’s life and practice is a true honour. A musical instrument is more than an object because it carries traces of the hands that played it, the music that emerged from it, and the stories and traditions that surrounded it. By preserving such instruments alongside recordings, photographs and other memorabilia, IME hope to help visitors now and well into the future encounter the human stories behind the music.

So it is with great pride that we invite you to join us as we celebrate the handover of this remarkable instrument, the centenary of Bhupen Hazarika, and a legacy of music that continues to bring us together.

Date and time:
20 September 2026, Saturday
05:00 PM Onwards

Schedule:
5:00 PM: High Tea
5:45 PM: Handover ceremony for Dr Bhupen Hazarika’s harmonium with the legend’s family, members of the Bhupen Hazarika Cultural Trust and IME Leadership
6:15 PM: Musical Tribute

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