Poetry

Salutations to you,
O Kalaguru,
Your love for culture,
Your songs about Nature,
Are still on our lips,
As treasure one keeps...
A versatile genius you were,
Your deeds shall never wear,
Your portrait of Sankardeva
And title bestowed for Tandava,
Rabha Sangeet your creations
And Siraj your direction,
Your acting in Era Bator Sur
And Ban Theatre in Tezpur...
An urge to demolish evil from nation,
Your lyrics reflected revolutionary notion,
For the need to uplift Assamese society,
You penned the book Axomiya Kristi...

[Published in the souvenir 'Umrong' on 20 June 2011]
 
Short note: This poem is a tribute to Bishnu Prasad Rabha, the great multi-faceted personality of Assam. Born on 31 January 1909, he was an established singer, a composer and a lyricist. His songs are known as 'Rabha Sangeet'. He was an extremely talented actor, film director and dancer. He was awarded the title 'Kalaguru' by Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan at Varanasi for his mesmerizing 'Tandava' dance of Lord Shiva. He also painted portraits of many great saints and penned several books in Assamese. He passed away on 20 June 1960. To commemorate this versatile genius, every year 20th June is celebrated as 'Bishnu Rabha Divas' in Assam.