Dipali Barthakur (30 January 1941 – 21 December 2018) was an Indian singer from Assam. Her songs were sung mainly in the

Assamese language Assamese (), also Asamiya ( ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken mainly in the north-east Indian state of Assam, where it is an official language, and it serves as a ''lingua franca'' of the wider region. The easternmost Indo-Iranian language, ...

. She received the fourth-highest civilian award of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, the Padma Shri, in the year 1998.

Early life

Barthakur was born in 1941 to Bishwanath Borthakur and Chandrakanti Devi in Sonari at Sivasagar,

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

.Suchibrata Ray, ''Silpi Dipali Barthakuror 71 Sonkhyok Jonmodin'',

Amar Asom The ''Amar Asom'' ( Assamese: আমাৰ অসম) is an Assamese daily newspaper published by G. L. Publications Ltd. After the exit of Homen Borgohain as the Editor-in-chief, this newspaper tries to maintain its stand by siding with peopl ...

, 31 January 2012, accessed date: 03-02-2012

Musical career

Barthakur started her career as a singer early. When she was studying in class nine, in 1958, she sang the song "Mor Bopai Lahori" on

All India Radio All or ALL may refer to: Language * All, an indefinite pronoun in English * All, one of the English determiners * Allar language (ISO 639-3 code) * Allative case (abbreviated ALL) Music * All (band), an American punk rock band * ''All'' (All a ...

, Guwahati, and the song "Joubone Amoni Kore Chenaidhon" for the film ''

Lachit Borphukan Lachit Barphukan was an Ahom commander, known for his leadership in the Battle of Saraighat that thwarted an invasion by Mughal forces under the command of Ramsingh I. Biography Lachit was born to Momai Tamuli, a commoner who rose to the ran ...

'' (1959). Some of her other popular Assamese songs are: *"Sonor Kharu Nalage Muk" *"Joubone Aamoni Kore, Chenaidhon" *"Jundhone Junalite" *"Konmana Boroxire Sip" *"Senai Moi Jau Dei" *"O' Bondhu Somoi Pale Amar Phale"

Personal life

Barthakur sang her last song "Luito nejabi boi" in 1969. After that she began suffering from a severe

motor neuron disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

which hindered her singing and forced her to use a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

. In 1976 she married Neel Pawan Barua, an eminent Indian artist and painter from Assam and son of renowned Assamese writer Binanda Chandra Barua. Barthakur died on 21 December 2018 at Nemcare Hospital, Guwahati, after a prolonged illness. She was known as "Nightingale of Assam".

Awards

Barthakur was honored many times, most notably with the Padma Shri award for folk and traditional music in 1990–92. Some of her awards/ recognitions are listed below: *

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

( 1998) for her contribution to the Arts by the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

. * Silipi Bota (2010) from

Government of Assam The Government of Assam is the subnational government of Assam, a state of India. It consists of the Governor appointed by the President of India as the head of the state, currently Jagdish Mukhi. The head of government is the Chief Minister, ...

. * Aideu Handique Silpi Award (2012) by the Sadou Asom Lekhika Somaroh Samiti.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barthakur, Dipali 1941 births 2018 deaths Singers from Assam People from Sivasagar district Indian women folk singers Indian folk singers Assamese playback singers Assamese-language singers Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Women musicians from Assam 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women singers 21st-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian women singers