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Pratima Barua Pandey (3 October 1934 – 27 December 2002) was an Indian
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology * Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or ...
singer from the
royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pa ...
of Gauripur in Western Assam's
Dhubri district Dhubri District (Pron:ˈdʊbri) is an administrative district in the Indian state of Assam. The district headquarters are located at Dhubri town which is situated at ~290 km from Guwahati. This was also the headquarters of erstwhile undiv ...
. Barua Pandey, a national awardee, best known for her Goalpariya (Koch Rajbongshi / Kamatapuri/ Deshi) songs ''Hastir Kanya'' and ''Mur Mahut Bandhure'', was the daughter of Prakritish Chandra Barua (Lalji) and niece of
filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...
Pramathesh Barua of ''Devdas'' fame.


Early life

Barua Pandey was born on 3 October 1934, in
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, com ...
. She pursued her early education in the city's Gokhale Memorial School, after which she came to
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 to ...
to study at the Girls’
High School A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
, Gauripur, home of the
royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pa ...
. She mostly spent her early years in between the din of
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, com ...
and the soothing environments of riverside "Gadadhar" at hometown Gauripur. Although she learned '' Rabindrasangeet'' at
school A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compuls ...
, but she never took any formal training or teaching in music except the encouraging words from her father Prakritesh Chandra Barua (Lalji). The most crucial point in her life came when Dr. Bhupen Hazarika visited Gauripur in 1955 and attended a ''jalsa'' organised on a social occasion, the shy young Pratima, though tongue-tied with fear, let her voice and the
lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, a ...
of the ''lokageet'' in
Goalpariya dialect Goalpariya is a group of Indo-Aryan dialects spoken in the Goalpara region of Assam, India. Along with Kamrupi, they form the western group of Assamese dialects. The North Bengali dialect is situated to its west, amidst a number of Tibeto- ...
flow in tune with the strings and rhythms of the ''
dhol Dhol ( IPA: ) can refer to any one of a number of similar types of double-headed drum widely used, with regional variations, throughout the Indian subcontinent. Its range of distribution in India, Bangladesh and Pakistan primarily includes nor ...
'', ''junuka'', ''dotora'', ''darinda'', ''dhuluki'' and '' Bashi'' which are
musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who pl ...
s in Goalpariya culture. Dr. Hazarika was highly impressed and predicted that this voice would definitely take Goalpariya lokageet to great heights. Indeed, he first presented Goalpariya
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology * Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or ...
song in his
film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
''Era Bator Sur''. Besides the mahout songs, Barua Pandey used to sing the evergreen hit ''We Are in the Same Boat, Brother'' in stage shows. She married Ganga Shanker Pandey, a retired principal of the Gauripur P. B. College. She was inspired from the old family traditions of elephant captiving in their family. The Mahuts who catch the elephant use to sing a form of song which she refined and polished to give the form of Goalpariya lokageet. This can be found in her song "O Mor Mahut Bondhu re".


Popular songs

* "Aaji Danrao Kala" * "Afnla Kadamer Tale" * "Bail Machhe Kheil Kare" * "Dhick Dhick" * "Dui Diner Bhalobasha" * "Dung Nori Dung" * "Ek Bar Hori Bolo Rasona" * "Hastir Kanya" * "Komola Sundori Nache" * "Matir Manush" * "Matir Pinjira" * "O Birikha" * "O Pare Kamrangar Gachh" * "Oh Mor Mahut Bandhure" * "Sonar Chand Chandre" * "O Shyam Kaliya Re"


Awards and recognition

Pratima Barua Pandey was awarded the
Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferr ...
and
Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and b ...
for her pioneering efforts in popularising '' Goalpariya lokageet''. A documentary film made on her life and works by noted filmmaker Prabin Hazarika, ''Hastir Kanya'', won National Film Award for Best Biographical Film in
1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic (1997 film), Titanic'', the List of highest-grossing films, highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; ...
, earned great appreciation and created waves at the South Asian film festival in 1998. Filmmaker Bobby Sarma Baruah started filming a full-length feature film based on Barua Pandey's life in late 2015, titled '' Sonar Baran Pakhi''. Co-produced by ASFFDC and BB Entertainment, the film was released in December 2016.


References

1.
The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...
, 27 December 2002.
2. The Telegraph, India, 28 December 2002.
3. Sharmah, C. The Telegraph, India, 22 December 2006.
4. Barua, N. The Telegraph, India, 22 January 2005.
5
Jyotirmoi Prodhani, ''Life as lore: the art and time of Pratima Barua Pandey''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pandey, Pratima Barua Singers from Assam People from Dhubri district Assamese playback singers 1935 births 2002 deaths Indian women folk singers Indian folk singers Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts 20th-century Indian singers Indian female royalty Women musicians from Assam 20th-century Indian women singers Women musicians from West Bengal Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award