BHARAT RATN FOR RAVI SHANKAR, GOPINATH BORDOLOI
Dr. Jai Maharaj
By Our Special Correspondent
The Hindu
Sunday, Janaury 31, 1999
Nayee Dillee, Jan. 30 - Sitar maestro, Pandit Ravi Shankar, and the
noted freedom fighter from Assam, late Gopinath Bordoloi, have been
chosen for the highest civilian honour, Bharat Ratna.
In separate communiques, the President, Mr. K. R. Narayanan, today
announced the conferment of the award on the 79-year-old Pandit
Ravi Shankar and Gopinath Bordoloi who died almost half a century
ago. A function will be organised later to confer the awards.
The number of those awarded Bharat Ratna, which was till recently
bestowed selectively, has now gone up to 38. Gopinath Bordoloi is
the 11th person to be awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously.
PTI reports:
Pandit Ravi Shankar has been an integral part of Indian and
international music scene for five decades. The 79-year-old
musician, who is virtually India's cultural ambassador the world
over has lived abroad for long stretches, particularly in the
formative years of his life, and had performed with many a western
artiste.
Born on April 7, 1920 at Varanasi, Pandit Ravi Shankar, at the
tender age of 10 joined his equally illustrious brother Uday
Shanker's dance troupe and went to Paris. His early years were thus
spent in foreign surroundings, but he was constantly in the company
of Indian artistes.
At an early age, he was taken under the wing of his guru Ustad
Allauddin Khan of Maihar, who taught him to play the sitar and set
him on the path of his successful career.
From 1938 to 1944, he was part of the Indian People's Theatre
Association (IPTA) and composed music for several ballets and in
1947 the music for the ballet `Discovery of India'. The year 1948
saw him taking charge of Vadya Vrinda in All India Radio where he
introduced orchestra for Indian music.
In 1949, he took part in the UNESCO music festival in Paris and
performed with Yehudi Menuhin and David Oistrach.
In 1958, he started the Kinnara school in Los Angeles and nine
years later he was made the chief of India Music Section at the
California institute of arts. He was made a fellow of the Sangeet
Natak Akademi in 1968.
Another highspot of his career came in 1982 when he composed the
music for the New Delhi Asiad. He also came up with a new
composition for the country's golden jubilee of Independence,
called ``Swarna Jayanti''.
Born in 1890, Gopinath Bordoloi was designated Prime Minister of
the undivided Assam after India's Independence. He is regarded as
the modern architect of the State and its most well-known freedom
fighter. He was awarded the title of ``Lokapriya'' and was
responsible for thwarting a move to include the State in the
erstwhile east Pakistan.
He studied law before doing his post graduation in 1924. By then he
had already joined the non-cooperation movement against the British
Rule. He was jailed for the first time in 1921 and also
incarcerated several times till Independence. In 1919, Gopinath
married Mrs. Surabala Bordoloi. They had four sons and five
daughters. Mrs. Surabala is now 92. A son and a daughter have died.
He died in 1950.
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Jai Maharaj
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