On the occasion of Assamese icon and Bharat Ratna late Bhupen Hazarika's 96th birthday on Thursday, Google has paid a tribute with an artistic Google Doodle. The Google Doodle shows the late Hazarika playing the harmonium, and the illustration has been created by Mumbai-based guest artist Rutuja Mali.
Hazarika, who was born on September 8, 1926 in Assam, grew up surrounded by songs and folk tales about life along the Brahmaputra river. He recorded his first song at the age of 10. The singer completed his Intermediate in Arts in 1942 and MA from Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1946. Soon after, he left for New York where he lived for five years and received his doctorate (PhD) in Mass Communication from Columbia University in 1952. After completing his studies, Hazarika started singing at All India Radio in Guwahati. He also used to translate Bengali songs to Hindi and lend his voice to those songs.