Prafulla C. Borooah was born on 7th March, 1900 in Dhubri, lost his mother at the age of 5 and father at 14. He had his schooling at a 'sister-dead- brother-in-law's house at Mangaldoi.

Prafulla was a talented boy and that talent was nurtured by a glorious cultural inheritance, humanism and a sense of nationalism-the ideals of his father.

The history of Assam in the later part of the 19th century witnessed a strong birth-pang. A great nation had been destroyed. There was darkness everywhere. Civil war, foreign invasion colonial subjugation, degeneration- that was an era of gloom. Modern Assam took birth through that ordeal. This modernity was manifested through an urge for cultural regeneration, for establishing and developing Assamese art, music and literature. The birth struggle of modern Assam created those venerable pioneers like Lakhminath Bezbaroa, Lakshmiram Borooah and the like.

Prafulla Borooah, Jyotiprasad, Ambikagiri and others were the second generation warriors of that historic war. That is why we see in their life-works a spark of the indomitable spirit of renaissance. Prafulla Borooah believed and followed these ideals : "Dare to go where no one had been to, see what others avoid seeing, hear what others have not heard, think what others think to be unthinkable- only then will the divine blessings descend to your life. Live life in its fullness!"

P.C Borooah's life was a perfect stuff of biography where his story merges to history, history of the making of a modern Assam.

P. C. Borooah was a good student. Having lost parents early in age with no house to dwell in and no means of livelihood he had to roll on different places like Tezpur, Shillong, Dibrugarh and Mangaldoi. He passed Matriculation in 1918 from Mangaldoi and I.Sc. in 1920 from Cotton College. After that he joined Ripon College in Calcutta. He was a third year science student of that college in 1920 when he came into direct contact with the freedom movement of India. His studies got interrupted. He read up to 4th year B.Sc. in Ripon and after a gap of two years went to Benaras Hindu University for B. Sc. Engineering. He studied there for two years. The relatives and well-wishers bore all the expenses.

While studying at Ripon College in 1920 a special session of the Indian National Congress was taking place in Calcutta. That was a prelude to historic Nagpur session where India's treedom movement entered its decisive stage. The Calcutta session also marked the arrival of Mahatma Gandhi on the centre-stage of the movement. Gandhi's ideals of non-violence and non- cooperation had already created a mass upheaval across the country. The third year student Prafulla 'nourished a terrible urge to see' the session and the national leaders from close quarter, being present right inside the venue. That was not possible, because only elected delegates would be allowed into the venue. There were no provisions for general public, non- delegates or uninvited persons to get inside.

What followed is a story worth telling. Prafulla dared to think what others thought to be unthinkable. He observed the whole arrangement very minutely and suddenly found that there had been a provision for a press gallery for authorized journalists. So, he has to be a journalist.

How could it be possible? He found a way to make this possible. He sent a telegram to Padmanath Gohain Barua of Tezpur, who was somehow running an Assamese weekly named Ason Bonti requesting him to send an authorization letter in his name assigning him as a reporter of the weekly for doing the coverage of the session for his paper. A stalwart like Gohain Barua appreciated the idea and promptly sent the authorization letter to Prafulla. Ile procured not one but two entry passes, one for a friend, from the president of the reception committee who belonged to the Kipon College fraternity. Prafulla and his friend gleefully occupied two seats of the front row alongside the top all India leaders: Ile minutely watched the entire session, from start to end.

He became an ardent follower of Gandhiji's path and vowed to take active part in the freedom struggle. This unique adventure made him very popular among the students of Ripon College who elected him as one of the four delegates to represent the college at the first session of the All India College Students Conference to be held at Nagpur at the same time with Congress session which would endorse or reject Gandhiji's call of "complete independence or complete non-cooperation with the British Government". That students'; conference was an important event P. C. Borooah was right on the door step of becoming a national level student leader. Ripon College was an influential institute. P. C Borooah had the steely quality of a young leader.

He spoke fluent English and knew history and politics well. At that time something unexpected had happened. A crucial session of the Assam Association, the only political organization of Assam in those days was called at Tezpur. As a good host the people of the town organized a theatrical performance in honour of the delegates. They summoned P. C. Borooah to play the lead role. His mind dwindled. An elected delegate to an all India conference of historic proportion versus playing a role in a drama at Tezpur. Such occasions reveal a person's true colours. He opted for Tezpur. That was really a sort of renunciation that very few people could make.

Let us sacrifice

On returning to Calcutta P. C. Borooah wrote a letter to the principal of his college which was run by the British Government. The substance of the letter was that he is going to give up attending the college from then on in protest of the blood-shed of Indians by the British Government. The letter got front page coverage in the widely circulated Amrit Bazar Patricka.

That created a stir among the students. In a couple of days the whole of the colleges of Calcutta were on strike. In next couple of days same thing happened in Guwahati and other places. He was the first student in the entire country to have struck college for joining the freedom struggle.

He was arrested in Mangaldoi for his seditious act by a contingent of army and police personnel led by the European D. C. and accompanied by the S.P. which indicates that the Government treated him as a high profile prisoner. He was offered special treatment in jail which he refused to accept. He was convicted for six months rigorous imprisonment. The jail personnel often resorted to physical torture, ill-treatment and deprivation of the prisoners. He warned the jail authority (of Tezpur where he was detained) that he would not tolerate any form of ill-treatment and injustice to the prisoners. On one occasion he even rushed to the jailer to assault him. The jail authority threatened him to be beaten up by a cane according to the Jail Manual. He roared back like a wounded lion: "I do not care a hang for caning. I will not be satisfied less than the death sentence. I will be second Kanhailal Bose whose body weight got increased by five pounds by the time he was hanged. Let the jailer know that I am non-violent in the open, but inside jail I will be violent if meted injustice." No, the authority did not dare to cane this fearless fighter for justice. One day while objecting to some misbehavior of the jail staff he got so angry that he threw an iron plate to the face of the jailer. He was put to deadly solitary cell till release. He was put to jail for longer terms in the following years also.

First Assamese Gramophone Record Singer (1924)

We saw this fire-brand young freedom fighter in Tezpur jail. Now we shall see him in a completely different avatar. He was released from the jail in 1922. But where will he go from there? He had no home, no shelter, no money in pocket, without means of livelihood. He was so hard pressed by poverty that he had to ask somebody for a square meal. Seeking a shelter he proceeded towards Baan Stage and met Radhika Das, the long time secretary of the institution.

Mr. Das told him that he could stay at his house for some days. He accepted the offer and along with his close friend Jyotiprasad took part in tuning the songs of Sonit Kunwari- a drama written and directed by Jyotiprasad. It was a completely new type of experiment. These songs, written in modern Assamese, were based on the tunes of traditional folk tunes of Biyanam, Aninam and Bihugeet. That was a unique experiment of modern Assamese song. But majority of the people did not encourage it much at that time. An idea came to his mind -why should not these new Assamese songs be recorded on gramophone.

This dream was dreamt by none other than his father. Lakshmiram Borooah planned a visit to Calcutta in 1914 with three tasks: to record some Assamese songs, to print a book written by him on Western, Indian and Assamese music and to sit for an admission test to Trinity College of Music of London. But a few days before his journey to Calcutta he fell suddenly ill and passed away. In P. C. Borooah's own admission his father urged him just a few minutes before his death to fulfill these unfinished tasks. He never forgot his father's last wishes and his command to him. But poverty did not allow this to happen.

In 1924 he went to Calcutta with the twin objective of finding a job there and to record Assamese songs. He managed to get a small manual job at a factory for a monthly salary of Rs 30. From 8 am to 4 pm he had to work hard and without any provision to sit. Four years ago he left this same city as a budding student leader of a prestigious college. Well, if this is called 'fate' so be it. Sometime later his salary was increased to Rs. 35 and he shifted to another house. To his surprise it was near the gramophone company.

One day while going to his office his indomitable desire to record Assamese songs had diverted his walk towards the gramophone company. As if in dreams he proceeded to enter the office. The watchman stopped him and then only he realized where he was standing. He was smart enough to command the situation and said, 'I want to meet the officer.&'' The watchman asked him to fill up the entry form and wait in the visiting room. At that time P. C. Borooah was wearing the uniform of a factory worker-a khaki half pant and a filthy shirt. He felt a bit awkward. He had already written in the entry pass that he had come for the purpose of recording songs. Is this the way to dress for a singer? What to do now _ should he depart and come another day with some preparation and in a decent dress? While all these thoughts were around his mind he was called by the officer and asked about the purpose of his coming. He replied that he was planning to record some Assamese songs. "Who will buy Assamese records ?he asked. Assamese people are very less in number and they love to hear Bangla songs." Lot of things he said. Borooah said, "just try it for once. Assamese songs are getting popular now-a-days."

Finally the officer asked, "But where is the singer? If he comes at his own expenses then we can think of it." Borooah said that he was the one. The officer curiously observed him and said that they have to test his voice first. That day his duty hours got over. He might lose the day's salary. He submitted a sick report. At this stage he cannot afford to lose the job. After a couple of days he received an invitation from the gramophone company for voice test.

Borooah went for the voice test. There were a number of people in the room where he was asked to sit. One person first questioned him about some basics and then asked him to sing. He put his fingers on the harmonium; the person who was asking him questions took up the Tabla. He later came to know that his name was Masta Ghosh, the famous singer and instructor of the gramophone company of that time. Borooah was quite nervous and tense because a number of people, most of them singers and musicians gathered around to listen the singing of a novice.

Borooah started, 'Asoma nirupoma oyi alonghogiri durgo rani.' As he finished, everyone gave him a huge applause and requested for one more. The Bengali audience in the studio loved and accepted P. C. Borooah's singing of Assamese songs. He was very delighted and started a Bangla song, Amay sokol rokome kongal koreso garbo karite chur. He was greeted with more applause. Masta Ghosh seemed to be satisfied but did not disclose much. He offered tea and promised to let him know as early as possible.

He passed next several days in great anxiety. He gave up hope on the fourth day. He could not concentrate his mind on his job. But the letter had come _ an invitation to record four songs.

Rehearsal began. He sang in pure Assamese. At first Masta Ghosh had rejected them saying that they will not get to the market. Finally four songs were selected. Masta Ghosh had coached him well.

He instructed to sing loud and with clear pronunciation. In those days there was no microphone or electronic systems. Rehearsal was done for about seven days. Three minutes were given for each song and there was no provision for any change or correction. He rehearsed accordingly. The four selected songs were: 'Hridoy Bidari LIthe Sata Bedanare', 'Phoolu phoolile joneu hanhile banhie dhorile taan', 'Sirokal tumi asila swadhin' and 'Asoma nirupama janani.'

Recording was done. Again the tension began. He used to meet Masta Babu almost every day.

One day he was informed to come to the recording factory to collect the sample copy. It was in the terms and conditions that the singer has to approve the first copy, only then the company will produce the bulk of records and release them to the market. Masta Babu himself played the record to Borooah. What a moment it was! This was the beginning of a new era of modern Assamese music. First gramophone record of modern Assamese song was done .The dream of Lakshmiram Borooah was fulfilled by his son. It was a dream come true for P. C. Borooah himself. He writes about the experience in these words: 'I was spell-bound when I got to hear my voice on the gramophone machine.' The Gramophone Company released the record in 1924.

It created a wave of joy among Assamese music lovers. By that time the seventh session of Asom Sahitya Sabha was held at Guwahati. Rasaraj Lakhminath Bezboroa was the President. The first record of Assamese song was played there. Bezboroa was overjoyed to hear the songs and expressed professedly his delight in composing these songs in pure Assamese tunes.

P. C Borooah was present there. He sang a song from Jyotiprasad Agarwala's drama Sonit Kunwari : 'Gose gose pati dile phoolare sarai ki ram o ram phoolare sarai. Sahityarathi was so moved that he expressed his feelings in these words: "only today have I heard a song which touched my heart and soul. This song has given me abundant joy." This song was based on the tune of indigenous Assamese Biyanaam, was composed by Jyotiprasad and accompanied by P. C. Borooah.

Aaji Bondo Ki chandere

This song, written by Ambikagiri Raichoudhury is one of the most memorable Assamese modern songs. The song was tuned by P. C. Borooah. The story behind it is noteworthy. It was in 1926. The plenary session of Indian National Congress was held at Pandu where Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru, C. R. Das, Sarojini Naidu and other leaders were present. Tarunram Phookan and Nabin Ch. Bordoloi were president and secretary respectively of the reception committee. P. C. Borooah was the secretary of the 'music, reception and procession sub- committee'. P. C. Borooah suggested Ambikagiri to write the welcome (opening) song and took the responsibility of tuning the song by him. Ambikagiri wrote it and called P. C. Borooah to his place and urged him, “Prafulla, give it such a tune which make our guests mesmerized”.

Borooah read the song. He read it over and again. On his fifth reading a tune spontaneously burst out from his mouth and that tune mesmerized the creator himself. Hearing the tune Ambikagiri could not control his emotions. He hugged P. C. Borooah and said to him, “as an elder I bless you. This tune would be immortal”. P. C. Borooah also told him, 'Dada, this lyrical poem by you would remain forever' .The song was: 'Aaji bando ki chandere samagata birata Naranarayana rupa.' The song was presented as a chorus by 50 well-dressed singers in front of thousands of people in the Pandu INC session. The song created a magic spell among the audience. Dr. Banikanta Kakoti translated the song into English which was distributed to the audience beforehand. That helped the non-Assamese audience to realize the meaning of the song. Later in 1942 Dr. Kakoti translated some other songs written by Ambikagiri and those were published in the form of a book titled Song of the Cell.

P. C. Borooah was a close associate of Jyotiprasad Agarwala who treated him like his own brother. Particularly in the early phase of Jyotiprasad's musical creation and composition of songs in the line of the indigenous Bia-naam, Ai-naam tunes which revolutionized the sphere of Assamese songs.

P. C. Borooah was a constant companion of Jyotiprasad Agarwala . P. C. Borooah tuned the last song of the film Joymati-Luitor Pani Jabi-O Boi. Jyotiprasad requested him to give such a tune to the song that it could make viewers of the film leave auditorium with tears. Jyotiprasad's dream was fulfilled. He was in high praise of the tune.

Borooah was president of the music conference of the Dhubri Session of the Asom Sahitya Sabha. Not many people know that P. C. Borooah was the first president of Assam Branch.• Indian Peoples' Theatre Association (IPTA) in 1944-45.

Prafulla Ch. Borooah, M.P.

He was elected to the Lok Sabha twice -1957-62 and 1962-67, i.e, he was a member of the second and third Lok Sabha. His track record as an M. P. was quite impressive. In the first term he was ranked as one of the top ten M. P.s in matter of putting questions. And in his second term he was ranked first having had the honor of putting highest number of (12000) questions out of which 6000 were admitted. His speeches were also well appreciated.

Although a staunch Congressman he stood stubbornly against the Emergency proclaimed by the Indira Gandhi led Congress Government. He steadfastly supported the six-year Assam agitation. He was a man of principle and lofty ideals. He never used politics for expediency.

He will also be remembered as the single biggest donor in Assam to have donated 1000 Bighas land to the Bhoodan Movement launched by Vinoba Bhave in 1960 s.

P. C. Borooah - A Pioneer Tea planter of Assam

As mentioned earlier P. C. Borooah started his life as a factory worker in Calcutta. His monthly salary was Rs. 30 only. It was in 1924. He joined the INC as early as in 1920, when he was a student of Ripon College. He was very active in the freedom movement. Therefore he could not continue his studies. But he had to earn for survival. He was trying his hands in different types of ventures.

He set up a shop at Panbazar as a dealer of gramophones and musical instruments. Probably that business did not run well. Still he might have saved some money with which he purchased a second-hand bus and started passenger service between Guwahati and Palasbari. Perhaps that too did not click.

He came to Sibsagar and registered his name as a contractor under the PWD. That was a tough period of his life. Once he got a contract from Assam Tea Company for cleaning the river Dikhow so that the Company's steamers could move up to Nazira. Company sanctioned five thousand rupees for the work. Borooah executed the work to the satisfaction of the company and submitted the bill and payment of five thousand rupees was made. Borooah became very surprised to see several bundles of notes on the table. He informed his brother Phunu to bring a trunk to carry the notes. He made a profit of about four thousand. Before that he purchased a small tea garden of 30 acres in abandoned condition at a sum of Rs. 1200 at a revenue sale.

At the same time he conducted other business also such as supply of Railway sleepers, bamboo and cane. His cane businesses were very successful and it covered several states. Ile owned several cane Mahals. With business expanding he ventured into tea business in a big way.

Several new gardens were purchased and existing ones expanded. Borooah Group of companies became a big name in the tea industry. They produced quality tea. Management of the gardens was good. Ultimately he became a major tea planter of Assam, owning seven tea estates and a reputed tea broking firm.

A brother like Lakshman

Parasuram Borooah was the lone brother of P. C. Borooah. He was more popularly known as Phunu Borooah. He was an artiste per excellence. He had a good command in music, dance and drama. Above all he was a good human being-benevolent, dynamic, enterprising. Phunu Borooah was the first hero of Assamese cinema who played Gadadhar Singha in Jyotiprasad's film Joymati. He was involved with many social organizations. Like his father he did not finish his matriculation. However his knowledge of art and culture would put many of the highest degree holders to shame. And he could speak and write English as his mother tongue. He saw poverty and struggle from close quarters.

P. C. Borooah's success in tea garden business was mainly due to Phunu Borooah's expertise and assistance. Phunu looked after the entire business interests of P. C. Borooah. They were a symbol of brotherhood, like Ram-Lakshman. Phunu Borooah was a tough, stubborn person. But in front of his brother he would behave like a small child, meekly waiting for his command. He was more like a son than brother to P. C. Borooah, even beyond that. Phunu Borooah never entertained any ambition, dream or interest for himself other than standing behind his brother in thick and thin. P. C. Borooah also took care of his brother and childhood till death they remained like an undivided soul. Phunu Borooah predeceased him. P. C. Borooah stood like a lifeless statue near his beloved brother's body and expressed his grief: "82 years we have passed together. Today only he has separated himself from me!" Blessed are the families where such bond prevails.

Onto eternity

Prafulla Ch. Borooah passed away on 28th February, 1986 at his hometown Sibsagar, following a brief illness. He was 86. He left behind him his only surviving son J. K. Borooah. The other son R. K. Borooah predeceased him.

His wife Hiranyaprabha died after some years of their marriage and second son Ranjit Borooah also met with an untimely death. His first son Jayanta Kumar Borooah was also a connoisseur of music. He played violin very well. He was also a very successful tea planter, a distinguished tea taster of international repute and businessman. He had expanded his father's inheritance to a new high.

Jayanta Borooah died on 28 September 2011. His wife Lakhimi Borooah passed away on 13 January 2018. They are survived by their two daughters Jahnabi Phookan and Atreyee Borooah Thekedath.

Jayanta Borooah aru Lakhimi Borooah Sadan, a well equipped hall above Lakshmiram Borooah Sadan was inaugurated on 11 February 2018 on J.K Borooah's birth anniversary. His daughters have pledged themselves to the cause of music and hope this Sadan will attract music lovers from all over to perform there, overlooking the scenic Dighalipukhuri right at the heart of Guwahati. It was conceived on the lines of Kolkata Town Hall by Lakhimi Borooah.

Original: Krishnamurti Borooah