Sangeetacharya Lakshmiram Borooah | 100 Years of Assamese Gramophone

Sangeetacharya Lakshmiram
Borooah

Brief History of Modern Assamese Music

Author: Neelotpal Deka

Lakshmiram Barua (1875-1914) was one of the prominent pioneers of Assamese music. He will remain immortal in the musical literature of Assam for enlivening and vitalizing its existence. He felt that for its existence Assamese songs must be based on the basis of the Raga-Sangeet. But, of course, he had also written songs in the style of folk music and for Brindabadya. His Sangeet Sadhana and Sangeet Kosh introduced a new phase in Assamese music. Lakshmiram Barua gave evidence of his love for and skill in music by organizing theatre party at Shillong and acting as its band master and by establishing a theatre party, as Assam Association of Dhubri for cultivation of music. Raja Prabhat Chandra Barua Bahadur writer of Sangeet-Sopan, was his intimate friend. He was also a mainstay of the Ban Theatre of Tezpur which developed its musical side beyond expectation with his guidance as musical master.

Thus, the songs composed by Lakshmiram Barua and Radhanath Phookan of Jorhat who composed Kiyonu Pahora Asomiya Hera, Siro Kaltumi Asila Swadhin remind us of the past achievement of the Assamese race. Prafulla Barua, son of Lakshmiram Barua recorded this song.

Excerpt from Folk Tradition and Modern Assamese Song

By: Nabajit Das

“Till the time of annexation of Assam by the British, very little facts or data pertaining to Assamese music have been found or recorded. Virtually speaking,there had been no real existence of modern Assamese music before 1888.

Prior to that period, songs from Bengali drama/theatre were directly translated into Assamese language for singing. It was even beyond imagination for some people to compose original Assamese songs. The era of Assamese modern songs can assume to be started from 1883 after the publication of Geetawali, a book on songs written by Satyanath Borah.

In 1909, Lakshmiram Borooah published a book named Sangeet Kosh by compiling songs collected from different people. He also wrote the details of the songs in his book.

From the time of Sangeetacharyya Lakshmiram Borooah's Assamese classical composition, modern Assamese songs have undergone several transformations. In 1924, the song of Umesh Choudhury Asom Nirupoma Janani sang by Prafulla Borooah became the first recorded song and from that time onwards broadcasting of Assamese music started.

In fact Sangeetacharyya Lakshmiram Borooah first initiated the task of composing Assamese songs and that effort has been continued by the great musical maestros……. It is only because of the relentless hard work of all these great artists, Assamese modern music could attain a new height.