Skip to content Skip to navigation

Octogenarian Music Maestro Sisir Kumar Suni

Octogenarian music maestro Sisir Kumar Suni spends time playing violin at home

Music legend of undivided Darrang (presently Darrang, Udalguri and Sonitpur) Sisir Kumar Suni is now 84 years old being confined to his home only.He is still optimistic about systemic research and practice of traditional folk culture of Assam in their original style.Although forgotten by present day singers and producer directors of Assamese music world,Suni still busy with his never ending musical activities alone in his home at sleepy Bengbari just five KM away from Tangla town.Age could have restricted his bodily movements,but his talent and spirit still busy looking for new ideas.It had been his effort that Bodo folk dance "Kherai" was performed on stage for the first time during 1955."Kherai" dance had never been performed on a stage till then.He was also the first music director of Bodo modern song broad caste through All India Radio Guwahati in 1977.

Sisir Suni will always be remembered as the founder of Bodo Musical Notation in Assam.He was the person involved with the book "Gwthang Denkhw" published in 1994.He also composed notation on Kamrupi Lokageet in a book "Sodomsri" published from Barama in 1995.Suni composed more than hundred songs which have already been published in books namely-'Jaydhwani', 'Palas Phular Botarote','Denkwo Bidang','Gwdan Denkhwani Methai', 'Swrang Lama', 'Bodo Bhajan' etc.He composed Assamese Notation of modern songs,Jyoti Sangeet,Rabha Sangeet,Bhupendra Sangeet,Kamrupi folk songs,Bihu songs etc and also have trained many students in his lifetime.Preffering to keep a very low profile,this octogenarian music maestro has now been living alone at Bengbari in Udalguri district.He is never angry with anybody nor had any complaints.He loves to play violin most although he has mastery over other musical instruments namely-Spanish Guitar,Hawain Guitar,Mandolin, Piano, Organ,Accordion etc.Suni had been a close associate of Bishnu Rabha,who had been a regular visitor to his house at Bengbari during early days when Kalaguru had been underground.Sisir Kumar Suni was born on 20 November in 1932 at Bengbari.He was the eldest son of Dr.James Suni and singer Giribala Suni.Completing primary education at Bengbari LP School,he joined Bengbari Mission School in 1942.He eastblished Bengbari ME School in association with late Nabin Chandra Medhi,Mouzadar of Harisinga Mouza.Also offered to work as an Hony Asstt. teacher.While talking to media persons Suni expressed unhappiness at the present day status of Assamese ethnic folk song and dances."If not preserved with notation all will be lost in the midst of remix culture",he said.He was also critical of government policy towards singers,actors and musicians."Anybody with Radio and TV background gets government recognition leaving behind genuine artists", he said.He mentioned Dr.Nirmal Prabha Bordoloi, Mukul Barua and Pulak Banerjee as his most favourite artists of Assam.Unfortunately,even after so much of his contribution to Assamese music society,Sisir Suni is yet to receive government pension or recognition.

Comments

Tirtha Gurung's picture

Deuta Namaskar Janalu !! apunak dekha pai khub bhal lagil , Apuni aamar bengbarir pride !!

Pages

Add new comment

Random Stories

Govt Official held for accepting bribes

1 Jun 2007 - 5:30am | editor
DIBRUGARH reports another first but of the dubious kind. A lady government officer of the PWD (technical) department of Assam was arrested on charges of bribery and extortion.Mr Rajib Dutta was a...

AATSA demands recovery of missing twin baby

12 Mar 2011 - 10:29pm | maniramdutta
Assam Tea Tribes Student Association (AATSA) is planning to protest at Jorhat Medical Hospital (JMCH) regarding the missing baby of Niha and Bipin Modi. The Assistant General Secretary of teh...

Tve takes hepatitis science to communities

20 May 2016 - 7:38am | AT New Delhi
Television Trust for Environment or TVE is launching an ambitious year-long project helping communities in two Indian cities to combat one of the world’s most deadly, but little publicised, diseases...

Gogoi meets Sonia in Delhi

21 Mar 2013 - 12:55pm | AT News
Crippling dissidence in Congress finally reached party high command. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi called on Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday morning at the latter’s 10th Janpath residence....

Other Contents by Author

Nearly three hundred people volunteer to donate blood at a blood donation camp cum awareness camp organized at DC s parade ground , Udalguri on July 16. The camp was organized by Udalguri district administration in association with Indian Red Cross Society,Udalguri;Assam State AIDS Control Society,Guwahati and Blood Banks of Mangaldai and Sonitpur.The blood donation camp witnessed 286 Nos of people including SS Meenakshi Sundaram, DC,Udalguri and Lt.Col Shes Giri of 65 Field Regiment, Mangaldai; members of ABSU,AJYCP,NDFB(P),AMSU;AKRSU etc donating blood for saving somebody's lives. This has been considered significant at a time when Udalguri district had been facing so many socio-economic...
An unusual programme was arranged at Kalaigaon on July 5 by 'Durgat Kalyan Nyas' a Kalaigaon based NGO working for providing help to poor and needy people of the locality. The programme titled 'Aakou Sadichar Aabeli' was arranged at the premise of Kalaigaon Circle Office at 2 pm. Where financial assistance was distributed among eleven meritorious but economically backward students who had shown excellence in the recent examinations and five seriously ill poor patients. The 'Nyas' was formed in the year 2007 at the initiative of DN Hazarika,the then Circle Officer,Kalaigaon Revenue Circle. Lohit Chandra Nath,secretary of the 'Nyas' anchored the proceeding of the session,while DN...
The mysterious death of another male wild elephant calf in Udalguri district has drawn sharp criticism from the nature loving people of the district. This has been the case of fourth death in a row in just two months in the district. According to information,the dead body of a two months old jumbo calf was found in line no.5 of Hatigarh TE (very close to Red Horns Division Brigade HQ) on the morning of July 3.The body of the dead calf did not bore any mark of injury but looked very weak and pale.Experts said that the calf could have been suffering from malnutrition. They also said that because of the frequent chasing away of the wild elephant herds,the mother elephant could not spare...
A python weighing 8 kg was rescued recently on July I by a few cultivators in the village Habibhanga under Kalaigaon Police Station. According to information, one Nur Haque, while harvesting paddy in the field had noticed the python in knee deep water. He along with a few nature loving co-villagers,namely-Hafiz Ali, Mannan Ali, Moktab Ali and Salman Khan had brought the python home unhurt and informed Kalaigaon Press Club. Imran Hussain, president,Kalaigaon Press Club and Jayanta Kumar Das,Advisor of Bodoland Journalists Association immediately visited the place before informing forest officials. The python was latter brought to Kalaigaon Circle Office premise, where Dina Mani Das,Circle...
The alarming increasing rate of trafficking of children, adolescent girls and women has now been considered to be the most important social problem of not only Udalguri but BTAD districts as well.the small children are being trafficked for engagement in different shops or factories in the hazardous condition despite of the existence of child labor prohibitory acts in the country. By the way of engagement of child labor ,the children are most often harassed, abused and even more dragged into street begging by some notorious professionals.The adolescent girls of the poor families are also quite often convinced by the middle man or woman for working as domestic servants in towns and cities at...
The tragic death of two wild elephant calves near Indo-Bhutan border in Udalguri district has again exposed cruelty of human beings. According to information received, two wild elephant calves (one of three years and the other just only one year old ) were found dead in the Nepaligaon village near Koramore under Harisinga Revenue Circle, in the morning of June 13. According to the version of the local people a herd of wild elephant was seen moving in the nearby villages the previous day. A few villagers said that the wild elephants were looking for food. They further said that the elephant could have eaten the poisonous mixture of urea and pesticides kept open to be used in the mini...
The recent merciless killing of an elderly helpless widow in Badlapara TE has again exposed the primitive ideas and thoughts prevailing in the minds of illiterate masses of society. Unfortunately,no organizations, including woman organizations had not been seen taking interest to stop this social menace. According to information received, one Magni Daga (75) wife of late Budhua Daga of the village No.1 Sonajuli, near Badlapara TE in Udalguri district was mercilessly beaten to death on the night of June 8. People of the tea garden (belonging to tea garden community) believed her to be a witch performing black magic tricks on the villagers. DN Hazarika, Circle Officer, Harisinga Revenue...
Extortion of public money by thousands of known or unknown organizations has posed serious threat to all development and welfare activities of the people of Udalguri and other districts of Assam. So said S.S.Meenakshi Sundaram,IAS,DC Udalguri at the celebration ceremony of successful completion of four years of Assam government organized centrally at Bishnu Rabha Bhawan, by the Bhergaon Sub-Division administration on June 6. Addressing the mammoth gathering of nearly thousand people,the DC,who also presided over the ceremony,said that huge amounts of money had regularly been coming from the government for the developmental and welfare activities. But most of the schemes had been...
On the occasion of World Environment Day 2010, special programmes were arranged at various places of Kalaigaon. Situated in backward rural areas, 10 km away from Kalaigaon town, the students and teachers of Balipara KM High School also observed the day with three days programme.The programme was sponsored by Sahiruddin Ahmed, (better known as Plantation Crusader), in association with Aryabhatta Science Centre, Kalaigaon under Assam Science Technology and Environment Council, Guwahati.A seminar on global warming and climate change was arranged on June 3 at the school premises which was conducted by Sahiruddin Ahmed, Head Master of the school. On June 4, plantation and protection...
People of Kalaigaon have expressed satisfaction at the over all good performance of the students of various schools situated in the backward rural areas of Kalaigaon. In the recently declared AHSEC,SEBA and CBSE results. The Jawahar Novodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) Kalaigaon topped the list of success with 99 percent success in the CBSE class X examination and 97 percent success in class XII final examination. According to Madhab Sarma,Principal of the school, 76 percent students had passed in the first division He further said that 10 students had secured 94 percent marks in the class X examination (CGPA 9.8 ) which had been the best by the school since its establishment. On the other hand...