Khagen Mahanta was a singer and composer of folk and traditional music of

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. Khagen Mahanta was a notable person in Assamese folk music and known as the "King of Bihu". His

Bihu Bihu is a set of three important Assamese festivals in the Indian state of Assam – 'Rongali' or 'Bohag Bihu' observed in April, 'Kongali' or 'Kati Bihu' observed in October, and 'Bhogali' or 'Magh Bihu' observed in January. The Rongali Bihu i ...

songs,

Borgeet Borgeets ( as, বৰগীত, lit=songs celestial, translit=Borgeet) are a collection of lyrical songs that are set to specific ragas but not necessarily to any tala. These songs, composed by Srimanta Sankardeva and Madhavdeva in the 15th ...

and other folk songs remain popular in Assam. The artist, along with his wife Archana Mahanta and son

Angaraag Mahanta Angaraag Mahanta (born 24 November 1975), known by his stagename Papon, is an Indian playback singer, composer and record producer from Assam. Papon has also sung in many languages apart from Assamese like Hindi, Bengali, Tamil and Mar ...

who is known as Papon, represent one of the most influential families in

Assamese music The music of Assam consists various Music genre, genres of Folk music, folk and modern music, drawing its artistic basis from the history of Assam, from Culture of Assam, Assamese culture and its ancient traditions. In recent times, starting from ...

. He died on 12 June 2014.

Early life

Khagen Mahanta was born to Kalita caste Harendra Nath Mahanta and Laxmipriya Devi in

Nagaon Nagaon (previously Nowgong; Assamese নগাঁও), is a town and a municipal board in Nagaon district in the Indian state of Assam. It is situated east of Guwahati. History This division was organised on the both banks of Kalang river ...

. He showed his musical talent from his childhood. At the age of fifteen he started performing in concerts in Shillong, where he was well received.

Career

In 1958, he gained attention from Delhi Doordarshan (television) Center, which had just been established, and was given the opportunity to perform. His program was a great success. During the "language movement" in 1960, Khagen Mahanta got actively involved in it under the leadership of personalities like Bishnuprasad Rabha, Hemanga Biswas, and Jugal Das. He was a member of the group "Harmony" and promoted human values with his melodious voice and compositions. In 1961, his first gramophone recorded song was broadcast from Guwahati All India radio center. He also participated in the "World Peace" festival in Calcutta. He was recognized as A grade artist in All India Radio and contributed in almost all genres of Assamese music like Lokageet, Okoni Geet, musicals, and dramas.

Personal life

He was married to Archana Mahanta, also an Assamese folk singer. They performed together on many occasions, popularising Assamese folk music and earning a name as the most popular duet singers. Their son

is also a singer like his parents and is popular in the genre of modern Assamese music; he lived in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

. He has two grandchildren, Puhor and Parijaat. He also has a daughter, Kingkini Mahanta.

Death

Khagen Mahanta died a sudden death at his own residence in Guwahati on the afternoon of 12 June 2014. The end came at 3:40 pm, sending shockwaves across the state. Mahanta is survived by his wife Archana Mahanta (who died in 2020) and son Angaraag Mahanta. State government declared a half holiday across the state on 13 June 2014.

Awards

Khagen Mahanta has been decorated numerous times nationally and internationally for his contributions. He was also awarded the

Sangeet Natak Academy Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

award for folk and traditional music in 1992.Other Forms of Music, Dance and Theatre
Some of his awards/ recognitions are listed below: * 1988 - Film Craft Award * 1992 - Sangeet Natak Academy * 1994 - Shrimoy Award * 1999 - Sangeetacharya

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahanta, Khagen Singers from Assam People from Nagaon district Indian male folk singers Assamese playback singers 1942 births 2014 deaths 20th-century Indian singers Indian male playback singers 20th-century Indian male singers Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award