Brother Blue, a man of compassion and a friend to all, passed away while telling a story to his wife in his Cambridge home On Tuesday, November 3, 2009.

A World War II veteran, he came to Harvard and took a BA, then proceeded to Yale University to get a graduate degree in Theater.  He had his call in storytelling and spent rest of his life in creating and performing stories to all audiences in all segments of the society.  He was awarded a PhD in “storytelling” in 1973 through an open curriculum program between Harvard University and Episcopal Divinity School of Cambridge.  His wife Ruth is herself an oral historian and was a partner to Brother Blue in all his efforts throughout his life.  Brother Blue was 88 when he passed away.

Brother Blue’s original name was Hugh Morgan Hill and he grew up in racially segregated neighborhoods in Cleveland, Ohio.  India as a country fascinated him and his calling was to know legends and literature in Indian heritage.  I happened to meet him in a spiritual seminar in 1975 in Cambridge and we became friends. He got involved with more and more public events in Boston and Cambridge, but would always participate in events relating to India when called upon.

His performance in the India Day event in 1997 was legendary and brought the event in the maps of local media to celebrate India’s culture.

A scholar, a poet, a musician and a cultural enthusiast – all rolled in one – Brother Blue was an inspiration with his constant presence in the multi-language India Poetry Reading we commenced at Harvard from 1997.  He was the one intent listener to all poets and could feel the emotion of the poems only by hearing the sounds.  Every year, he would conclude the Poetry event with the recitation of his own occasionally performed with invited musicians.  He would attend most public lectures organized by the Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies at Harvard and would analyze the depth of the contents with intensity and diligence.   His stories wove the contents that he heard in the lectures.

We are organizing a tribute to the arts of Brother Blue in an evening of storytelling, music and poetry on Saturday, December 12, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM in Hall C of Harvard University Science Center located at 1 Oxford Street, Cambridge.

The program is free and everyone is invited.  If you wish to participate in the event to present a story, music or a poem, you can contact Bijoy Misra at 617-864-5121 or writing to him at bmisra@fas.harvard.edu.      

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