A Silence Across Assam: Millions Bid an Emotional Goodbye to Music Icon Zubeen Garg

Amid a large crowd singing his iconic song Mayabini, popular singer-composer  Zubeen Garg, the music icon of Assam was laid to rest with full state honours and a 21-gun salute at Kamarkuchi, near Guwahati in Assam, India today.

Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister and representative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, Assam Speaker Biswajit Daimary, Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly Debabrat Saikia, and representatives of various student and cultural organisations, attended the last rites of the music icon of Assam.

Millions of people assembled there to mourn the death of the 52 years old music icon of Assam, who drowned on 19 September in Singapore where he went to perform at the North East India Festival. The music icon of Assam left behind his wife Garima Saikia Garg, a fashion designer originally from Golaghat, his father Mohini Mohan Borthakur and many other family members.

The music icon’s  last rites

Zubeen Garg’s cremation took place after a second autopsy was conducted this morning at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, following widespread public demand to address suspicions surrounding his mysterious death.

Zubeen Garg was truly the music icon of Assam, singing more than 38 thousand songs in more than 40 languages and dialects in a career spanning only 33 years.

State mourning in Assam

The government of Assam had declared three days of state mourning. As soon as Garg’s body was flown to Guwahati, countless fans began to pour into the streets in order to pay tribute to the beloved artiste. Since the arrival, “he” was kept at Sarusajai, Guwahati for the public to pay homage.

Not only in the capital city Guwahati, in each and every place in Assam enormous numbers of fans turned out to pay respects. Shops and businesses shut down voluntarily, streets were lined with mourners, large photographs of the singer were hoarded every nook and corner.

It seemed the state came to a sudden halt at this hour of deepest sorrow and despair. Irrespective of caste, creed and political ideology, everyone poured in emotional tributes from across the nation.

As per reports his funeral in Guwahati has already been listed as fourth biggest gathering which itself is a Limca Book of Records.

Political leaders like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, music legends including A.R. Rahman, Hariharan, Pritam, Papon, Sunidhi Chouhan, Shreya Ghoshal, Shaan, Sagarika, Jit Ganguly, Mahalakshmi , actors like Prosenjit, Adil Hussain expressed grief at his sudden loss.

Mystery around the death

According to reports, he had gone swimming during the festival outing when he experienced breathing difficulties. He was pulled from the water and rushed to Singapore General Hospital, where doctors later declared him dead.

While the official death certificate from Singapore cites drowning as the cause, many fans and members of the public have expressed doubts about the circumstances of his death and have called for a thorough inquiry and autopsy.

Amid mounting public pressure and multiple FIRs filed against his manager and the event organiser, Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma announced that a second post-mortem would be conducted at Gauhati Medical College and Hospital before his cremation today. The Chief Minister also assured that a transparent investigation would be carried out to uncover the truth behind the tragedy.

Zubeen Garg’s rise to fame

Born in 1972 in Tura, Meghalaya, and raised in Jorhat, Assam, Zubeen Garg rose to prominence in the mid-1990s with his soulful Assamese numbers. The versatility  made him the  music icon of Assam and gradually  he became a household name in the Northeast and other parts of the country very soon.

Soon after the success of his   debut album Anamaika (1992),several albums like Maya, Asha, Jonaki Mon, Rang, Mukti, Snigdha Jonak, Shabda, Pakhi, Shishu, Jantra, Mukha, Rumal, Banhi ,Maa ,Sila, were released one after another and all of them touched millions of hearts.

His career as a music director of film began with Assamese film Tumi Mor Matho Mor in 2000 in which the main role was also played by himself. He directed music for many films like Hiya Diya Niya, Kanyadan, Dinabandhu besides recent hit Bhaimonda. Not only modern Assamese songs, folks like Bihu, Tokari Geet, Borgeet, and others were also performed by him for cassettes and CDs.

Although he released several Hindi or Indipop albums like Chandi Raat, Chanda he became national fame with the song “Ya Ali” for the movie Gangster in 2006.Before its release he already gave voice to several Hindi and other language film songs.

His humming was also used by famous music icons like A.R.Rahman in many films. He has been called the Humming King by his fans. He was also very popular in Bangla film and music industry as he sang many popular Bangla numbers and he once said,he considers himself half Bengali.

Beyond musical journey

He was not only a music icon ,he was also a true philanthropist . He helped needy people through Kalaguru Artiste Foundation. He always raised a voice for the people and advocated for the common cause. However, he never associated himself with any political party.

Despite constant threats, he used to condemn violence by different separatist groups in the North East India. He played an important role in mobilising people against Citizenship Amendment Bill in 2019.During the Covid pandemic, Garg offered his residence to use as an isolation centre.

Only in last year he participated in a protest against the state government for cutting trees to build a flyover. He has been a constant helping hand for many needy people across the state whom he helped in many ways including for medical treatment, school/college admissions, marriages, funerals and the likes.

His music, his melody would keep him alive among the generations to come.

Disclaimer:

This article is based on publicly available reports, official statements, and media sources. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, some details may be subject to updates or corrections. The information is intended for general news and informational purposes only.

Also read:

Zubeen Garg once made an agreement with his manager Tarsame Mittal at a cremation ground

Zubeen Garg Death Case: Mystery Deepens, Hope Rises with Singapore Police Investigation

#JusticeForZubeenGarg crosses 3.4 million mentions