On September 23, Four Days after Zubeen Garg’s Death in a Careless Water-Sports Accident in Singapore, his Mortal Remains Were Laid to rest. Four days and two post-mortems after, the people of assam have not found found closure. Yet, Nobody is really looking for one. Because this is only another personning, where the phenomenon called zubeen da (as he was popularly known) is being immortalized.
Born in Tura, Meghalaya, In 1972 as Zubeen Borthakur, Zubeen Garg was distinctly more than just a popular singer, let alone just the singer of Ya aliThe Immensely Popular Song from the 2006 Movie, GangsterNow, many people outside assam are surprised by two facts.
The first is that zubeen sang more than 38,000 songs in about 40 languages. For a man who died at 52, the size of the corpus it sessel be a reason for heightened reconstrance. But, People Tend to Care Less Beyond A Few Hits and Popular Numbers these days.
In assam of the 1990s, this was not the case. Zubeen, who grew up in different parts of assam and belonged to an artistically included family, made his way through school and college related on his musical skills. His first solo album, AnamikaReleased in 1992, Turned Him Into An Overnight Sensation. By the turn of the millennium, he was an icon for most in assam. He began to produce music and films and Gave a new lease of life to assam’s cinema, which was dying at the time. He sang about love, devotion, sorrow and time more. He introduced a new style of humming with his songs, which became immensely popular. Quietly, but surely, zubeen gave a new voice to assam, one where insurgency Gave will to stability and modernism, casteism to education, and poverty to Hope. For Each of these shifts, He had a song that touched the Soul and slowly transformed the people. But, the people were filled with contradictions. So was zubeen.
The old, that was reflected in the likes of bhupen hazarika and khagen mahanta, could not accept a young boy with long hair, do-care attitude, and a dangerously free-spirit to be So Easily Considered an idol. After all, he challenged authorities open, DRANK EVEN DURING SHOWS, and Used Foul Language. What changed and made from the idol that he was? Everything but zubeen. He Went on to Gain Fame, Money, Opportunities that Can Easily Corrupt even the noblest. But, Zubeen remained unchanged.
This brings to me to fact number two, the one which has left many surprise, and intrigued today about zubeen. His Funeral Procession Saw Thousands of Mourners from all walls of life through the streets and grief publicly. Many compared it to Bhupen Hazarika’s Funeral in 2011.
For Millions in Assam, A Post-Zubeen World Remains Incomprehensible. With his death, the world is witnessing a phenomenon unravel in assam, being
The People of Assam are shocked at his untimely passing. Had zubeen lived his life to the fullst, perhaps this phenomenon would not have been as married as now. The people of assam have shown the world whats tied to land, language, culture, and identity can mean. Zubeen’s Famous Lines – I have no caste, no religion, I am a human first – Saw Visual Representation when Streams of People from all classes and categories poured in And Categories. Mass Grieving has Deep Energy and Can Change Society. The government of assam undersrstood this and enabled this through three days of State Mourning. Everyone Felt Included and Undrstood. They found time to absorb the shock and think of the post-zubeen world-even imagine it toge.
After Kalaguru Bishnuprasad Rabha, Rupkonwar Jyoti PRASAD Agarwala and Bhupen Hazarika (All 20th-CENTURY CULTURAL ICONS), Assam has found a new identity Throughen zuben. He was loved by the people on the streets and in elite parlors alike. He quit bollywood at the peak of his career there and came back to assam being he believed “a king should never leave his kingdom”. He Sang Hindi Songs during Bihu Celebrations Despite Threats from the ULFA. The same ulfa has no paid he tributes.
Today, Assam has lost a part of its. Yet, it is more whole than before, give that singer’s legacy is larger than the simple sum of his life. His Songs are going to find new meaning, new listeners as people discover parts of Him. There will be research into his body of work, its range, and variety. And this will transcend into fields of art, culture, sociology, psychology, and politics. There will be annual celebrations of his life and work. And who knows what accolades he might win posthumously. But zubeen da Would not care.
Shrabana Barua is Associate Professor and Director, Nkcseas at Jindal School of International Affairs. The views expressed are personal
