sentinelgroup@gmail.com
Heart of Assam silenced
The passing away of Zubeen Garg—the celebrated singer, music director, arranger, lyricist, actor, and filmmaker, fondly hailed as the heartthrob of Assam—marks an irreparable void in the state’s cultural landscape. For over three decades, his magical and soul-stirring voice enchanted millions, as he sang in nearly forty languages and dialects, giving music a truly universal essence. With a repertoire of over thirty-five thousand songs, Zubeen was not only a phenomenal artist but also a guiding light who tirelessly supported and encouraged young talents. His vision for Assamese cinema was reflected in landmark films like Mission China, Kanchanjunga, and others, through which he strove to breathe new life into the industry. A few of his cinematic ventures were yet to see the light of day, a poignant reminder of an unfinished journey. To witness a personality of such rare calibre again will perhaps take generations. Yet, his legacy — woven through his timeless creations — will continue to resonate in the hearts of millions, inspiring and uplifting the cultural spirit of Assam for all time to come.
Dipen Gogoi,
Teok, Jorhat
CBI investigation into Zubeen’s demise
I wish to draw the attention of the concerned authorities and the public to the ongoing developments regarding the untimely demise of our beloved cultural icon, Late Zubeen Garg. Multiple FIRs have already been filed by Zubeen’s close friends against Shri Syamkanu Mahanta and Shri Sidharth Sarma. It is imperative that these FIRs should not be confined to CID inquiry alone. To ensure a fair, impartial, and transparent investigation free from local influence, I strongly urge that all the FIRs be transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and, if required, to Interpol for international scrutiny. Zubeen Da was not merely an artist but the voice and identity of Assam. His sudden demise has left millions of admirers in shock and despair. A credible and independent investigation is the least that can be done to honour his legacy and bring justice to his memory. I therefore request the government and law enforcement agencies to immediately transfer all FIRs related to this case to the CBI and Interpol so that the truth may come to light and justice may prevail. All Zubeen lovers urge the Government of Assam and the Government of India to transfer all FIRs to the CBI.
Partha Pratim Mazumder
Nalbari
A song that became a man, the man a song...
For decades he was Assam’s confidant, a storyteller who dressed ancient folk and raw emotion in modern sound; a man who could make a stadium breathe quietly through a single line and make a village wedding explode with joy with a single beat. Zubeen da carried his homeland wherever he went — and when the world offered him convenience, he often chose the harder, truer path: the path back home.
He went to Mumbai and tasted that wide, glittering industry that turns voices into national hits. Yet he never allowed that success to erase the music that shaped him — the bihu rhythms, the lonely ballads, and the protest songs that spoke for those who rarely had a microphone. His voice reached Bollywood too (many remember him for the haunting “Ya Ali”), but he kept returning to Assam: to his people, to causes that needed a loud, human voice, and to the music that first taught him how to listen.
Zubeen’s public life was intertwined with conscience. When the CAA protests swelled in Assam, he did not stand on the sidelines. He stood among the people, lending his fame to amplify a cry that was already rising from the ground. He organized, he raised his voice, and he used his platform to protect the fragile threads of identity his state feared losing. That resistance through art — messy, passionate, and unafraid — is part of the legacy he leaves.
But resisting was only one face of his generosity. Zubeen’s heart showed in quieter actions too: running charities, opening his home as a COVID care centre when the pandemic overwhelmed hospitals, and raising funds for flood relief. He was someone who lived the lyric “music is for people”—not as a line on a poster but as a daily practice.
His art was wide in both range and intention. Some songs were crafted to trend; many others were simply made to touch a soul. He wrote as truly as he sang — scripts, lyrics, and melodies that pointed Indian cinema and regional music toward new shapes and textures. He didn’t chase fashions so much as create them: a new direction for Assamese music, a blueprint for artists who wanted to speak both locally and broadly without losing either identity. Love followed him in a peculiar, tender way. People who had nothing to do with music felt personal grief at his triumphs and losses because his songs had a way of entering private rooms — the first kiss, the last goodbye, the late-night consolations. That is why news of his passing has created a peculiar, almost familial sense of loss across households that never met him but felt him as part of their soundtrack.
And then came the sudden, unimaginable end. While in Singapore to perform at the Northeast Festival, he suffered a fatal accident during a water activity and was rushed to hospital, where efforts to revive him failed. The nation — and especially the Northeast that raised him — is now mourning a voice that seemed as if it would sing forever. Tributes poured in from across political and cultural life, a testament to how deeply the man and his music had become woven into people’s lives.
Yet the picture of Zubeen I want to hold is the one the headlines cannot fully capture: a man who chose people over comfort, who turned anger into art and sorrow into songs, who wrote and sang not to be famous but to be useful — to memory, to protest, to celebration. When death found him, he was not listless or resigned; by all accounts he remained the same fierce, tender presence he’d always been: alive in will, large in heart.
We will remember him in many small ways: in the hush before the first verse at a concert, in the reckless chorus of a roadside singing session, in the protest songs that refuse to be forgotten. He earned every accolade, every love letter, every sleepless tribute. Assam — and India — lost a superstar, but the music he gave us keeps him present, a luminous echo in ordinary days. Rest in melody, Zubeen da. Your songs will keep walking home.
Abihotry Bhardwaz
Guahati University.