He was an institution. A culture. Beyond his mortal entity, he was an emotion. It is indeed difficult and painful to write about him in past tense. An emotion never dies. It never stops existing altogether. I am talking about Zubeen Garg, the name whose mention is enough to bring tears to everyone’s eyes in his kingdom. And after his passing, Zubeen Garg is a name familiar across the world. He is a king in his region, surveying over the laymen, their pain, joy, sagas, journeys, and every little thing that bothered them, mattered to them. 90’s was a happening time for me and everyone else who were growing through the chaos of adolescence, witnessing some tough times of insurgency and politics in Assam unclear to the young minds, slowly moving away from its local music to explore the outside world for something new. Suddenly, Anamika happened to us. A breath of fresh air. Zubeen Garg happened to us youngsters. Ever since there is not a single time when this name was not part of our songs or the whole Assamese cultural scenario. His lyrics began to reign over our hearts and souls like a river flowing in to the sea. Zubeen is a river.
Where did he exist? Well, where didn’t he? You feel something special for a crush, there’s a Zubeen song for it. You fall in love, there’s a Zubeen song. You feel pain, hurt, there’s a Zubeen song. You feel betrayed, abandoned, there’s a Zubeen song. You feel nostalgic and want to go back to your childhood, school friends or good old days, there’s a Zubeen song. You talk through your love for your soil, there’s a Zubeen song. You want to pray, meditate/reflect in solitude, there’s a Zubeen song. You want to laugh, there’s a Zubeen song. You want to cry your heart out, there’s a Zubeen song. He is just everywhere, his words, his voice, those vibes. His voice speaks through you, through all. Zubeen is an echo of all of us.
He is always passionate about what he does. Be it the trees he stood hard to save or saplings he wanted to plant, animals he wanted to protect, birds he wanted to nurse, helpless and hopeless he wanted to rescue and revive. Zubeen did everything with a genuine heart and efforts in his best capabilities. An unfortunate calamity – natural or human-devised – occurs, Zubeen stands firm by the people in need. The annual flood ravages across the region, Zubeen reaches out to the victims. Pandemic punctures normalcy, Zubeen opens the doors of his house to all. Political unrest shakes the region, Zubeen stands by its people, even leads them. Destitute arrive at his doorstep, Zubeen empties his pockets without a second thought for his own. Fresh talents find him, Zubeen goes all in to make them heard. Whatever he does, he does it with conviction. Zubeen is a mountain.
Is he only about his 38,000+ songs, lyrics, music sung in 40 different languages over a 33-year career? No. Zubeen explored music, filmmaking, and his success brought Assamese music, films unto a wider sphere of audience. His life touched generations. His passing went even beyond that. I cannot say he is no more. Zubeen has lived in all of us in Assam for all these years knowingly and unknowingly: he knew his absence will create a huge void, we did not know it will transition his phenomenon into something heavenly. Zubeen knew so many things. He was so frequently vocal on death and its aftermaths. He knew Mayabini will be played with more emotion and devotion afterwards. We did not know it will become our earnest prayer. He knew how to communicate with trees, birds, animals, Nature. We did not know his absence will affect those so much. He knew much more. Zubeen is divine, immortal.
It is difficult for every Assamese to explain why Zubeen matters so much to us, what he really means to us. We are always short of words and expressions to convince others about this void he has left in each one of us. But then, why explain? We feel him in our hearts and souls. We sing him, breathe him, rejoice him, and now live him for all the times to come. As I said earlier, an emotion never dies. It floats on the waves of life and keeps doing so forever. Zubeen is that vibe for us. Forever. Jai Zubeen. Jai Jibon.