Rod… rod aji keni pau… Rod… rod aji keni sau

On September 19, 2025, Assam lost Zubeen Garg, who was not only a name but a raw emotion for millions of fans across Assam.

Being a Bengali born in Assam, I was introduced to Zubeen da during my teenage days in the 1990s and fell instantly in love with his voice. It touched my heart in a way no one has ever touched it.

As a teenager, when I would just take his cassettes and play them on our tape recorder and sing his songs aloud at home, my mother would think that her son had gone crazy. But slowly, she also started humming his numbers, be it ‘Pakhi pakhi ei mon…’, ‘Unmmona’, ‘Sabda’, ‘Kokaal Khamusiya’ and many more.

My mother started loving him so much even though she never got a chance to meet him. In every house, Zubeen was an integral part, as if every mother in Assam thought of him as her son. Zubeen was part of each and every family of Assam. He ruled the hearts of everyone who loved music.

Zubeen Garg loved Assam more than himself, and that is why we are now witnessing the outpouring of emotions from everyone in Assam after his untimely demise in a freak accident in Singapore.

Zubeen’s songs touched the hearts of even those who could not understand Assamese. In 1999, when I moved to New Delhi, I introduced Zubeen’s Assamese songs to a couple of my Himachali friends. Even though they didn’t know the language, they used to love listening to his songs. His renditions touched even those who never loved music. There was something ‘godly’ in his voice, which one can only experience by listening to his numbers.

For anyone not from Assam, they were introduced to Assam by listening to Zubeen Garg’s songs. For them, he resonated with Assam; he was Assam. With this irreparable loss, we have lost one of the most soulful voices, but his songs will always be alive in our hearts.

There was also a lot of criticism that came across regarding his lifestyle and how he represented himself socially, but still, the love for Zubeen never ceased to exist. Those who criticized Zubeen were also his fans who wanted him to excel even more.

With Zubeen gone, I am feeling very heavy and am at a loss for words like everyone else, but I must admit that Zubeen will always be a part of my heart like no one else. His songs will remain immortal for us always, but the void he has created will remain forever.

There will never be a second Zubeen; there cannot be a second Zubeen. He is one and only, and he will be missed like no one else was ever missed in Assam and across the country. Artists tend to be crazy, and Zubeen was also a crazy true artist whose love for Assam knew no bounds.

The last song he sang in Singapore before passing away was Eric Clapton’s ‘Tears in Heaven.’ And as the lyrics say, “Beyond the door, There’s peace, I’m sure. And I know there’ll be no more Tears in Heaven.”

Atanu Kr Das is the News Editor at Arunachal Front.