A year has passed. But for Assam, it might as well have been yesterday.
On Saturday, September 19, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to his personal X account and posted two photographs alongside a message that needed no elaboration — “Miss you Zubeen.” Just three words. And yet, for a state still quietly mourning the loss of its most beloved voice, those words carried everything.
Zubeen Garg, the singer and music icon widely adored as Assam’s heartthrob, passed away in September 2025. One year on, the grief hasn’t softened — if anything, it has deepened into something more permanent, the kind that settles into culture and memory and refuses to leave.
The Chief Minister’s post wasn’t a political statement. It was something far more human. Sarma and Garg shared a visible bond over the years, and seeing the photographs on his timeline — candid, personal, warm — reminded many of the very real friendship that existed between the two men. There’s something quietly moving about a sitting Chief Minister pausing on a busy Saturday morning just to say: I miss you.
To mark the first death anniversary, a three-day commemorative event called Zubeen Divas has been organised at Zubeen Kshetra in Sonapur — the same place where the singer rests. The venue has been decorated with flowers and fresh gamosas, and thousands of fans and admirers are expected to visit the memorial site. If you know Assam, you know what gamosas mean — they are not just cloth, they are reverence.
The observance began on Thursday morning with a prayer, followed by a naam-prasanga scheduled for the afternoon. Cultural programmes have been lined up for the second day, while the concluding day will feature Bhagawat recitation and Bhaona. It’s a fitting tribute, honestly — rooted in faith and tradition, exactly the kind of farewell Assam knows how to give to those it holds sacred.
The Assam government has extended support to help manage the expected crowds and facilitate the participation of visitors at the memorial site. Organisers have appealed to those attending to maintain discipline and participate peacefully throughout the three-day programme.
Garg was not just a musician. He was the emotional backbone of a generation. Known among his fans as “Pranor Silpi” — the artist of the soul — he remains deeply intertwined with Assam’s contemporary music and cultural identity. His songs weren’t just listened to; they were lived in. Whether it was heartbreak, celebration, longing, or pride in one’s homeland, Zubeen had a song for every corner of human feeling.
The calls for justice in his death case continue — louder, if anything, on this anniversary. Fans who gathered at Sonapur carried more than flowers. They carried unresolved questions.
A Chief Minister saying “Miss you Zubeen” and thousands standing at a memorial in Sonapur — together, they paint a picture of a state still coming to terms with a silence it never asked for. Some voices, once heard, leave a kind of echo that never quite fades. Zubeen Garg’s is one of them.
