Celebrated Assamese singer Zubeen Garg passed away on September 19 in Singapore. He breathed his last just a day ahead of his performance at the North East Music Festival. There were several speculations as to how he died, ranging from a scuba diving accident to a seizure. However, it was also confirmed that he took his fatal plunge from the yacht without a life jacket.
As thousands mourn the legend’s death, the state of Assam and his fans worldwide are in a complete state of shock. Days after this unfortunate incident, novelist Rita Chowdhury released an unseen interview with Zubeen Garg. He not only made several shocking revelation about his personal life, he had also predicted how Assam would mourn, if he died.
‘A king should never leave his kingdom’
Speaking with the novelist, Garg explained why he left Mumbai, the heart of the industry. “I stayed in Mumbai for 12 years, I got bored of the city life,” Garg said and added, “There is no king there.” Implying that he was the music king of Assam, he pointed out how the city allegedly did not mourn the loss of legends like Lata Mangeshkar and Rajesh Khanna.
“A king should never leave his kingdom…If I die here in Assam, Assam will remain closed for 7 days,” he remarked, predicting how his home state will react to his demise. While he did not die in Assam, he was honoured with a three-day state mourning as thousands of fans flocked to the roads during his funeral. Visibly disturbed and crying, fans could not believe that their musical legend had passed.
During the interview, Garg explained how he thinks people view him. “They don’t call me because they are afraid I will scold them. Rohit Shetty called me to sing a song for his film, but I said, ‘No, I didn’t like it. I won’t come.’ Rohit was like, ‘What kind of man is he?’ Pritam said, ‘He is like this. He is a king. He lives like that.'” Further, he emphasised that if anyone had work with him, they had to visit him in Assam, “I will not go,” he said.
Cremated with full state honours at Kamarkuchi, near his hometown in Guwahati, Assam declared September 20 to 22 as the official mourning period. Further, all official entertainment, public celebrations, and ceremonial events were suspended.