From 'Anamika' to immortality: Zubeen Garg's sonic era continues

Guwahati, Nov 18: Today marks Zubeen Garg’s 53rd birthday; the first without him. And tomorrow, November 19, completes 60 days since Assam’s beloved cultural icon, a radiant force in the state’s artistic universe, bid adieu to the material world.

In these two months, much has been written about him - his inspirations, his personality, and the countless anecdotes that defined his journey. Online, social media platforms have turned into vast repositories of his memories - photographs, videos, poems, interviews, et al.

Understandably, this is a time when his songs echo from every nook and cranny of the state and far beyond.

But in the swirl of remembrance, we sometimes overlook the artiste’s musicality that ushered in a new era for Assamese soundscapes.

An era that, until his arrival with Anamika in 1992, was shaped by stalwarts such as Jyotiprasad Agarwala, Bishnu Prasad Rabha, Bharat Ratna Bhupen Hazarika, Jayanta Hazarika and the likes.

So, what exactly did Garg do that charted a new course, a fresh reflection, for Assamese music? One thing is a given – he didn’t just create songs, he created a sound!

Garg’s music didn’t follow trends but chartered new paths. And his music became a bridge between tradition and modernity, melody and harmony, Assam and the world.

Veteran singer JP Das reminisces about Garg’s extraordinary vocal abilities that possessed ability so rare that it defied the limitations of regular singers. “Where most singers stop, Zubeen begins. His high notes were unbelievable,” he tells The Assam Tribune.

“Legacy never stops. Bhupen Hazarika’s legacy lives on, and so will Zubeen’s,” Das says, adding, “Some musicians are eternal. Zubeen created a new sound and his power was unbelievable.”

He recalls how Zubeen would often visit him and discuss music till early dawn. “He worked on music until 4 or 5 in the morning. He was a gem and there will never be another like him,” the veteran vocalist reflects.

There was never any doubt that Garg’s music refused to stay boxed within the sensibilities of early-90s Assam. When he burst onto the scene with Anamika, his debut album, the soundscape he offered was something listeners of that era weren’t accustomed to — unfamiliar yet irresistibly fresh.

From the very first track on the A-side, distorted guitars, punchy drums and expressive keyboards fused seamlessly with meaningful Assamese lyrics and syllables.

The result was a heady cocktail - impossible to ignore, quietly mesmerising and unmistakably new-age. It was a sound the youth of Assam embraced with arms wide open.

Folklorist Anil Saikia says Garg’s influence on Assamese music was nothing short of seismic.

“He brought a revolutionary change. Even people in remote villages who never listened to music started noticing him and saying in wonder, ‘Zubeene bor beleg xur dhorise o’ (Zubeen has taken a unique tune),” Saikia recalls.

“He introduced harmony, a Western musical principle, into Assamese music. Major, minor, suspended, diminished… he used them all. This shift began as early as Anamika in 1992,” Saikia says.

Garg’s command came from a deep, layered understanding of musical traditions, be it Lokageet, Sattriya, Borgeet, Indian classical, Western theory, all absorbed, studied and internalised.

“He explored every genre but never compromised its originality. He made Diha Naam popular among today’s youth. And every song he sang became immortal,” adds Saikia.

Yet, Saikia stresses, Garg never broke tradition to be modern. “He added newness without breaking originality. That is rare,” he says.

Saikia also points to Garg’s extraordinary vocal range. “He crossed the upper octave — the ‘otitara’ — with ease, yet was equally powerful in the lower registers. God gifted him that range,” he says.

Meghalaya music icon Lou Majaw remembers Garg just as much for his warmth as his genius.

“We didn’t collaborate because we come from different regions, but music connects everyone,” he says, adding, “Garg made an immense contribution; not just to Assamese music but to music in general.”

Musician Raja Boruah, who spent years working closely with him, recalls Garg as an eternal student of sound.

“When we listen to music, we choose what we enjoy. Zubeen wasn’t like that. Whatever he heard, whether it was Sting, folk, or world music, he studied every instrument, every production detail,” he says.

Boruah remembers asking him about an unfamiliar instrument in a Sting, the Grammy award-winning English musician’s, track. “Without hesitation he said, ‘That’s an oboe.’ He listened, learned, and then created,” Boruah recalls.

Garg, he adds, had an instinctive connection with the audience’s pulse. “He understood the tempo that would resonate with people. That’s why his music always connected,” he says.

He was also a one-man army. Be it composing, arranging, directing, even playing instruments himself, Garg was at it all.

“During Bhupen Hazarika’s time, others arranged the music. Zubeen arranged everything himself,” Boruah says.

As an arranger-composer, Garg experimented fearlessly. Boruah cites the transformation of Panchaana from Kanchanjangha, originally a Rabha folk song sung in Dadra taal (6/8 in Western music), where Zubeen replaced the traditional tabla with the Bodo kham.

“That single decision elevated the entire song,” he says, crediting Utpal Sarma for guiding Garg during his formative years.

From Bihu naam to Borgeet, from Western harmony to folk traditions, Garg touched every form and made it his own without ever distorting its soul.

He honoured the giants before him, Bhupen Hazarika, Jyoti Prasad Agarwala, Bishnu Rabha, carrying their creations into the modern age.

But he also dared to dream beyond the familiar, shaping a sound that remains unmistakably, undeniably Zubeen. His music wasn’t just heard; it was felt.

And today, as millions commemorates his 53rd birth anniversary, that feeling is universal - Zubeen Garg didn’t just make music; he built a universe.

A universe that will keep expanding — through memories, melodies and the millions who still hum his songs.