Zubeen Garg's tender legacy: The man who named crows, healed monkeys

Guwahati, Sept 24: On the slopes of Kharguli, overlooking the mighty Brahmaputra, stood a home that was more than a musician’s refuge. For Zubeen Garg, it was a sanctuary where birds, animals, and trees found love, care and a promise of life.

To the world, Zubeen was a singer, a poet, a dreamer whose voice defined a generation. But away from the lights and the stage, he carried another gift — a rare tenderness for every living being that crossed his path.

“Animals and birds were part of his extended family,” recalled writer Monalisha Saikia, a close friend of Zubeen’s family. “They gave him happiness. They were his support system. He used to feed them like his kids. You can’t imagine what they meant to him. They lost a true guardian. They must be sad today.”

Monalisha remembers how Zubeen would even add ‘Garg’ to the names of the animals around him. “There was a crow he fondly called ‘Kaku Garg’. That’s how he was,” she said, recalling her visits to his Kharguli home.

Zubeen once gifted a puppy to Monalisha’s daughter, which they named Kayum. “He would gift dogs only to those who would truly love them,” she said.

For Zubeen, naming was more than affection — it was a bond. When an injured monkey wandered into his home, he treated its wounds and gave it a name, Madhusudan Garg. When he found a weak heron, he nursed it back to strength and named it Udasini Gargi.

Every day, crows gathered outside his home, and Zubeen would keep food ready for them in a hot case. Even in their silence, he saw companionship. Even in their wings, he saw poetry. One can only imagine how those crows must now be circling the skies, searching for their friend who never forgot them.

In 2018, PETA India recognised what his fans had always known, honouring him with the Hero to the Animals Award. Zubeen was not just a singer with an extraordinary range, but a guardian for the voiceless, a man who spoke against cruelty and lived his compassion daily.

His pet dogs were his constant companions. Earlier this year, when his six-month-old pup Rambo went missing from his Jonali Studio, Zubeen turned to the public for help. The relief and gratitude that poured from him when Rambo was found revealed the depth of his bond with the animals he loved.

Despite fame, he lived with simplicity. He loved trees and plants, the open air, and people — fiercely and without hesitation. His music reached millions, but his kindness reached further still — to wings, to paws, to leaves and roots.

At his newly constructed studio in Jonali, he planted trees. In a video he posted on social media, he spoke about how important it was for him to plant trees. He even raised his voice when the government decided to cut some old trees on the bank of Dighalipukhuri in Guwahati. Later, the government had to alter its decision.

“In Agartala, I have seen that the direction of a flyover was changed so that they don’t have to cut trees. So, I would request the government not to cut trees,” Zubeen was seen saying in that video.

Even in his mother's home in Jorhat, Zubeen was known to take care of trees.

Today, as Assam mourns its irreplaceable voice, the animals and birds he touched seem to mourn too. In Zubeen Garg, they found not only a melody but a heart that beat for all.