A spotify moment frozen in time: Assam still learning to live with the absence of Zubeen Garg

“At that exact moment, he was alive when I was listening to his songs in the morning, and I have captured that moment on my Spotify. From that day, I have not opened it because I know that at that moment, he was alive, and I have kept that moment captured.”
 

It was one of those nights when my PG friends and I were having dinner, and amid many conversations, we started talking about Zubeen da, our beloved Zubeen Garg. One of my friends said that on September 19, 2025, she was on her way to the office, listening to Zubeen da’s songs through her headphones. By afternoon, everyone got the news that he had died in Singapore, and it came as a shock to the people of Assam.
 

My friend said that from that moment, she has not opened her Spotify because she has captured the moment when he was alive that morning. As she said this, her voice cracked. I could see her eyes turning red, and though she tried to hold back her tears, they rolled down. We, too, sat numb for a few seconds.
 

I feel that people in Assam not only can never forget Zubeen da, but they also do not know how to cope with the void left by his absence. Zubeen Garg left this earth on September 19, 2025, and since then, many Assamese people have been finding ways to keep him with them forever because, for them, he was not only a singer or an artist but also a brother, a son, or someone who was their strength.
 

It has been nine months since he left. Four days ago, his family observed the rituals of his nine-month tithi, and on that day, Arun Garg, who was one of those who lit Zubeen’s funeral pyre, went to the ghat to offer food, a ritual performed for a person who has died.
 

At the Brahmaputra ghat, as he placed the food there, a mentally ill man who was singing Zubeen’s songs came and took the food. He then said, “I can have this with my son.” At that moment, Zubeen’s wife, Garima, said that maybe the food would directly reach “Goldie” this time. Goldie was Zubeen Garg’s pet name.
 

The fact that Zubeen was loved by everyone is reflected in how he used to sit with beggars and mentally ill people, hug them, and share food with them. He was there for anyone who needed affection and love, or for those who had been abandoned or pushed away by society. His tales of loving animals are a different discussion altogether, but his love for people and humanity will always remain in people’s hearts.
 

In hotels, on roads, in cars, inside houses and shops, his voice still echoes. It feels as though he lives in every heart, in everything we breathe, and in everything we see around us.