For the Generation, From the Generation: What Students Feel About Zubeen Garg

There are artists who influence music, and then there are artists who influence people. With Zubeen Garg, the impact is deeply personal. His music did not simply fill rooms; it filled childhoods. It shaped identities. It travelled through campuses, dusk-time hostels, long bus rides, heartbreaks, and festivals.

To understand what he truly means to the youth of Assam, we reached out to students across six major universities. Their words do not describe a star. They describe someone who shaped their emotional vocabulary.

Cotton University carries him in every Krishnosura blooming

Speaking with Disha Dutta from Cotton University feels like hearing a memory unfold in soft colours.

“Zubeen has been such an integral part of my life. I grew up with 'Hiya Diya Niya', 'Jaanmoni' and so many more, not for the stories but for the songs. So much of what I know and feel about Assam, our culture, our essence has come through Zubeen's music.

I grew fond of the Krishnosura from a very young age, all while growing up listening to Rumaal. To me, Krishnosura is more than just a tree; it reminds me of our roots, our land, and it always reminds me of Zubeen. It always will.”

Her voice makes it clear. For many students, Zubeen is not distant. He is woven into their earliest feelings of home.

Gauhati University remembers him in pure emotion

At Gauhati University, Joyshree Saikia expresses something universal in a language that belongs to the heart of Assam. Her words do not need translation.

জুবিন মানেই আমাৰ জীৱনৰ যৌৱন।

জুবিন নহ'লে জীৱন নচলে...

মোৰ সুখত জুবিনৰ গান,

দুখত জুবিনৰ গান,

প্রেমত জুবিন, বিচ্ছেদত জুবিন,

অকলে থাকিলে জুবিন, বন্ধুৰ আড্ডাত জুবিন,

মোৰ দিনটোৰ শেষত কেৱল জুবিনৰে গান;

মই এটাই নিচা কৰোঁ,

কেৱল "জুবিনৰ গান"....

For Joyshree, Zubeen is not an artist. He is a rhythm the heart never stops following.

Royal Global University sees him as courage

Talking to Mujahidul Islam from Royal Global University brings another dimension. For him, Zubeen is the spirit of defiance.

“Zubeen is an emotion for me. The emotion that I want to live my life by. He, for me, was the most daring man ever. The man who sang ‘politics nokiriba bondhu’ and yet taught how to always stay politically aware and speak against injustice of any form.”

Here, Zubeen becomes a teacher—a reminder that truth and courage are not separate from art.

Tezpur University hears poetry when they say his name

At Tezpur University, Akangkhya Dewgharia speaks with reverence. Her words flow like a poem.

“জুবিন গাৰ্গ কেৱল এজন গায়ক নহয়, তেওঁ অসমীয়া জাতিৰ হৃদস্পন্দন। যাৰ কণ্ঠত আছে মধুৰ অনুভৱ।

প্ৰতিটো বসন্তৰ প্ৰতিটো ব'হাগ

প্ৰতিটো আকাংক্ষাৰ সমাধি আজি

প্ৰতিটো মনৰ মাজত প্ৰতিটো ঘৰত

প্ৰতিটো প্ৰেমৰ প্ৰতিটো সেমেকা চাকি

তথাপি যেন মনে আজিও কয় গানৰ জুবিন দা, গান গাই আছিল, আছে, থাকিব।।”

Her voice carries the certainty of someone who believes that some presences never fade.

Assam University sees him as a bridge

In Silchar, at Assam University, Kuldeep Paul speaks with a perspective shaped by geography.

“I am from Barak Valley, and to be honest, for a regional sentiment, some might feel there is a difference between Barak Valley and Brahmaputra Valley. For me, he is a bridge between us. He, in a true sense, has put us, the North East, on a global level, which I always used to question—why we cannot, from our place, be a global sensation.”

To him, Zubeen proved that identity and ambition walk hand in hand.

Dibrugarh University remembers his mind as much as his music

From Dibrugarh University, Utpoljyoti Bora shares a reflection rooted in philosophy.

“শ্রীমন্ত শংকৰদেৱৰ পাছত প্ৰকৃতাৰ্থত উদাৰতাবাদী (Liberal) চিন্তাধাৰাত বিশ্বাসী জনপ্রিয় অসমীয়া!! তেখেতৰ ইশ্বৰপ্ৰদত্ত কণ্ঠৰ লগতে তেখেতৰ মানৱতাবাদী চিন্তাধাৰা আৰু প্ৰতিটো বিষয়ত অৰক্ষণশীল মন্তব্য দিয়াৰ সাহস জাতিটোৰে/মানৱ সমাজে সাধনা কৰা উচিত।।”

To him, Zubeen was a voice of reason and fearlessness, someone who held honesty above everything else.

Six universities. Six reflections. One unbroken presence.

Six ways of remembering a man who meant something different to everyone and yet something like all.

Some saw him as their youth.
Some saw him as their courage.
Some as a cultural bridge.
Some as poetry itself.

Together, these voices form a portrait no single biography can capture—the portrait of a man who lived inside people. A man whose songs became memories and whose honesty became a guide.

And if students continue to speak of him like this, Zubeen does not remain a past.

He remains a presence—living through the emotions of those who grew up with his music in their ears and his spirit in their hearts.