News of Assamese singer Zubeen Garg’s untimely death in Singapore yesterday, brought in tributes from the country over. Bringing Assamese music to the national spotlight, one of Zubeen’s biggest hits of all time was the track Ya Ali from 2006 film Gangster.
As fans mourn the death of the singer, more harrowing news in the form of visuals of his last moment have come to light. A video going viral on the internet shows Zubeen adjusting his life jacket before taking a plunge into the water for a swim. Feeling unwell during this down time, he was swiftly rescued and rushed to intensive care. Despite best efforts, Zubeen passed away shortly.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first to pay condolences, sharing a heartfelt message for the singer via his X handle. His tribute read, “Shocked by the sudden demise of popular singer Zubeen Garg. He will be remembered for his rich contribution to music”.
Assam chief minister Hemanta Biswas Sharma also paid condolences to Zubeen via X, noting how his time came too soon. His tribute read, “Today, Assam lost one of its favourite sons. I am at a loss for words to describe what Zubeen meant for Assam. He has gone too early, this was not an age to go”.
Zubeen was in Singapore in lieu of performing at the North East India Festival. The news of his death was shared by the organisers of the same, in an official statement, excerpts from which read, “With profound grief, we share the heartbreaking news that our beloved icon, Zubeen Garg, passed away today at Singapore General Hospital around 2:30 PM. Zubeen had arrived in Singapore just the day before yesterday. He was scheduled to be with us at the festival tomorrow, meeting and interacting with people…Earlier today, our entire team was engaged in a business meeting with senior Singaporean industrialists and policymakers at the Shangri-La Hotel to facilitate investments in Northeast India. During the meeting, we received a call from Zubeen’s manager informing us that he had met with an accident and had been rushed to Singapore General Hospital. We later learned that a few members of the local Assamese community had taken him on a yacht visit, of which we had no prior knowledge”.
May he rest in peace.
