Zubeen Garg - India's Pop Icon and Rebel Rocker at Heart

A tribute

Zubeen Garg was born on 18th November 1972 in Tura, Meghalaya, into an Assamese Brahmin family. His parents, Mohini Mohon Borthakur and Ily Borthakur, named him Zubeen in tribute to the legendary conductor Zubin Mehta. His name came from the world stage, but his roots stayed deeply tied to heritage.

Over the course of his extraordinary career, Zubeen recorded more than 32,000 songs in around 40 languages, including Assamese, Hindi, Bengali, and Nepali. His fame spread nationwide with the Bollywood hit *Ya Ali* from the 2006 film *Gangster*. Yet, despite success outside Assam, he continued to create Assamese albums and compose for regional films, ensuring his voice always returned home.

His performances were as unpredictable as they were unforgettable. Sometimes he appeared on stage in a black beret, other times in loose pyjamas. He could drink, laugh, and quarrel in public yet still command devotion. He spoke against authority, often controversially, and challenged both tradition and power, but his defiance was always heard as passion.

Zubeen’s life was filled with contradictions — tender yet turbulent, impulsive yet deeply generous. He was not only a singer but also a cultural force, bringing Assamese music to new heights while staying rooted in the streets, festivals, and everyday struggles of his people. He often gave away his earnings, claiming that his wealth belonged to Assam.

His passing on 19 September 2025 in Singapore, reportedly following a seizure, ended a life that refused to fit into categories. The final memory many now share is of him softly singing *Tears in Heaven* at a small bar the night before his death — a song that now feels like a farewell.

Zubeen was no saint, no simple rebel. He was a restless spirit who mirrored the complexities of Assam itself — its beauty, its anger, its resilience, and its love. As he once said on stage, “The day I die, all of Assam will have to sing — I’ve danced with the storms for many a lifetime.”

And so, even in silence, his voice will continue to echo — a reminder that some storms are meant not to be weathered, but to be danced with.

#Forever Zubeen Garg - India's Pop Icon.