GUWAHATI: Assam’s legendary singer-composer Zubeen Garg was cremated with full State honours at Kamarkuchi village on the outskirts of Guwahati on Tuesday.
His mortal remains, draped in Assamese gamosa, were taken in a flower-decked ambulance to the cremation site from the Arjun Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex in Guwahati.
Garg’s octogenarian father, wife Garima, and other family members and relatives accompanied him during his final journey. Thousands of fans followed the ambulance.
Earlier, lakhs of people from all over Assam and beyond paid their last respects to him at Sarusajai Stadium in the city on Sunday and Monday.
At Kamarkuchi, fans kept chanting “Jai Zubeen Da” in reverence and sang one of his most popular songs “Mayabini.” Incidentally, Garg had said multiple times that this song should be sung or played when he dies.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union ministers Sarbananda Sonowal, Kiren Rijiju and Pabitra Margherita, several Assam ministers and other dignitaries from Assam and other places were present during the performance of the last rites.
Earlier in the day, the second post-mortem on Garg’s body was conducted at the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital in the presence of AIIMS doctors.
The State government had decided on the second autopsy following a demand from the public, including the singer’s fans.
Garg had passed away on Friday under mysterious circumstances in Singapore, where he went to participate in the 4th Northeast India Festival. The festival was cancelled following his tragic demise.
The death certificate, after the conduct of the first autopsy in Singapore, mentioned 'drowning' as the cause of death.
The CID of Assam police will probe the death as 54 FIRs were lodged against festival’s chief organiser, Shaymkanu Mahanta and Garg’s manager.
Unprecedented scenes were witnessed in Guwahati on Sunday when lakhs of grieving people thronged the Guwahati airport and the streets in the city to pay their tributes to the singer after the mortal remains were brought in a special aircraft from New Delhi.
Garg, also a lyricist, music director and producer, actor, film director and producer, screenwriter, and above all, a philanthropist, loved by the young and the old. He never yielded to any government or politicians. He was ourightly outspoken, raising issues of public interest.
Having sung around 38,000 songs, he was and is Assam’s rockstar and a legendary singer.
