GUWAHATI, Sept 21 — The mortal remains of singer Zubeen Garg reached Guwahati on Sunday morning to an emotional reception, as thousands of grieving fans gathered outside the airport for a final glimpse of the Assamese icon.
The casket was brought out of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport through the VIP exit and placed in a flower-bedecked ambulance. His wife, Garima Saikia Garg, accompanied by senior state officials, received the body. As the convoy moved out, people sang his songs and raised slogans of “Jai Zubeen da”, holding cut-outs of the singer and waving gamosas embroidered with the words “Z G Forever.”
Director General of Police Harmeet Singh and Guwahati Police Commissioner Parthasarathi Mahanta cleared the way for the ambulance as it made its way through dense crowds. Alongside, the singer’s favourite open jeep—often used by him for performances—joined the procession with a large portrait mounted in front, while his musicians stood on it in silent tribute.
From the airport, the body was taken to Garg’s Kahilipara residence, where it will remain for about an hour and a half to allow family members, including his 85-year-old ailing father, to pay their respects. Later in the day, the mortal remains will be placed at the Arjun Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex for public homage from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Fans from across Assam had already started gathering outside the sports complex since Saturday night. “Why Zubeen da, why did you have to leave us so soon,” mourners cried, many breaking down as they clutched portraits of the singer who had enthralled them for three decades with more than 38,000 songs in 40 languages and dialects.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the venue for the last rites would be finalised after a state Cabinet meeting scheduled for Sunday evening. “The government and the people of Assam will together give him a farewell worthy of his legacy,” Sarma noted.
The singer’s body had arrived in New Delhi from Singapore shortly before midnight on Saturday. Garg died a day earlier while swimming in the sea without a life jacket. Chief Minister Sarma, along with Union Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita and senior officials, received the body at the Indira Gandhi International Airport and paid their tributes before it was flown to Guwahati on a regular flight.
“The casket was too large to be accommodated in a chartered aircraft,” Sarma mentioned, adding that the flight carrying Garg’s mortal remains left New Delhi at 4:30 a.m.
For the people of Assam, Sunday marked not just the return of a beloved singer, but the farewell to a voice that had defined their cultural identity for generations.
