One for Zubeen

guwahati: In any other time, Durga Puja festival coinciding with Cricket World Cup opener would be double delight for the residents of this part of the world.

But these are not normal circumstances for people living in cities, towns and villages across Assam, for they are still struggling to come to terms with the tragic death of their beloved singer and cultural icon, Zubeen Garg.

The puja festivities have begun and the Women’s World Cup opener (involving India) in Guwahati is just two days away, but the state capital remains unusually quiet and the atmosphere sombre more than a week after the death that caused widespread shock and mourning among his millions of fans and the cultural communities he represented.

All that people are thinking and talking about is their ‘Zubeen da’, whose “eternal voice” echoed across Assam for three decades, the musician having sung more than 38,000 songs in 40 languages.

“A voice that lives on...Zubeen Garg November 18, 1972-Forever,” reads a giant board outside the Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport.

At the ACA Barsapara Stadium, another large board says simply: “Shraddhanjali Zubeen Garg.”

Such is the mood here that the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) has “redesigned” the theme of the World Cup opening ceremony, turning the celebration into a homage” to Zubeen.

BCCI secretary Devjit Saikia said the change was necessary given the emotions across the state.

“The match is being held on the cusp of two extremes but despite the challenges, cricket must go on,” Saikia said.

“First, the entire state is in mourning, sadness and grief all over after the untimely death of their favourite Zubeen Garg. “Now there’s the peak festival time of Durga Puja, the biggest festival of the region here. The match is happening on the cusp of these two events. We have to take it forward

somehow.” agencies