Do you know who singer Zubeen Garg from Assam is?

 

Do you know who singer Zubeen Garg from Assam is?

On 19th September 2025, our Zubeen da left us forever in Singapore… gone too soon at just 52. Assam even declared 3 days of state mourning—a tribute no ordinary artist had received.

But Zubeen Garg was never ordinary. Even after gaining fame in Bollywood, he had chosen to leave Bombay, saying:

"It’s not my thing… I grew up with rivers and hills. I can’t live with traffic all my life. A king should never leave his own kingdom. I should stay there always in Assam."

For us, it felt like we had lost a family member. 💔 For the Assamese people, he always remained alive in our hearts. His songs and movies ensured he would never fade away. Legends never die, and no other artist could ever be born like him even in the next 50 years.

As a girl who lost her father at the age of 10, I could deeply relate to the loneliness he might have carried inside. His Assamese songs like Paki Paki Ai Mon, Maya, Janu Janu Moiu Janu, and Din jwole rati jwole had given me inner strength and happiness in my darkest times.

He had given us over 38,000 songs in 40 languages, including Assamese and Bengali. What amazed me most was that, despite being an Assamese Hindu, he had never played politics over Hindu–Muslim, Assamese–Bengali, or tribal divides. He did what politicians never could—he united people. He respected every community, and spent most of his earnings on humanity—helping the sick, funding education, paying college fees for students, and never refusing anyone who came to him, whether for a selfie, a job, or medical help.

At the peak of his Bollywood career, after earning national and international fame with Ya Ali, he had still chosen Assam.

That was Zubeen Garg. Not just a singer, but an emotion. Not just an artist, but a king who would forever rule Assam’s heart.

Legends never die…

Which state is the largest producer of bamboo in India?

Assam produces the maximum amount of bamboo in India as most of its forests are throbbing with bamboo plantation of various species. The North Eastern region of India has a good amount of bamboo resources in its kitty. This fastest growing plant has the capacity to substitute wood in the near future. India stands at the second spot in the production of bamboo resources in the world, next to China.

Areas where bamboo is grown in Assam
Bamboo is not just grown in the forest regions of the state but also in the villages. The areas where bamboo is mostly grown in Assam are North Cachar Hills, Cachar, Nagaon, Karbi Anglong, and Lakhimpur.

Species of bamboo grown in Assam
About 51 species of bamboo plant is grown in Assam. The species are being used for multiple purposes like in construction of buildings, and in making of furniture and various devises. The most-used species of bamboo of monetary value are the Muli (Melocanna bambusoides), Khang (Dendrocalmus longispatnus), Dalu (Teinostachyum dalloa), Kaligoda (Oxytenanthera nigrociliata), and Pecha (Dendrocalamus Hamilton-ii). The Muli and the Dalu have immense economic importances. The former is used for pulping, fencing, and constructional purposes, and the latter one in the mat and basket industry.

Exploitation of Bamboo in Assam
Bamboo is considered as an indispensable part of the state’s culture, way of living, and livelihood of the people. The communities have good amount of knowledge and skills relating to the procreation, altering, and usage of bamboo. There is a conventional understanding of the bamboo and a tradition of skill that can be relied upon for fresh emerging products and applications. The products such as bamboo houses, bamboo mats, bamboo baskets, bamboo hats, walking sticks, umbrella handles, fishing rods, tool handles, cordage, tent poles, hand-fans, ladders, yokes, bamboo and leaf headgear; handicrafts like musical instruments, toys and dolls, and various household and agricultural instruments are made of bamboo.

Bamboo is majorly used in the manufacturing of paper in Assam. The Hindustan Paper Corporation Ltd. is engaged in the paper manufacturing in the state through its operational unit in Panchgram located in Hailakandi district and in Jagiroad. The prospects of the establishment of various pulp and paper units depending on the bamboo plantation in the state are tremendous.

Government initiatives to develop the industry
The Government of Assam is striving to develop the bamboo sector in an exhaustive manner. It is following an integrative and multidimensional approach to provide monetary advantages to the people of the state.

The state government inaugurated a Bamboo Technology Park worth Rs. 62.28 crore on 23rd June 2017, at Chaygaon in Kamrup district. The main objective behind the establishment of this park was to provide infrastructure resources to the bamboo entrepreneurs. Ever since its inception, this technology park has been engaged in introducing various advanced technologies that can be employed in the bamboo sector to produce diversified bamboo products. All of this can lead to the generation of employment, skill building, and a change in the economic and industrial scenario of Assam.