Why a Bihu without Zubeen Garg still feels surreal

As Assam approaches the festival of Bihu, hearts and minds across the state are filled with a sense of absence. This year, the celebrations are marked by the memory of their beloved star, Zubeen Garg, who passed away in September last year in a mysterious accident. For Assam, Zubeen was not just a singer—he was the defining voice of Bihu concerts.

Several Bihu committees, including the prominent Beltola Bihu Committee in Guwahati and Chepon Bihu Committee in Sibsagar, among others, have expressed reluctance to organise full-fledged celebrations this year.

According to press statements released on March 30 and April 8, organisers have chosen a subdued approach as a mark of homage to the singer, who had long been central to these festivities.

Bihu, the Assamese New Year, is celebrated every April. Prior to the 1990s, the festival followed a different cultural repertoire. However, with the rise of the Assamese music industry in the 1990s, Zubeen’s voice became synonymous with the arrival of Bihu. Albums such as Janmoni and Anajana came to embody the joy, rhythm and emotional life of ordinary Assamese society.

The emergence of Bihu stage concerts, alongside the rise of video culture through the VCD industry, reshaped Assamese cultural aesthetics. Zubeen stood at the centre of this transformation. Today, it is almost impossible to imagine a Bihu function without his presence.

Intellectual debates have often examined how Bihu evolved from an agrarian folk festival into a commercial spectacle in the post-globalisation era. However, this transformation has rarely been analysed systematically within Assamese or Indian scholarship. Discussions are often framed through value judgements—especially criticism of Zubeen for “commodifying” Bihu.

Yet commodification is a long-standing global phenomenon. Rather than judging cultural change through binaries of purity and impurity, it is more productive to examine how Zubeen reshaped the repertoire and aesthetics of Bihu. This article places Zubeen at the centre of that transformation.

Historically, the idea of “stage Bihu” is believed to have begun in Golaghat’s Bongaon area in 1938. It was later scaled up by Radhagovinda Barua in Guwahati’s Latashil in 1953, where it gained urban popularity despite earlier elite resistance, which had dismissed Bihu as “low culture” during the colonial period.

The urban form of Bihu was, however, a sanitised reinvention. Erotic elements of traditional songs were replaced with moderated content, making it more acceptable to the urban middle class.

Detached from agrarian life, Bihu stages became an expression of middle-class cultural aspiration. This also allowed political elites to appropriate it as a mass platform.

My study suggests that the Bihu stage gained further momentum during the Assam Movement (1979), led by the All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) against illegal immigration. Bihu stages became sites of mobilisation and public engagement (Bora, 2020). These programmes typically featured Husori performances, Bihuwoti competitions, and local singers.

Padma Bayan, a noted folk singer from Sibsagar, recalls performing in the 1980s at the request of local leaders such as Lalit Rajkhowa and Ramu Chaliha. He remembers singing Ohe Khargeswar, a tribute to martyr Khargeswar Talukdar, which resonated deeply with audiences. While politically charged, these events also promoted local cultural talent and reinforced linguistic and cultural identity.

Zubeen’s entry into Bihu concerts followed this period. By then, Assam’s cultural landscape had begun to feel the effects of globalisation. His debut album Anamika (1991) struck a chord with young audiences through its modern sound.

His first Bihu album, Ujan Piriti (1996), blended traditional lyrics with contemporary musical arrangements.

While the lyrics retained the spirit of Assamese life—joy, love and rural memory—the compositions reflected a fusion of folk and modern aesthetics.

By the late 1990s and early 2000s, Bihu concerts had developed into a substantial cultural economy. Organising committees increasingly sought popular singers as headline performers. Zubeen, rising in popularity, naturally became central to this ecosystem.

Collaborating with artists like Khagen Gogoi and Manas Rabin, Zubeen released a series of defining albums—Rangdhali(1997), Janmoni (1998), Janmoni 99 (1999), Anjali (1999), Nahor (2000), and Ajana (2001). These works cemented his dominance in Bihu music.

The rise of cassette and VCD culture, particularly through NK Production, further accelerated this transformation. Assamese youth, influenced by global media such as MTV, sought performers who embodied modern, even Western, aesthetics. Zubeen’s stage persona—long hair, contemporary attire, and dynamic performance style—met this demand.

Before Zubeen, artists such as Bhupen Hazarika, Khagen Mahanta, Archana Mahanta, Arun Das, Mahendra Hazarika and Jitul Sonowal shaped Bihu performance traditions. Bhupen Hazarika appealed to educated audiences through literary depth, while the Mahanta duo maintained conversational, locally rooted performances.

Their stage aesthetics were relatively simple, centred on singing, accompanied by instruments like the harmonium, tabla, dhol and later guitar.

Zubeen, however, introduced a dramatic shift. Electronic instruments replaced traditional ones, and stagecraft evolved with advanced sound systems, lighting and choreography. His performances resembled large-scale entertainment shows akin to Bollywood or global concerts.

He credited Pabitra Margherita for contributing to this transformation in stage design and production (NKTV, 2024). These elements aligned Assamese Bihu concerts with global performance aesthetics.

Loknath Goswami, in Asomiya Adhunik Sangeetar Itihas, distinguishes between earlier artists associated with mass movements and later performers like Zubeen, who emerged from the popular culture industry. This shift explains the transformation in performance styles.

Zubeen’s concerts were not merely musical—they became spectacles. Over time, they evolved further into spaces of rebellion and political expression.

He developed a reputation for unpredictable and unconventional performances—singing while lying on stage, wearing mismatched shoes, or making provocative remarks. While critics saw these as eccentricities, younger audiences interpreted them as acts of defiance against cultural hierarchies.

Around 2015, Zubeen identified himself as a social leftist and began articulating political views through his concerts. This became particularly evident during the Anti-CAA movement (2019), when he openly criticised the government:

His concerts became platforms for public dissent, amplifying the voice of ordinary citizens. Even promotional dialogues, such as from his film Kanchanjungha—“I have no caste, no religion”—resonated deeply in Assam’s socio-political climate.

In 2024, at a Bihu concert in Majuli, Zubeen openly rejected the use of the term “Prabhu-Iswar” for a Satradhikar, asserting that no individual could be equated with God. The statement sparked controversy and led to his ban by the organising body, yet it also reflected wider public sentiment.

Beyond politics, Zubeen consistently raised issues such as environmental degradation and animal welfare from Bihu stages. Shortly before his death, he protested against tree-cutting for infrastructure development in Guwahati.

This transformation of Bihu stages into sites of cultural and political expression may be termed “Zubeenised aesthetics”. While critics highlight the commercialisation of Bihu, it is equally evident that Zubeen reintroduced it as a space for engaging with contemporary issues.

Importantly, Bihu concerts today sustain a vast cultural economy. Thousands of artists, technicians, and performers depend on these events. Zubeen himself would perform two shows a day during the season, earning ₹7–12 lakh per show. The economic circulation generated by such performances is immense, with 50–70 performers engaged at various levels across the state.

Zubeen also invested heavily in Assamese cinema. Films like Mission China and Kanchanjungha demonstrate his commitment to revitalising the industry. Mission China, made on a ₹2 crore budget, reportedly earned ₹6 crore—funded largely through his concert earnings.

Today, with Zubeen gone, Bihu feels incomplete. His absence is not merely emotional—it also raises questions about the future of the Bihu concert economy and its evolving aesthetics.

Will Bihu continue with “Zubeenised aesthetics”, or will it transition into a new cultural form? The answer, perhaps, will emerge in the years to come.

Views expressed are that of the author and do not reflect EastMojo’s stance on this or any other issue. The author is Assistant Professor (Culture and Media Studies), BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus.

Also Read: Can Uniform Civil Code work in Assam’s plural society?