There are times in life when words fail to express one’s emotion. One feels so helpless, and desperate, and yet can do nothing. September 19 and days following that fateful day were the ones I felt that way. The news of our beloved Zubeen’s accident came as a bolt from the blue on the day. Like our fellow Assamese and millions of his fan, I did not know how to respond or react. I could not believe my ears. My general nature is to stay composed and calm, no matter what the situation is. But this was one moment that I had no response to. Like any Assamese, I, too, was his big fan. His entry into the world of music coincided with my university days. Whereas Zubeen was coming of age in the early 1990s, I had exited Gauhati University, my alma mater. What followed after that was his meteoric rise and his soulful renditions touching almost every household in Assam and beyond! As I write this, I am enveloped by a sense of an unbearable loss, like the one you feel when losing a family member.
When reality stuck us in the Government, we were sure of what we need to do on behalf of the people of the State to give him a farewell he deserved. However, none of us could foresee the feeling for him across the State, cutting across age-group, gender, and communities. He was a people’s artiste; ensconced in their bosoms, a humane being with tremendous love for animals, nature and fellow humans. Assam, I must say, is privileged to have him as one of its proud sons.
Now that the mundane affairs regarding his life and his last journey is over, it is important for each one of us to preserve his legacy. I reiterate that our Government is committed to ensuring that his songs as well as his personality stay alive amidst us. In the coming weeks, we will work on the best way we can offer our lasting tribute to a personality that ruled our hearts. But what we have lost cannot be retrieved. Musicians have come and gone, Zubeen is unique and will remain so! Irreplaceable.
The recent visit to Assam by honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji to launch the Bhupen Da birth centenary was yet another example of how Assam’s and North East have found a place in the hearts of our beloved Prime Minister and thereby of the Central Government, unlike any time in the past. The Prime Minister with his sheer presence gave a rousing start to our effort to pay our tribute to the one of the greatest of Assamese cultural icons.
He was kind enough to be in Assam for the mega Bihu performance as well as the jhumoir show when entire Assam was united in putting up a grand show for the rest of the world to see. Modi Ji’s immense love for Assamese culture and its symbol has now become universally known. In my limited understanding, no other State has been able to attract our beloved Prime Minister the way Assam has. It is this love which has helped us pass through a difficult time to one of peace and prosperity. How can one not be indebted to him?
Modi Ji also dedicated to the people development and industrial projects worth tens of thousands of crores thereby underscoring yet again his unflinching commitment to the region. In the recent past, I do not recall a single day (figuratively speaking), when the Centre is not announcing one or the other project for Assam and its seven sisters. The passage of the IIM Bill in Parliament recently has set the stage for setting up of an Indian Institute of Management in Guwahati. It will be the second in the North East and the 22nd in India.
This has paved the way for Guwahati becoming the educational hub of North East. An IIT, an IIM, an AIIMS, a National Law University, an institute of Forensic Sciences, an IIIT, the city has covered almost all bases. There are plenty of reasons now for students and their parents from all over the country to think of Guwahati as one of the choices of their children’s higher education. My experience with the Government at the Centre has been very memorable. Whatever I have sought for the people of Assam under whatever circumstances, the Central Government has always explored how to make that happen. It is this positivity which was missing for over 60-odd years when North East or Assam came up for discussion. However, the Prime Minister has a different mind-set for Assam and the North East which has rubbed off on his entire Cabinet. From infrastructure to housing, from industry to shipping, projects galore have come to our State with the blessings of the Centre. I am sure that this relationship will continue to grow.
