In 2002, Zubeen Garg lost his sister in a road mishap in Assam's Sonitpur district. A few years later, when he sang his first Bengali song, "Bojhena Shey Bojhena," for the Bengali film Prem Aamar (2009), he was in a lot of pain. Probably, he poured his pent-up grief into the song, which made him a breakout star in Bengali playback singing.
Composer Jeet Gannguli, who has collaborated with Zubeen Garg on more than 50-60 songs, recalled his fond memories after the singer died in a tragic scuba diving accident in Singapore on September 19.
Speaking to NDTV, Jeet Gannguli says, "It's a great loss for all of us, the film industry, and the music industry. We have lost a great singer, Zubeen Garg. He was my childhood friend. We have worked on 50-60 Bengali songs together, and all of them are chartbusters. He was not just a singer for me. He's an emotion."
It's sheer irony that Jeet Gannguli was mixing Zubeen's song in the studio from an upcoming Bengali film when he came to know about his death. Probably, it would be his last song in Bengali.
"He lived life king-sized. He has a tree house in Assam. He invited me and my wife several times to visit the place. He has recently built a studio on top of a mountain. He asked me to visit that too. During recordings, we always used to crack jokes. He was a happy person," Jeet Gannguli tells us.
In Jeet Gannguli's compositions, Zubeen Garg had several Bengali hits to his credit such as Mon Mane Na (2008), Chokher Jole (2009), and Mon Toke Dilam (2011), to name a few.
Jeet Gannguli also shared a post on his Instagram. He wrote, "Zubeen, I still can't believe you've left us... we shared so many memories, so much music, so much laughter. Losing you feels so, so unreal, my friend. Why did you have to leave so early?"
Zubeen Garg died in Singapore during a scuba diving accident. He was in Singapore to perform at the 4th North East India Festival tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.
Talking about his sudden death, Anuj Kumar Boruah, a representative of the festival, told NDTV, "It is with deep sadness that we share the news of Zubeen Garg's passing. While scuba diving, he experienced breathing difficulties and was immediately given CPR before being rushed to Singapore General Hospital. Despite efforts to save him, he was declared deceased in the ICU around 2:30 PM IST."