Zubeen Garg’s ‘Tears in Heaven’ now lingers as his last gift to millions of admirers

Guwahati, September 19: On September 18 in Singapore, Zubeen Garg took the stage and sang Tears in Heaven. The haunting ballad of love, loss, and reunion carried his signature passion, moving the audience deeply. Few could have known that this would be his last performance.

The following afternoon, the 52-year-old Assamese singer and cultural icon passed away after a scuba diving session went tragically wrong. He had travelled to Singapore for the North East Festival, a three-day celebration of music, art, and identity.

Festival organisers said he developed breathing difficulties underwater, was rushed to hospital, but could not be revived. He died in the intensive care unit, leaving behind his wife, Garima Saikia Garg, and countless devastated admirers.

The poignancy of his final song has not been lost on fans. Clapton’s Tears in Heaven, a meditation on grief and longing, now feels like Zubeen’s own unintentional farewell. To many, it is as though he offered a last gift, his goodbye hidden in the folds of melody.

Zubeen’s life was inseparable from music. His Assamese numbers became cultural anthems, while his versatile voice carried effortlessly into Hindi, Bengali, and other regional languages, earning him a place among India’s most celebrated artists.

That his final hours were still devoted to singing was fitting; it was music that defined him, sustained him, and carried him to the very end.

His loss has left a void not only in Assam but in India’s wider cultural landscape. Yet his voice, immortalised in song, will endure—echoing across stages, streets, and hearts.

And as the lyrics of his final song ask, Would you help me stand if I saw you in heaven? — millions who grew up with his music will silently, surely, answer yes.