A year after Zubeen Garg’s death, his music has once again brought together friends and fans. Singer Shaan has remembered the Assamese music icon with a new song dedicated to his late friend, marking the first anniversary of his death.
Shaan shared a video featuring visuals of Zubeen on social media and wrote, “Long Live #Zubeen Woh Jo sabka apna hai .. Hamesha rahega .. Banke Apna !!”
The tribute song features Shaan, with singer Mahalaxmi Iyer providing the female vocals.
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A tribute one year after Zubeen’s death
Zubeen Garg died in Singapore on September 19, 2025, at the age of 52. He had travelled to the country for the North East India Festival and was scheduled to perform there on September 20.
His death followed an incident during a swimming outing from a yacht in waters near Lazarus Island.
Initial reports described the incident as a scuba-diving accident. However, a later Singapore investigation established that Garg had been swimming from a yacht. The investigation found that he had removed his life jacket before entering the water and later went into the water again without one.
Garg became unresponsive while swimming back towards the yacht. He was rescued and taken to Singapore General Hospital, where he later died.
Shaan and Zubeen shared a musical bond
Shaan’s tribute also carries a personal connection. The two singers were friends and had worked together on music.
They collaborated on the Assamese song “Mon Ghanot”, along with other singers.
A career that crossed languages
Born on November 18, 1972, in Tura, Meghalaya, Zubeen began his professional music career with the Assamese album ‘Anamika’ in 1992.
Over more than three decades, he worked across several areas of the entertainment industry. He was a singer, composer, songwriter, music director, actor and filmmaker, and recorded music in numerous Indian languages.
While he was already a major figure in Assam and the Northeast, Zubeen gained a much wider audience across India with “Ya Ali” from the 2006 Hindi film ‘Gangster: A Love Story’.
The song became one of his most recognised Hindi film recordings.
He later lent his voice to other Hindi film songs, including “Dilruba” from ‘Namastey London’ and “Jag Lal Lal Lal” from ‘Big Brother’.
- Shaan
- Zubeen Garg
