Assam Sahitya Sabha to install Zubeen Garg statue as centenary celebrations peak

Majuli, Nov 16: The Assam Sahitya Sabha marked a major moment in its centenary celebrations with the grand “Suag Tola” programme in Majuli, where Sabha president Dr Basanta Kumar Goswami announced that a statue of the late cultural icon Zubeen Garg will be installed at the Sabha premises in December.The event, organised by the Assam Sahitya Sabha with support from the Majuli District Sahitya Sabha on Sunday, featured a vibrant cultural procession. Local residents, along with all branch Sahitya Sabhas in Majuli, joined the celebration commemorating 100 years of the Sabha’s central office, Chandrakanta Handique Bhawan, the historic headquarters built with a donation from philanthropist Radhakanta Sandikoi in memory of his son. Speaking to the press, Dr Goswami praised the scale and energy of the festivities. “I have never seen such a procession before as today’s xobha jatra. It is a rare sight in the history of the Assam Sahitya Sabha,” he said. He added that the hospitality and participation of Majuli’s residents had “turned a long-held dream into reality on the occasion of the Chandrakanta Handique Bhawan centenary”. Dr Goswami further announced that the Sabha will hold its main centenary celebration in Jorhat on December 2 and 3 at the central office. Reflecting on the legacy of Zubeen Garg, he emphasised the importance of honouring artists and cultural icons. “A nation that does not respect its artists and writers can never be called civilised,” he said. He added that Garg’s birth anniversary on November 18 would be observed “with grandeur” and urged people to honour the day through kindness, compassion and service to the needy; values the late icon embodied. “Garg left by establishing himself as someone who cared, loved and worshipped nature. On his birth anniversary, we should do something that keeps him alive forever among us,” he said. Dr Goswami also revealed that land has already been earmarked within the Sabha premises for Garg’s statue, which will be installed in December and designed to allow visitors to pause and pay tribute. “Not only must the fan clubs but everyone in Assam ensure we never lose him. The Assam Sahitya Sabha will always extend support to this cause,” he said. He also praised Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s initiative to bring the Vrindabani Bastra, the revered textile artwork associated with Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardev, back from the British Museum in London for an exhibition in Assam in 2027. “Sankardev united the Assamese people with a thread of harmony and taught humanity beyond caste or religion. In this context, we express gratitude to the Chief Minister for taking responsibility to bring back the Vrindabani cloth, a remarkable symbol of our ancient art and culture,” he said.