By Debojit Acharjee
Music is the combination of sounds that creates melody, chords, rhythm, and beats. Music is the expressive form of sound that can change the vibe like magic. It has the power to change aperson in the mirror, make someone fall for the nation, bring a charm to glory, heal a broken heart, make good times cheerful, and so on. That’s why music is said to be a divine power of Goddess Saraswati in Hinduism, capable of even making someone a King.
Most of the legends came from the world of music, and one of them became the king of pop, and another one became the king of Assam. Michael Jackson, who is known as the King of Pop, became a legendary artist with the power of music. On the other hand, Zubeen Garg not only became a legendary artist but also a king of Assam, with the help of music.
Michael Jackson, known as the King of Pop, was born in Gary, Indiana, USA, on August 29, 1958, and became one of the most legendary artists in the world of popular music. He died on June 25, 2009, with a history of worldwide fans.
Zubeen Garg was born on November 18, 1972, in Tura, Meghalaya, India, and became a legendary singer of Assam, India. He died on September 19, 2025, and left with inevitable anguish and pain among his fans and followers.
Both Michael Jackson and Zubeen Garg were legendary singers, and interestingly, both died two months before their birthdays. Michael Jackson was unable to accomplish a few things that Garg achieved in his musical journey. Even though Jackson was the king of pop, he was not living a life like a king. On the other hand, Zubeen Garg was living a life that was like a king.
Zubeen Garg wanted to live a life not only like a legendary artist, but also like a king, and that’s why he was also a socialist. His philanthropy work outweighs the philanthropy of Michael Jackson. The music of Garg was also outstanding, and cannot be compared with that of Jackson.
The popular music of Zubeen Garg was related to the genre of world music. His music has a unique blend of the sub-genres of popular music, which includes pop, rock, folk, and Assamese classical. Such a blend of Assamese music made his songs win the hearts of the Assamese people, making him a super celebrity of Assam. However, there is nothing unique about the music of Michael Jackson because most of his songs were Pop and R&B, which were quite prevalent among Western singers. That’s why Michael Jackson emphasized more in dancing, and he used to impress the audiences with his mind-blowing dancing, like the moonwalk. So, if Jackson hadn’t danced while singing, then he wouldn’t have become an outstanding performer.
Michael Jackson was born and brought up in the USA, whereas Zubeen Garg was born in Turaof Meghalaya, India,and grew up in Assam, India. The USA is a developed country with better facilities than India. But despite living in a country like India, Zubeen Garg was able to achieve the heights in singing and music making, which was even better than Jackson in many ways.
Even though Michael Jackson had global popularity through various marketing campaigns and entertainment media, he was not able to create any different type of music like Zubeen Garg.
Assamese songs like Mayabini, Monor Nijanot, Maya, Hikoli, and Horotore Eti are such songs of Zubeen Garg that have a bend of various genres of popular music, which makes them unique from any other popular music of Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson was a Grammy Award winner, but receiving Grammy Awards doesn’t make someone a king or a legend.Zubeen Garg also received many awards, including Channel V Music Awards, Global Indian Film Awards, Filmfare Awards, Zee Cine Awards, IIFA Awards, Stardust Awards, and Dr Bhupen Hazarika. But besides receiving the awards, he received eternal love and respect from the people of Assam.
Zubeen Garg was able to make fans in a manner that Michael Jackson never did. Most of Jackson’s concerts were not free, and people had to buy tickets to attend the concerts. However, Garg used to perform in the concerts that were held during the Bihu festival, and that’s why no tickets were needed for the audience to see him performing live. This type of contribution was also one of the biggest reasons for getting a huge number of fans across the state.
Apart from his singing contribution, his philanthropy works have created relations with the people of Assam in a way that was not seen in other legendary artists, including Michael Jackson.
Garg opened his charitable foundation called the Kalaguru Artiste Foundation to help the underprivileged during any crisis.Whenever there was a crisis, like a flood in Assam, Zubeen Garg used to collect monetary donations along with his members on the streets, which Michael Jackson never did. He used to donate most of his concert earnings to charities and underprivileged people. Moreover, people never had to buy tickets to attend his concerts during the Bihu festival, but if it were Michael Jackson, then people had to pay for the tickets.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Zubeen Garg helped the affected people in many ways. He even offered his apartment to convert it into a quarantine centre for the public. But if Michael Jackson were alive during that time, would he have let his apartment be converted into a COVID-19 quarantine centre?
Zubeen Garg was not only a legendary artist but also an angel who carednot only for the people but also for the nature of Assam, and with the help of his music, he used to connect with everyone, making him a special person like a king for everyone.
(The writer is a Software Engineer/Author and can be reached at debojitacharjee@gmail.com)
