India, Sept. 27 -- On September 23, four days after Zubeen Garg's death in a careless water-sports accident in Singapore, his mortal remains were laid to rest. Four days and two post-mortems after, the people of Assam have not found closure. Yet, nobody is really looking for one. Because this is only another beginning, where the phenomenon called Zubeen da (as he was popularly known) is being immortalised. Born in Tura, Meghalaya, in 1972 as Zubeen Borthakur, Zubeen Garg was distinctly more than just a popular singer, let alone just the singer of Ya Ali, the immensely popular song from the 2006 movie, Gangster. Now, many people outside Assam are surprised by two facts. The first is that Zubeen sang more than 38,000 songs in about 40 languages. For a man who died at 52, the size of the corpus itself should be a reason for heightened recognition. But, people tend to care less beyond a few hits and popular numbers these days. In Assam of the 1990s, this was not the case. Zubeen, who grew up in different parts of Assam and belonged to an artistically inclined family, made his way through school and college relying on his musical skills. His first solo album, Anamika, released in 1992, turned him into an overnight sensation. By the turn of the millennium, he was an icon for most in Assam. He began to produce music and films and gave a new lease of life to Assam's cinema, which was dying at the time. He sang about love, devotion, sorrow and much more. He introduced a new style of humming within his songs, which became immensely popular. Quietly, but surely, Zubeen gave a new voice to Assam, one where insurgency gave way to stability and modernism, casteism to education, and poverty to hope. For each of these shifts, he had a song that touched the soul and slowly transformed the people. But, the people were filled with contradictions. So was Zubeen. The old, that was reflected in the likes of Bhupen Hazarika and Khagen Mahanta, could not accept a young boy with long hair, don't-care attitude, and a dangerously free-spirit to be so easily considered an idol. After all, he challenged authorities openly, drank even during shows, and used foul language. What changed and made him the idol that he was? Everything but Zubeen. He went on to gain fame, money, opportunities that can easily corrupt even the noblest. But, Zubeen remained unchanged. This brings to me to fact number two, the one which has left many surprised, and intrigued today about Zubeen. His funeral procession saw thousands of mourners from all walks of life throng the streets and grieve publicly. Many compared it to Bhupen Hazarika's funeral in 2011. But it is not the size of the crowd that matters, but the depth of grief and outpouring that seems singular. For millions in Assam, a post-Zubeen world remains incomprehensible. With his death, the world is witnessing a phenomenon unravel in Assam, being moulded by three forces - the people of Assam, the state government and the legacy of the singer himself. The people of Assam are shocked at his untimely passing. Had Zubeen lived his life to the fullest, perhaps this phenomenon would not have been as marked as now. The people of Assam have shown the world what emotions tied to land, language, culture, and identity can mean. Zubeen's famous lines - I have no caste, no religion, I am a human first - saw visual representation when streams of people from all classes and categories poured in and cried together. Mass grieving has deep energy and can change societies. The government of Assam understood this and enabled this through three days of State mourning. Everyone felt included and understood. They found time to absorb the shock and think of the post-Zubeen world - even imagine it together. After Kalaguru Bishnuprasad Rabha, Rupkonwar Jyoti Prasad Agarwala and Bhupen Hazarika (all 20th-century cultural icons), Assam has found a new identity through Zubeen. He was loved by the people on the streets and in elite parlours alike. He quit Bollywood at the peak of his career there and came back to Assam because he believed "a king should never leave his kingdom". He sang Hindi songs during Bihu celebrations despite threats from the ULFA. The same ULFA has now paid him tributes. Today, Assam has lost a part of itself. Yet, it is more whole than before, given that the singer's legacy is larger than the simple sum of his life. His songs are going to find new meanings, new listeners as people discover parts of him. There will be research into his body of work, its range, and variety. And this will transcend into fields of art, culture, sociology, psychology, and politics. There will be annual celebrations of his life and work. And who knows what accolades he might win posthumously. But Zubeen da would not care....