Guwahati: Popular Assamese singer Zubeen Garg’s visit to Singapore was meant as much for leisure as for the North East India Festival (NEIF), chief organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta has clarified amid swirling speculation following the singer’s tragic death.
The three-day festival was scheduled to begin on Friday, but was cancelled after the death of the singer while “swimming in the sea without a life jacket”.
Mahanta stressed that the singer had travelled on his own choice and had also made personal plans with the Assam Association in Singapore.
“Zubeen had told us he wanted to come here to relax. We arranged his stay, but he had also coordinated separately with members of the Assam Association to visit places before the festival,” Mahanta said.
He added that the singer was not expected to give a full concert, but only to interact with audiences and sing a few songs.
Garg travelled with a small team, including his cousin Sandeepan Garg, manager Siddhartha Sharma and musician Shekhar Jyoti Goswami.
Mahanta said the organisers had not insisted on his performance, but Zubeen had always supported NEIF events in India and abroad as a way to represent the Northeast.
Responding to claims on social media, Mahanta denied that Garg had performed in Singapore before the accident.
“Our event was to begin on Friday. He had not participated in any programme prior to the mishap,” he said, clarifying that organisers were unaware of the singer’s yacht outing with the Assam Association.
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Mahanta also dismissed suggestions that NEIF was a commercial venture.
“The festival is about connecting Northeast India with Southeast Asia through trade, tourism, industry and culture. After our Thailand edition, Guwahati got its first direct flight to Bangkok. This is about opening markets for the Northeast under the Act East policy,” he said.
Launched in Bangkok in 2019, NEIF has since been hosted in Thailand and Vietnam.
The Singapore edition, which was to celebrate 60 years of India–Singapore diplomatic relations and the India-ASEAN Year of Tourism, now stands cancelled.
