Zubeen Garg, who has acquired cult status in Assam, got undivided attention of theatre and music lovers at the Rongali -- Destination, Culture, Harmony -- a festival of Assam, when he hit the stage as an actor and later as a singer.
The three-day fest, which also has exhibitions of horticulture and handicraft products, and northeast cuisine, started on Friday.
Rongali aims to promote Assam as an adventure sports destination. It took the first step towards it by starting the day one of the fest with aero sports like parasailing, paragliding and paramotoring. In fact, Zubeen launched the first flight. He flew over the mighty river Brahmaptura for half an hour.
"It was a lot of fun. I love doing adventurous things. If you promote such activities nicely, I am sure Assam can be an adventure sports destination. Assam has the potential," Zubeen told IANS prior to his performance here.
After catching an aerial view of the city, his Abhinaya team presented noted Assamese playwright-songwriter Jyoti Prasad Agarwala's "immortal drama" titled "Karengor Ligiri". He sang and portrayed a role in the play.
"I did a cameo. It's a very old play. It's a simple love story. It's a periodic one with kings and queens. I tried to give Opera music to it," he said.
Soon after the play, musicians Mayukh Hazarika and Anaya Brahma entertained the attendees with their songs that were mostly in Assamese.
Zubeen concluded the first day of the fest with his peppy numbers.
With his band mates taking charge of instruments like guitar and drums, he started off with a catchy Assamese number "Mayabini raatir bukut".
The "Ya Ali" hitmaker also paid tribute to the legendary composer S.D. Burman by singing "Sun mere bandhu re" from the 1959 movie "Sujata".
That wasn't the only Hindi song that he picked for the evening. "Dil tu hi bataa" from "Krrish 3" also made it to the list of songs for the gig. Singer Zublee Baruah increased the entertainment quotient by joining him on stage for the song.
The audience enjoyed each and every number played by Zubeen,A who turned up in a pair of white pants, shirt and a jacket with a bandana. But it was Bihu songs that were on the lips of the crowd.
He finally gave in to their demand and performed on his Bihu song "Morilong morilong lagi jai".
While some did the Bihu dance on their spot, others got close to the stage and matched steps with the strong beats.
The fest, which is being organised by a socio-cultural trust of Assam Trend MMS in association with Hotel & Restaurants Association of Assam, Assam Tourism, department of cultural affairs, government of Assam, and Ministry of Youth Affairs, government of India, will see performances by celebrated names like Amjad Ali Khan and Papon in the remaining two days.
(The writer's visit has been sponsored by the festival's organisers. Natalia Ningthoujam can be contacted at natalia.n@ians.in)
