Zubeen’s voice to be digitally preserved to prevent tampering, unauthorised use
Guwahati, Sep 22 (PTI): As Assam mourns the death of its ‘heartthrob’ Zubeen Garg, people close to the singer have begun work to digitally preserve his voice to prevent unauthorised use or tampering in the future.
Singer-composer Manas Robin, a long-time associate of Garg, said such digital preservation will ensure that his voice is not distorted or misused through AI-enabled or other technologies.
"With technology making massive strides, especially with AI-generated software, it is very much possible that Zubeen’s voice samples taken from the internet could be used by other singers/ performers as their own in the future," Robin told PTI at Sarusajai stadium as he joined lakhs in paying homage to Garg on Monday.
"We will work on preserving Zubeen’s voice digitally and creating such a ‘digital signature’ that the moment his vocals are played, its origin can be detected," he said.
ALSO READ: Thousands of fans bid adieu to Zubeen at Guwahati stadium
Garg (52) had died while swimming in the sea in Singapore on Friday.
His mortal remains had reached Guwahati on Sunday. His last rites will be performed with state honours on the outskirts of the city on Tuesday.
Explaining the concept behind it, he said, "If a person’s face is super-imposed on the body of another person digitally, it can be detected. Similarly, systems are being developed where the origin of a voice can be traced to its digitally preserved version of the original person or singer."
Robin, who is also a director and known for his folk songs, especially Bihu numbers, said Garg’s songs have already been archived, with the singer himself inaugurating one such archive days before his death.
"Digital preservation of Zubeen’s work is already underway through his YouTube channel and other internet platforms. We also want to put a ‘digital signature’ to his voice so that no one can pass it off as their own in today’s world of AI-generated audios and videos," he said.
"It will also ensure that no one can tamper with Zubeen’s voice," he added.
Robin said the death of Garg has led people to ‘rediscover’ his songs and creations, not just in the state but globally.
"This outpouring of spontaneous grief, this gathering of lakhs of people to pay their respects has made the world sit up and take note of what Zubeen Garg meant for Assam and why," he said.
The comfort with which Garg sang in high octave can be matched by only a few singers worldwide, Robin maintained.
“Singers sing in high octave, but the pressure it puts on their voice can be detected. But with Zubeen, it came naturally," he added.
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Karnataka plans 100-acre aqua park to boost fishing sector
Bengaluru: Karnataka is planning to set up a 100-acre integrated aqua park aimed at promoting fishing. The proposed park will offer end-to-end facilities, including fish farming, storage facilities and sports fishing.
According to a report published by Deccan Herald on Sunday, a senior official from the Karnataka Fisheries Department said the aqua park is part of a concept introduced by the Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying. The idea is to develop hubs that support the entire fishing value chain from fish seed production and feed to processing and market access.
According to the plan, the aqua park will include nine major facilities like farming of fish food, generating of fish seeds, development of fish seeds, fish farming, cold processing units, development of ornamental fish for aquariums, well-equipped market, fish transport facilities, and sports fishing.
The fisheries department has shortlisted three locations for the project, Byndoor in Udupi, Malavalli in Mandya and Almatti in Bijapur. One of these locations will be finalised based on land availability, after which a Detailed Project Report (DPR) will be prepared and sent to the Union government for approval.
“We have received proposals for three locations. All of them have water bodies close by and hence there is a demand for fishing. However, space is the main criteria. If we are able to get 100 acres, we will go ahead and prepare a detailed project report (DPR) to be submitted to the central ministry,” DH quoted Dinesh Kumar Kaller, director, Karnataka fisheries department as saying.
At Malavalli, near Gaganachukki, around 75 acres of land has been identified and a request has been sent to the Revenue Department. The revenue department has said that the land belongs to the forest department and talks are on. We are also looking at other locations, Kaller reportedly said.
As per the report, at present, only 11 states have an aqua park approved under the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) and Karnataka is confident that its proposal would also be accepted soon.
