Assam: Singer Zubeen Garg's last rites performed with full state honours
Guwahati (PTI): Singer Zubeen Garg's body was cremated with full state honours in the sylvan surroundings of Kamarkuchi on the outskirts of Assam's Guwahati on Tuesday amid chanting of Vedic hymns as thousands of mourners gathered to bid farewell to the popular crooner.
His sister Palme Borthakur and music composer Rahul Gautam, a protege of the singer, lit the pyre, amid gun salutes.
They went around the pyre seven times as priests guided them, and all present at the site, most with moist eyes, stood up to pay their last respect to the singer who mesmerised people with his more than 38,000 songs over three decades.
Zubeen's wife, Garima Saikia Garg, was sitting on the side of the platform where his last rites were performed, and was seen sobbing all through the rituals as the singer's friend and Union Minister Pabitra Margherita consoled her.
Garg's 85-year-old ailing father, Mohini Mohan Borthakur, was sitting at a distance surrounded by family members.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, also a Zubeen fan, was seen standing near the platform where the pyre was lit.
As the smoke from the flames flared up, slogans like 'Zubeen, Zubeen' and 'Jai Zubeen da' reverberated in the air, and people were heard singing his song 'Mayabini Ratir buku'.
This continued all through the rituals held in an emotionally charged atmosphere.
After the tributes were paid to the popular singer, the Assam Police gave him the gun salute and sounded the bugle.
Earlier, the mortal remains of Garg were taken to a platform and placed on the pyre amid chanting of Vedic hymns and blowing of conch shells.
The family performed certain Vedic rituals while Union ministers Sarbananda Sonowal, Kiren Rijiju and the chief minister placed wood on the pyre.
A branch of the sandalwood tree, which Zubeen had planted on his birthday in 2017, was placed on the pyre.
Earlier, the popular singer's body was brought on Sunday and kept at Arjun Bhogeswar Baruah Sports Complex for fans to pay homage.
After being brought to Kamarkuchi, his body was placed on a podium, next to the platform where his last rites were performed.
The funeral pyre, constructed on the platform, was covered in a white canopy and decorated with flowers all around it.
A team of Assam Police personnel were the pallbearers of the casket carrying Zubeen's mortal remains.
A large number of people gathered around the cremation site since Monday night, and the entire area reverberated with slogans like 'Long Live Zubeen', 'Jai Zubeen da'.
People were heard humming his song 'Mayabini Ratir buku', which the singer had once said should be sung at his funeral.
Members of the family, including his wife Garima, paid tributes to the singer at the cremation site.
Sonowal, Rijiju and Margherita, along with Sarma, assembly speaker Biswajit Daimary and several cabinet ministers and senior government officials, laid floral wreaths on the singer's coffin.
Sonowal, Margherita, the chief minister and leader of the opposition Debabrata Saikia went down on their knees to pay tributes to the singer.
Representatives of the Arunachal Pradesh government, Assam Sahitya Sabha (ASS), various students' unions, Hatimura Karbi Samaj, Artists Forum, Zubeen Garg Fan Club and others also paid their last respects to Garg.
Meanwhile, the second post-mortem examination of Garg's body was conducted at the Gauhati Medical College Hospital on Tuesday morning.
The first autopsy was conducted in Singapore, where he died on September 19 while swimming in the sea.
Earlier in the day, Garg's body, placed inside the cold glass coffin, draped in the traditional Assamese 'gamosa', was taken in a flower-bedecked ambulance from the sports complex to the cremation site.
A huge black and white portrait of the singer was placed in front of the vehicle.
Zubeen's last journey passed through Sarusajai, Beltola, Khanapara and Jorabat to reach Kamarkuchi. The singer's family, close relatives and a few friends followed him in separate vehicles.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
