Long-E: Zubeen Garg’s Eternal Resting Place In Hatimura Where Memory Merges With Karbi Spirituality
Twelve years ago, a photograph captured Zubeen standing beside a sacred Karbi stone near Sonapur. Today, that same ground cradles his final resting place.
Published : November 4, 2025 at 3:57 PM IST
Sonapur: In the midst of greens at Hatimura, not far from the murmuring streams and rustling bamboo groves, rests the voice that once defined a generation, Zubeen Garg. His grave lies beneath the open sky, serene and unadorned, surrounded by nature’s music and a gentle silence. Yet, there’s something profoundly symbolic about where he rests.
Just a few hundred metres away, long before his death, Zubeen had posed beside a sacred Karbi stone, a Long-e, while returning to Guwahati. The photo, captured by Samsul Huda Patgiri brought alive memories of Zubeen and his spiritual connect with the stone. Locals say, that was no ordinary rock, but a memorial marker deeply ingrained in spirituality as per Karbi culture.
Now, fate seems to have come a full and quiet circle - the singer now rests in a place that is a timeless space binding rhythms of the man who ruled the hearts of generations.
A Stone That Speaks of Souls
In Karbi tradition, a Long-e (pronounced long-ay) is more than a stone, it is considered a bridge between the living and the departed. Usually erected after cremation, it is believed to represent the enduring spirit of the deceased.
“The Long-e embodies the life and essence of a person. It ensures that generations to come will remember the name, the deeds, and the person behind it,” explains Karbi scholar Rajendra Tumung.
The rituals surrounding Long-e are sacred and communal. Only four people may carry the stone signifying balance and harmony. A priest chants invocations called Atam Patam as the family lays offerings of rice, meat and the favourite foods of the departed soul.
If the deceased was a man, the stone is draped in a gamosa and white turban and if a woman, a mekhela, the traditional Assamese clothes. Beneath it rests a flat stone table supported by three smaller stones.
“This does not only signify mourning someone who is close rather it means continuity to tell the world that even when the person is gone, s/he is never absent,” Tumung says.
The Stone That Grows
Among Karbi families, it is believed that a Long-e grows taller over the years. But scientists disagree. “Granite or thilite stones do not physically grow. It is a belief that makes people emotional beyond science and logic. Even if the stone remains as is, they believe it grows with the memory,” clarifies geologist Dr. Mahananda Bora.
Retired professor Sukheswar Medhi adds, “It is the story around the person that grows with fond memories but not the stone.”
Symbols Beyond Stone
Every Long-e in the entire stretch is a silent storyteller - for some it is a witness to love, loss, and for others, legacy. Over time, these stones form clusters called Long-e Aris, small groves scattered across the Karbi hills. Together, they form a tribute, a remembrance, as if like an open-air archives of life itself.
“A Long-e reminds us about not just the dead, but of who we are and our identity,” Tumung adds.
Long-e At Zubeen Kshetra
The Karbi community of Dimoria has decided to erect a Long-e in Zubeen Garg’s name at Zubeen Kshetra, his final resting place. His wife, Garima Saikia Garg, welcomed the step with grace.
For the Karbis, the Long-e anchors the spirit to the earth. For the people of Assam, Zubeen’s songs have long done the same - binding voice to soul, music to memory and firmly rooted to earth.
Also Read:
