Guwahati, June 10 -- Reported by Farhana Ahmed

North Lakhimpur: Muhibur Rahman, one of the last practitioners of Assamese Sufi folk culture in its oral tradition and a noted exponent of Zikir and Zari songs, passed away on Tuesday evening at his native village of Sensowa in Assam's Lakhimpur district. He was 105.

Fondly known as Bhadiya Kai, Rahman was widely regarded as a custodian of the traditional Assamese Sufi musical heritage associated with the teachings of the 17th-century saint Azaan Fakir.

Born in 1921 in Sensowagaon, Rahman spent his early years working as a cattle herder to support his family. During that period, he learned various forms of folk music from fellow herders amid the wetlands and grazing fields of his village....