Guwahati, June 27 -- Written by Kaushik Nath

In 1999, something happened in Assamese music that would never happen again.Zubeen Garg and Bhupen Hazarika, two of the most distinctive voices the regionhas ever produced, came together on a single album. That album was Xopun, andfor those who know its backstory, it carries an emotional weight that goes farbeyond the music itself.

Released under RK Productions, Xopun blended blues, pop, and classicalsensibilities into eight songs that spanned generations of Assamese musicalthought. The two voices could not have been more different in texture and era, yetthe album holds together as a coherent piece of work, partly because it was builtaround something deeper than a commercial collaboration.

T...