Some farewells don’t need words – they need forests.

A tall shrub with bright pink flowers, Osbeckia zubeengargiana, now blooms quietly in the grasslands of Manas National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site that seems to have saved a special corner for him.

Miles away in Arunachal Pradesh, a rare butterfly with olive-brown wings and a faint iridescent sheen drifts through forest shadows at around 600 metres above sea level in the Basar region of Leparada district. They call it the “Basar Duke.” Science calls it Euthalia (Limbusa) zubeengargi – a newly discovered species named after legendary Assamese singer and cultural icon Zubeen Garg, marking a rare intersection of science and regional identity and highlighting the rich but underexplored biodiversity of Northeast India.

The discovery of the butterfly comes just days after the identification of the plant species named in his honour, signalling a growing recognition of regional figures in scientific naming practices.

Reacting to the discovery, his wife Garima Saikia Garg wrote on social media, “Let the child of nature stay blossomed just like in its own mother’s lap…”

First a plant. Then a butterfly. The forests of the Northeast seem to be writing their own tribute.

Some voices don’t echo – they bloom and fly. And the man, Zubeen Garg, who was once the sound of Assam itself, now lives quietly in petals and wings, somewhere deep in the forest.

• D. Dutta