Silken voice Jagjit Singh departs silently

by Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury
October 10, 2011

http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1880/silken-voice-jagjit-singh-departs-silently

He gave new life to ghazal in the Indian sub-continent. Jagjit Singh was a household name not only in the sub-continent, but the entire world of ghazal fanatics. Born on February 8, 1941, 'the Ghazal King' was a singer, composer, activist and entrepreneur. He has sung in several languages including Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Nepali. Jagjit Singh entered the music circuit at a time which was primarily dominated by Pakistani ghazal singers, and Indian singers were considered relatively lesser authentic than their Pakistani counterparts. More precisely, ghazal was within grips of Pakistani singers like Mehdi Hassan. Moreover, during late seventies, when the sub-continental music lovers were getting increasingly addicted to Discos songs or music groups like Bonny-M, Abba etc, Jagjit Singh brought the listeners back to the mystique world of ghazals. Starting to elders to teens, Jagjit Singh was the one and only name, who enthralled millions of his fan and music lovers, with ever-green ghazals like "Tum Nehi Gham Nehi Sharab Nehi" etc. There is not a single home in the Indian sub-continent, where one or many albums of Jagjit Singh won't be found. Jagjit Singh was not only a singer with silken voice; he was the ambassador, if not the prophet of melody.

Unlike other ghazal singers, Jagjit Singh did not hesitate in lending his voice for films. His silky voice ruled during early 80's in films like Prem Geet, Saath Saath and Arth. However, his major work is spread over more than 60 filmy and non filmy albums. He was also known for modern approach and infusion of technology in the traditional art of ghazal singing. Singh was the first Indian music director to use the technique of multi-track recording for his album 'Beyond Time'.

Recipient of Padma Bhushan award in India, Jagjit Singh was the man behind making the ghazal genre available and understandable to all. Prior to Singh, ghazal singing was considered as an elite art, which was difficult for the common mass to understand due to high class Urdu and Persian. Jagjit Singh broke this myth by coming up with songs such as 'Chaak jigar ke', 'Kal chadhanvi ki raat thi', and 'Shaam se aankh me name si hai'. He mixed the words of legends like Ghalib, Qateel Shifai, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Nida Fazli and Sudarshan Faakir with melodious indigenous tunes and achieved a state where nothing came in between him and his listeners.

Later when television started showcasing music videos, he was among one of the prominent members of the music fraternity to avail the facility. He again came up with brilliant albums such as 'Face to Face', 'Marasim', 'Aaeena', and 'Dil Kahin Hosh Kahin'. Jagjit Singh had also given his voice for ex-prime minister Atal Bihari Bajpayee poems in the albums 'Nayi Disha' and 'Samvedna'.

Stirring millions of hearts with his soulful numbers 'Jhuki jhuki si nazar' and 'Kaagaz ki kashti', ghazal king Jagit Singh infused a new life in the dying genre of music in the seventies besides carving a niche for himself in Bollywood.

The pain and melancholy in his voice gave vent to the feelings of many a lonely heart.

Conjuring up hits like 'yeh zindagi kisi aur ki, mere naam ka koi aur hai,' 'Patta-patta boota-boota haal hamaara jaane hai,' 'Hontho se chhoo lo tum, 'Tum ko dekha', 'Hazaar baar ruke ham and hazaar baar chale', Singh made a mark during the '70s when the ghazal scene was dominated by well-established names like Noor Jehan, Malika Pukhraj, Begum Akhtar, Talat Mahmood and Mehdi Hassan.

The voice behind the timeless ghazals was inspired by singers like K L Sehgal, Talat Mahmood, Abdul Karim Khan, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and Amir Khan.

One of the most successful and loved artistes of his time, he has left behind a huge body of work in a career spanning five decades, including 80 albums. Often called the 'Ghazal King' by his fans and peers, Jagjit was born to Amar Singh Dhiman, a government employee, and Bachan Kaur. He had four sisters and two brothers and was called Jeet by his family. He was raised as a Sikh by religion. His birth name was Jagmohan but his Sikh father rechristened him as Jagjit following the advice of his guru. It was his father, who first recognised his son's talent. He sent young Jagjit to learn the nuances of music under a blind teacher, Pandit Chhaganlal Sharma. He later trained under Ustad Jamal Khan of Sainia gharana for six-years and gained knowledge in Khayal, Thumri and Dhrupad forms.

Jagjit Singh had been the source of inspiration to many of the singers as well as lyricists in the sub-continent. Being a rather unknown lyricist in Bangladesh, my songs are always under heavy influence of the king of ghazals.

To millions of Jagjit fans like me, October 10 truly shall remain as the day of acute pain, as we have lost one of the genuine guardians of the music world on this day. It is really hard to bid farewell to such a personality. Our deepest condolence to Chitra ji [Chitra Singh], the singer wife of the ghazal king!

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