Jagjit Singh Ji ! Chitthi Na Koi Sandesh , Kahan Tum Chale Gaye ?

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA             DECEBER 31 , 2011                   7.00 P.M.

On October 09th , when I came to my institute and started going through all the twitter postings , I found a tweet , to my shock and dismay, about the sad demise of Ghazal King Jagjit Singh Ji. I knew about his medical condition and also that he was admitted in Lilawati hospital due to brain haemorrhage , but still I was hoping against hope that he would survive .

Jagjit Singh and his singer wife Chitra Singh were not only one of the most popular Ghazal singers of India but they are solely responsible for the resurrection of this genre of singing , popular among royalty of South East Asia . Before the advent of Jagjit Singh , Ghazals had classical base and flowery and chaste Urdu poetry and that too heavily Persianised Urdu . Because of this , genre of Ghazal became the thing of wealthy Zamindars and the selected royalty. This was the reason of limited reach of Ghazals and its subsequent decadence in popularity.

Ghazal Loving Countries of South East Asia

When Jagjit Singh came to the scene , he realized the precarious situation and single-handedly fought and changed the scene. He chose easy but meaningful and poignant words, simplified the classical Ragas and introduced modern orchestra. His music arrangement was also very modern and catchy. Puritans frowned , as they always do , whenever a change is ushered in , but masses lapped this new kind of Ghazals and slowly puritans also fell in line because you can’t fight with the masses.

SAARC Countries

” The unforgettables ” [ 1976 ] , was the first LP records of Jagjit Singh and Chitra Singh and it hit  the market like a tarnado. It created sensation and a new icon was ushered on the firmament of the music world. I am proud to say that I have LP record of ” The unforgettables ” .

jagjit Singh with Lata mangeshkar

But the journey of Jagjit Singh was not easy . Born In Sri Ganga Nagar , Rajasthan on February 08 , 1941 , Jagjit Singh started learning music at early age . He came to Mumbai in 1961 and started his struggle . Success came to him after 15 long and arduous struggling years . But once it came , Jagjit Singh created history .

Combined album of film songs sung by him ; ” Arth “ and ” Saath Saath “ is India’s largest selling album of all times . His ghazal album ” Sajda “ with Lata Mangeshkar is the largest selling album of all times in India in non – film category .

He gave music for films like ; ” Prem Geet ” [ 1981 ] , ” Arth ” [ 1982 ] , ” Saath Saath ” [ 1982 ] ,  and TV serials like ; ” Mirza Ghalib [ 1988 ] and ” Kahkashan ” [ 1991 ] . Just like his ghazal albums , all the songs of these albums were hits . In total he has given us 80 albums and all of them are best sellers .

Besides ghazals . Jagjit Singh also sung bhajans and gurbani . His albums like ; ” Maa ” , ” Hare Krishna ”  and ” Hey Ram … Hey Ram “ and ” Man Jeetayi jagjit “ are much renowned and acclaimed .

His concerts were almost always sold out .

Jagjit Singh - Live Performance at Symphony

I am ashamed that I am posting this obituary after 3 months . I started writing immediately after his death . But it remained incomplete because so many luminaries died in the last quarter of 2011 and I was travelling incessantly .

I am ashamed for the delay and saddened at the loss of the world of music .

VIDUR

MUMBAI – MAHARASHTRA – INDIA

www.vidur.co.in

www.vidurfilms.com

www.twitter.com/VidurChaturvedi

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