![]() ![]() The musical nights, held during Dussehra celebrations in Patna, are etched in my memory. I often used to accompany my father MR Khairi, who was a ghazal lover, and my mother Anjuman - a ghazal singer in Patna. I still remember how people from far-off places would throng at the concerts of Jagjit and Chitra. I also introduced western instrumentation to make them livelier." Jagjit said: "I was determined to polish up the genre and make it more acceptable to modern tastes, so chose simple poems and set them to simple tunes. His voice drew universal acclaim and was instrumental in making scores of films like Arth and Saath Saath chartbusters. Jagjit always wanted to become a playback singer like Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Manna Dey. His album Kahkashan (1991) also drew rave reviews. ![]() Jagjit collaborated with Lata Mangeshkar in Sajda and poet-lyricist Gulzar on several occasions. " Baat Niklegi Toh Phir Door Talak Jayegi" and " Sarakti Jaaye Hai Rukh Seare" are truly unforgettable milestones of ghazal singing. ![]() The couple's first ghazal album The Unforgettables (1976) went on to become the highest-grossing one in the genre, particularly when there was hardly any market for ghazals.īlending chorus and instruments in innovative ways, the album made Jajgit and Chitra household names. Their singularly unique voices and singing styles complemented each other in every possible way-Jagjit's heavy baritone contrasted beautifully with Chitra's sharp voice. Thus began the journey of one of the most prolific and beautiful of collaborations in the history of Indian music. They were soon termed the "Ghazal Couple" and married in 1969. While Jagjit's voice was like a silent blue ocean, Chitra's gurgled and danced like a playful fountain and a rivulet. Jagjit and Chitra became a hit both inside the studio as well as outside it. She later recalled in an interview to Filmfare: "I told the music director that his voice was heavy and that I wouldn't be able to sing with him." When the two first met, Chitra refused to record a jingle with Jagjit. On the other hand, Chitra was a natural, with no formal training. Jagjit was, musically speaking, a trained classical singer - he learned the ropes of prominent styles of Hindustani classical music, including Khayal, Thumri and Dhrupad from Ustad Jamaal Khan of Senia Gharana. ![]() They were opposites: while Jagjit was a Punjabi Sikh, Chitra was a Bengali. When Singh was taken to hospital on September 23, he had been about to sing at a concert in Mumbai with Pakistani ghazal legend Ghulam Ali.It was two years after Jagjit Singh's first album came out in 1965 that the Ghazal king met Chitra during a recording. He took to singing at an early age and like millions of other migrants, travelled to Mumbai, then known as Bombay, to make his fortune.Īfter initial struggles singing advertising jingles and performing at parties, he found a foothold in regional-language and Bollywood cinema, going on to form a successful duo with his wife Chitra in the 1970s and 80s. Jagjit Singh was born to a poor family in the north Indian state of Rajasthan on February 8, 1941. He last sang in the low-budget film “Khushiyaan” (Happiness), which is due in cinemas on Friday. Singh will be best remembered for his music in the films “Prem Geet” (Love Song) in 1981 and “Arth” (Meaning) the following year. “Unfortunately, he expired this morning,” said Mohan Rajan, spokesman for the private Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai.Īs well as spreading the appeal of ghazal in India, Singh sang and composed for Bollywood, the Hindi-language film industry. They were traditionally reserved for the elite, but Singh popularised the form in the 1970s and 1980s by pioneering a modern ghazal sound and using Western instruments alongside Indian classical ones. Ghazals are a poetic form of singing that originated in the Middle East and spread to India from the 12th century. Singh, dubbed “The Ghazal King”, had been in intensive care for three weeks after undergoing surgery when he fell seriously ill with a brain haemorrhage. MUMBAI: Indian musician and composer Jagjit Singh, who won generations of fans by reviving the traditional genre of “ghazal” tunes, died on Monday in Mumbai at the age of 70, hospital officials said. Indian Ghazal singer Jagjit Singh performs during the music launch of a film, Mumbai, November 2, 2010. ![]()
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