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Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Remembering Jagjit Singh



'ये आज़ान के स्वर हैं. ये पिआनो बाजे में नहीं होते.' It was one of those late live concert albums Jagjit Singh said this. During my PhD days, my labmate used to play it again and again, he being a big Jagjit Singh fan.

Jagjit Singh's songs don't sound hard. In fact, they appear ridiculously simple. But, Jagjit Singh is also the most hard to imitate singer. I was moved to remembering late Jagjit Singh several times in the last one day after his demise. And I tried humming his songs: 'शाम से आँख में...', 'एक  पुराना मौसम लौटा...', 'होश वालो को खबर क्या...' Like every time in the past I have done that, this time too, I felt like a piano, which doesn't have all the notes in it. Jagjit Singh had those other notes in him. His voice weaved magic into songs which would be lifeless if sung in any other voice.

Like many millions, he was my introduction to ghazals. At least 2 of my good friends, who don't claim to be music aficionados, have been devoted listeners/collectors of Jagjit Singh work. I have not seen any other artist having such cult fan-following. So many of my life's emotions often sing themselves to me in Jagjit's voice: friendship, love, nostalgia, separation, pensiveness, tranquility, resignation...

Jagjit Singh's voice is like that aazaan which today's pianos can't create. With his demise, those mystical notes have died too. I join Jagjit Singh's innumerable fans in mourning his death.

2 comments:

punamshonaholic said...

my gazal fascination was started at my very young age,with late jagjit singh's " kal choudhwi ki raat mein sabbar raha charcha tera."his melodious voice had added a new meaning to this song.

i always used to love jagjit singh-chitra singh's duet songs…”ye tera ghar ye mera ghar,ye ghar bahut hasin hai”..chitra singh’s clear, touching, and high-pitched voice provided a perfect blend with Jagjit's deep baritone and smooth voice.

Still, the song .."hontho ko chu lo tum,mera geet amar kar do.ban jao meet mere,meri preet amar kar do" makes me humming with it.

"jag ne cheena mujhse ,mujhe jo bhi laga pyara,sab jita kiye mujhse ,mai hardam hi hara"...expressed anyone's pain ,who's love has been snatched.

and the song from art film "arth"..."tum itna jo muskura rahi ho,kya gum hai dill mein chupa rahi ho"..like,when someone shows extra smile ,he/she is surely in a great pain or grief in heart ,which can be understable by only one person who loves him/her. ........

my fav song is..."tumko dekha to ye khyal aaya,jindagi dhup tum ghana saya"...makes understand me that when someone gets his/her love,it gives a new energy to survive in life.

I love the words in this song...."aaj feer dill ne ek tamanna ki thi,aaj feer humne dill ko samjhaya"...

punam

Anonymous said...

Hi Sujit,
Nice commentary on Jagjit Singh, Surely the Ghazal World has lost one its prominent person. Introduction to ghazals in my case was also Jagjit Singh, but then i quickly moved away from him to pakistani singers with more flexible voices. Sajda and Dairo Haram were favorites. He was one singer who merged into the background like nobody else could through your daily activities.
SKS