Ashutosh Dubey
“sirf sur aur saaz nahi hote, alfaaz bhi hote hai aur lafzon ki badi ehmiyat hoti hai, koi achi tarah se ghazal ko nahi ga sakta jab tak woh ghazal ke lafzon ko samajh hi nahi mehsoos bhi kar sake”…….. Jagjit Singh
With partition in 1947, the very form of Ghazal music, which originated in Persia, a thousand years ago along with Ghazal singers, migrated to Pakistan. It was only in seventies with the rise of Jagjit Singh that India could hoist the proud flag of Ghazal on an equal footing with those who migrated to Pakistan.
February 8th is a day to welcome Jagjit Singh in memories. It’s a day when he was born in Sriganganagar in 1941 and this year happens to be the 75th Birthday of the maestro Jagjit Singh.
75th Birth Anniversary Special
Jag and Jit (Sanskrit words) mean “World” and “Victory” respectively, thus the meaning of the name is one who has conquered the world. So chasing his dream Jagjit Singh stepped out of the Pathankot Express at The Victoria Terminus Station in Bombay in 1965 where he met Subash Gahi who interestingly shares memories of their struggling days. “We came with different dreams. I hoped to be a hero, he wanted to sing playback in the movies” I asked him, ‘Why playback?’ He retorted, ‘Why hero!’
Jagjit began his fabulous journey into the world of Ghazal’s with first ever Musical Concert in Akash Ganga, the Bhulabhai Institute in downtown Mumbai organized by Kushwant Singh who was editor of the Illustrated weekly. Both Jagjit and Chitra were regulars at The Times Building sharing cups of tea with journos in early days of career.
Determined to polish up the genre and make it more acceptable to modern tastes, he chose simple poems and set them to simple tunes along with western instrumentation to make them livelier. Fresh sounds and melodic lyrics with new feeling in 1976 hit the music stores ‘The Unforgettable”, ‘Baat niklegi to phir door talak jayegi’ . And ‘Sarakti jai hai rukh se naqab, aahista aahista’ single handedly pitch forked him along with Chitra Singh into the limelight .After this success, Jagjit ‘s life changed, and won both money and fame.
Travelling down in memory lane, Yaseem Bharti Khan Sahib tells Jagjit who gave a feast of ‘alternate music’ in the form of ghazals was man of romance in his college days. “Bahut Hi Ishqiya Mizaz Ka Insaan Tha… Na Jaane Kitni Dafa Use Ishq Hua” till he met Chitra Singh. That is why his soulful singing “Hotho se chulo tum ” “Tum ituna jo muskura raheho”and “Jukhi jhuki si nazar” sung over nodes of guitar opened up a new world of music among the lovers in whom every young heart unburdens itself and finds solace.
He revolutionized the format of live concert and music lovers, across globe, witnessed something they never had seen before. He flew to all parts of the world conducting up to 400 shows a year. There were no days without a show. He has to his credit over 300 shows in Delhi’s Siri Fort Auditorium alone!.
With a career over five decades and a repertoire comprising over 80 albums, he sung poetry of indefinable pains of human life, its unavoidable sorrows, worship of feminine beauty, love, separations, yearnings, philosophy of life, the little pleasures of life like wine, mind that seeks happiness.
I still remember the days he visited Jammu. During the Concert he promised to be come next time but after that there never came a next time. Even in the modern era of Internet & Apps, Jagjit’s collection in cassettes & CDs still owns most shelves in rooms of his fans like a treasured gift.
Jagjit does not need another road named after them. All he deserves is a Bharat Rattan for his contribution for changing face of non-film music as songwriter, a composer and an arranger and Chitra feels Jagjit’s fans should begin an online campaign for his Bharat Ratna.
To mark 75th Birth Anniversary of “The King Of Ghazal” Jagjit Singh, Jagjit Singh Foundation is organizing “Jagjit Singh Music Festival”, a never before, two day music festival where top 25 Young ghazal singers below the age of 30 years will perform in Mumbai on 7th Feb. 2016 at Ajivasan. Singing. A total of 75 ghazals of Jagjit Singh will be sung.
The second half will showcase a unique combination titled “Tridhara” which will premiered on the occasion. This will be feature three streams of art namely Taal, Sur & Nritya together featuring Padma Bhusan Ustad Zakir Hussain, Padma Vibhusan Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Padma Vibhusan Pandit Birju Maharaj.
As a diehard fan of King of Ghazal who adore him, listening to his singing feel “We need to archive his work, document his life , write articles/ books on him.” And observe his birth date February 8 as Ghazal day.
When a soul leaves this mortal world, we say that some one’s dear one has left the world. Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh is such a soul who will continue to be cherished in the centuries to come.
He died too young and leaving his music lovers unhappy
Mrigtrishna Marusthal Ki,
Chalti Ret Roop Dhar Jal Ki
Jeevan maran ke beech mein saansein
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