Squadron Leader Anil Sehgal
On 11 April 2023, theatre director Deepak Kumar rang me up to check if I was in Jammu. He desired to invite me to an impromptu gathering of artists to mark the birthday of the legendary singer-actor K L Saigal, a Jammuite.
This made me think about the great Indian singing star and his relationship with Jammu. So, here we are.
My dear fellow Jammuites and Dogras !
You didn’t remember him for nearly six decades after his departure from earth. And when you did remember, you just erected a small pillar on which you plastered a placard of his name. The pillar looks like a junction box for telephone lines. You call the place K L Saigal Chowk.

Jammu Jottings

In less than two years ( some say a few months ), the pillar is shattered, the placard is missing and the existence of a chowk is limited to public memory. What a way to honour one of your own, whom the world considers the greatest !
Please be reminded that the tallest among all artists, singers and actors during the last century belonged to Jammu. No Indian singer or actor has ever reached that level of public love, fame, adulation and mass hysteria that Kundan Lal Saigal enjoyed during his lifetime and thereafter.
In fact, he is the only singing star who was respected for his huge talent by all the singers of India, irrespective of their region, language or type of music. Even the greatest among singers aspired to sing like him !
Jammu and Jammuites forgot Kundan Lal Saigal even when the whole of India celebrated his music and stardom in many ways. They woke up to his huge talent and fame only in the beginning of the 21st century, more than five decades after his demise.
In the year 2004, when the lovers of music were celebrating the centennial of the great singer, Jammuites half heartedly named a chowk in memory of the singing star, by erecting a four feet some inches of a cement pillar and putting a placard of his name thereon. What a memorial, eh !
Adding fuel to the fire, the Jammu & Kashmir Academy of Art, Culture and Languages selected a room of barely 30 feet by 25 feet and named it after the great singer.
It should be considered a matter of shame for the Dogras that such a small room was christened as a hall, an auditorium, in the name of bigger than the biggest of Indian musicians who was born in the Dograland.
Barely 40 to 50 people could be seated in this hall in the name of art and culture. Shabby walls, unclean floors and dilapidated chairs presented a pathetic scenario. Thankfully, Jammuites suffer this no longer.
Recently, a new auditorium has been named after the legend in place of the old dilapidated room. This new hall can accommodate at best nearly 100 people. But, the upkeep of the auditorium leaves much to be desired.
In the last month of the previous year, and January this year, I attended a few events in this new K L Saigal Hall. All I can say is that we need better upkeep of this small auditorium, befitting the name of the singing star. Detailed discussion is not in the scope of this article.
Eleventh April 2023 was the 119th birth anniversary of Kundan Lal Saigal who was born to Amar Chand and Kesari Bai, at Jammu, on 4th April 1904.
To my knowledge, only theatre group Rangyug cared to remember K L Saigal on his birthday, in Jammu. They held a gathering of artists in their premises under the stewardship of the Peace Singer of India Seema Anil Sehgal, perhaps the tallest Dogri singer living.
” We wished to hold a public meeting to mark the occasion, but my own sickness intervened “, laments Deepak Kumar, Director, Rangyug .
Saigal was born to sing. His parents thought his elder brother possessed talent for singing, and not Kundan Lal ! They appointed a music teacher for him. Kundan used to overhear the lessons given to his brother, which were stored in his mind subconsciously.
He also honed his talents by listening to various bhajans at the temples where his mother often visited. His love for music impacted his education at the Government Gandhi Memorial Science College, Jammu.
Before embarking on a career in music and films, he worked as a railway timekeeper, a typewriter salesman and even as a hotel manager in Kolkata. But, he never abandoned his love for music. Consistently, he did his daily riyaz.
His employment as a salesman for Remington Typewriter Company took him to many cities, including Lahore . Here he befriended Meharchand Jain who encouraged Saigal to pursue singing with greater fervour.
Both the friends moved to Calcutta and Saigal started getting attention for his unique voice. Meharchand kept on pressing his friend for more rigorous practice.
Later, Saigal often remarked that he was what he was because of Meharchand’s encouragement. Thanks to the moral support provided by Jain, Saigal became more intense with his riyaz
It is interesting to note that when Saigal appeared for an audition by Gramophone Company of India (H M V), he was declared unfit to sing ! Not once, but twice ! They miserably failed to notice the exceptional quality of his voice and his unusual natural talent of singing.
In years to follow, Saigal’s unique voice quality became the benchmark for most of the singers who followed him. Every singer of substance wanted to emulate him, sing like him ! Mukesh, Talat, Lata Mangeshkar, Hemant Kumar, Manba Dey, every singer has aspired to be another Saigal !
In fact, his voice, his style, his rendition, these all cumulatively remain the gold standard for singing even today ! A mixture of baritone and soft tenor, shining through very early and comparatively primitive recording technology.
During the mid-30s, Chandi Babu was working for the Hindustan Recording Company. When he heard Saigal sing, he could easily see a great future for him as a singer.
Chandi Babu could sense a gold mine in Saigal and signed him on for a small sum of money. The years that followed proved that he was a true visionary.
The first Saigal record brought out by the Hindustan Records was the unforgettable ‘Jhulana Jhulao’. This song created a sensation and sold 5,00, 000 ( five lakh ) copies. The Hindustan Recording Company made a fortune.
The success of this record changed the face of business in music forever. Saigal made a contract with the Hindustan Company to sing on a royalty basis. Henceforth, the Company will pay him a fixed percentage on every record it sells. This was something new in the music industry. Until then, the musicians sold their songs for a one time payment of an agreed price.
Famed *music director Naushad had said :
” Saigal outdid Tansen in popularity. Mian Tansen was, of course, the beloved of his times. But, his voice was in a way imprisoned in the palace walls, meant only for a select upper class.
” Saigal, on the other hand, had a whole nation behind him, as he was a music man of the millions. He was in fact their Tansen. More than half a century has elapsed since Saigal, the great master musician, left us. But, his heavenly voice continues to haunt millions of his fans everywhere. A great artiste, a great man, Saigal belongs to the class of human beings who defy death. K.L. Saigal is the immortal singer.”
Lata Mangeshkar , the sweetest voice of India, was an ardent K L Saigal fan. The ‘Goddess of Melodies’ idolized the legendary singer-actor K L Saigal.
She bought every album featuring his songs. When the radio played his voice, she would leave everything, and just listen. Sadly, she could never meet her idol during his lifetime. Herself a Bharat Ratna, she paid tribute to the great K L Saigal thus:
” I know there are many singers who idolize me. But there was only one singer that I idolize. And that’s K L Saigal saab.
” I don’t like to hear myself sing. I like to listen to K L Saigal. He was not only my all-time favourite singer, he was also one of the few, rare human beings who inspired me.”
Bhupen Hazarika, Bhimsen Joshi, Bismillah Khan, Lata Mangeshkar, M S Subbulakshmi are meritorious musicians, indeed. They all are decorated with Bharat Ratna. Why not Kundan Lal Saigal, I ask ? Arguably, Saigal stands taller and outshines all other singers.
Dogras, and the Jammuites, need to wake up. They need to understand and evaluate their singers, artists, dancers, painters, sculptors, literary giants and the likes. Let the journey begin with the most famed Jammuite, Kundan Lal Saigal.
Please value your heritage, my dear fellow Dogras. Preserve it with all your might. Be proud of it. And, whilst we do so, let us join hands together to start a movement to ask for a Bharat Ratna for Kundan Lal Saigal, the taller than the tallest among musicians in the last century.
He is a Jammuite who received blessings of Mata Vaishno Devi, just like you and me. He drank the same Tawi water and walked the same streets. He is our own pride. And he, the great Kundan Lal Saigal, deserves to be honoured with a Bharat Ratna more than any other Indian musician. Come, let us stand united as we press for a Bharat Ratna for K L Saigal !

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