Cover of Jagjit Singh
The moving and soulful voice that bestowed upon the Hindi music industry several popular ghazals stilled forever on Monday. Jagjit Singh, 70 passed away due to brain hemorrhage. ‘Jhuki Jhuki si Nazar’, ‘Hontho se Choo lo Tum’ and ‘Tumko dekha toh yeh khayal aaya’ are some of his most famous songs of all times. His death was not a blow just for his friends, family and fans but also a huge loss to the music industry which he constantly enriched with his lilting and soul-stirring melodies. He was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai due to brain hemorrhage on September 23rd. He underwent a surgery the very day after which his health seemed to progress a bit. However, he succumbed to death on Monday and breathed his last with his wife Chitra Singh by his side.
The entire Bollywood film industry mourned for his death and paid respect to him through Twitter updates.
Superstar Amitabh Bachchan conveyed his condolences through twitter: “The sonorous silk voice of Jagjit Singh silent now!! A great loss to the world of music and Ghazal …Prayers and condolences.”
Music maestro A.R. Rahman expressed his grief on Twitter: “Rest in Peace Jagjitji…No one can replace your voice and the perfection you had towards your art”
He was cremated at 4:30 P.M. on Tuesday in South Mumbai’s Chandanwadi Crematorium. Several celebrities attended the funeral along with his relatives who arrived from Rajasthan.
Jagjit Singh was born on February 8th, 1941, in Rajasthan to a Sikh couple. He completed his history post graduation degree from Haryana’s Kurukshetra University. He moved to the nation’s entertainment capital in the year 1965, where he started to search for a job as a singer. It’s important to note that he is a recipient of Padma Bhushan award and has contributed generously to popular songs of Hindi films. He has sung in several languages like Gujarati, Nepali, Punjabi and Urdu. He has made about 50 albums in his career that contributed to devotional songs, ghazals and Bollywood music.
Music icons Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar expressed deep grief and believe that his music would live on forever.
“I can’t imagine the days when I will no longer be able to hear his silken voice, no longer be able to talk to him or listen to his new songs. Now his old ghazals is all we have. His soothing voice, his warm hearted nature are all gone now. He was the pride of India. I also feel bad for his wife Chitra, she is all alone now,” expressed Asha Bhosle.
Lata Mangeshkar with whom Jagjit Singh has performed an old and famous album ‘Sajda’ expressed: “It is such a big loss, an end of an era. He was one artist who never needed films to get popular. He was an instant hit.”
The singer blessed the music world with splendid songs like numbers like “Hontho se chhoo lo tum” (“Prem Geet”), “Kal chaudhavin ki raat”, “Shaam se aankh mein namin si hai”, “Tumko dekha toh yeh khayal aaya” (“Saath Saath”), “Kiska chehra”. “Jhuki jhuki si nazar” (“Arth”), “Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho”, “Hoshwalon ko khabar kya” (“Sarfarosh”) “Koi ye kaise bataaye” and “Badi nazuk hai” (“Jogger’s Park”).
