Jagjit Singh revolutionised ghazal singing in India: Pankaj Udhas-Oct 11, 2011

Jagjit Singh revolutionised ghazal singing in India: Pankaj Udhas

Published: Tuesday, Oct 11, 2011, 10:00 IST | Updated: Tuesday, Oct 11, 2011, 1:07 IST
By Pankaj Udhas | Place: Mumbai | Agency: DNA

The immense pathos and pain in his voice still rings in my ears. When I was 16, I attended a concert of my eldest brother Manhar Udhas at Bhulabhai Desai auditorium, Mumbai.

In the second half of the concert, the audience was introduced to a young gentleman and told that he would sing some ghazals. That gentleman was Sri Jagjit Singh. As his baritone voice filled the auditorium, the audience was introduced to a genre called ghazals.

His passion and love for this form of music was distinctly visible and evident. We stayed on the same road and while growing up, I often frequented his house to meet him, talk to him. The major attraction was his style of singing. Much later, in 1980, we started meeting regularly at the Western Outdoor studio in Mumbai where both of us recorded our albums. We continued meeting there till the studio closed down in 2003.

In 1975, he released a ghazal album titled Unforgettable with his wife Chitraji. The album created such a stir in the music world that it outsold many hit film songs from Bollywood. It revolutionised ghazal singing and laid a foundation for the younger generation to understand this intricate and complicated genre. He made it simple and more accessible with his great ability of composing some outstanding tunes. He was a phenomenal composer. Two of my favourite Jagjit Singh albums are Sajda with Lata Mangeshkar and Mirza Ghalib from the serial Mirza Ghalib.

He travelled all over the world to popularise this form of music and rope in many more fans apart from creating a platform for ghazal singing across the globe. His contribution to the field of ghazal singing is unparalleled.

Few years back, I sang in New York on the occasion of International Hindi Diwas where Gulzar sahab was chief guest. During dinner after the concert, Gulzar sahab shared something very interesting with me. He told me that he always called Jagjit Singh as Ghazaljit Singh because he not only stole the heart of this poetry ghazal, but also millions of fans across the world.
We will miss you Ghazaljit Singh. RIP