Ghazal king Jagjit Singh, the soul-stirring voice behind ‘Hazaron khwaishe aisi’, ‘Ye kaghaz ki kashti and ‘Jhuki jhuki si nazar’, died Monday morning over a fortnight after he suffered brain haemorrhage.
The 70-year-old singer, who alongwith his wife Chitra almost rediscovered the ghazal genre for common Indian in 70s and 80s, was admitted to the Lilavati hospital on 23rd September and was in coma since then.
“Jagjit Singh passed away at 8.10 AM after having a terrible hemorrhage,” said Dr Sudhir Nandgaonkar, hospital spokesperson.
The day he was admitted, he was supposed to perform at a concert at Shanmukhananda Hall, Matunga, in Mumbai but the programme was cancelled after he was taken ill. Despite a surgery, his condition did not improve and he remained on life support.
Singh, a Padma Bhushan recipient, was born in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, on 8th February, 1941.
After graduation, he shifted base to Mumbai, to explore career in the world of music. In the next decade and half, he earned nationwide fame as ghazal singer and music composer. He sang in several languages, including Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Gujarati, Nepali, Bhojpuri.
His personal life, though, was marked by a tragedy: His only son, Vivek, died in a car accident in 1990 when he was just 18.
The music world expressed grief on hearing the news of Jagjit Singh’s death. Fellow ghazal singer, Pankaj Udhas, described Jagjit as an “extremely versatile singer”.
“I am devastated after hearing the tragic news,” Udhas said on phone from Pune.
PM condoles Jagjit Singh’s death
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condoled the demise of noted ghazal singer Jagjit Singh, saying he would be remembered for his “golden voice”.
Noting that he is among Jagjit’s admirers, the Prime Minister said he shared the sorrow of his fans.
In his condolence message, Dr Singh said by “making ghazals accessible to everyone, he gave joy and pleasure to millions of music lovers in India and abroad….he was blessed with a golden voice”.
The Prime Minister said the ghazal maestro’s music legacy will continue to “enchant and entertain” the people. Jagjit Singh (70) passed away this morning at Lilavati hospital in Mumbai.