Ghazal Legend Jagjit Singh.!!!!!!!

Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

26

Posted: 19 years ago

#1

Ghazal Legend Jagjit Singh

Jagjit Singh a legendary name in the field of Ghazal Singing is indisputably one of the most talented artist of India. This name has been ringing in the ears of millions of music lovers for many years. He is very versatile artist who can fill your heart with his meaningful and melodious song in any language of the world.

Jagjit Singh, one of the most talented artistes of India, has with his beautiful and equally talented wife Chitra Singh made history in the world of music. Born on 8th February 1941 in Shriganganagar in Rajasthan, he trained under Ustad Jamal Khan of the Senia Gharana. After graduation he came to Mumbai to try his fortunes in the music business. The first full-fledged Ghazal album by the husband-wife team was "The Unforgettables" in 1976. This album set new sales records and has been followed by numerous ghazals as well as devotional/religious albums, all of which have become classics.

Jagjit's ghazals brings out the emotional side of ghazal and poetry lovers. His ghazals do a wonderful job in delivering tranquility (where "mai-khana" is involved), passion, serenity, pain ("sweet pain" in love), deepness, grief, love and a reminder of one's own personal past. His voice, a true gift of God has the pain that an "ashiq" feels after loosing his beloved, the love that a mother seeks for her child, the tranquility that a "saaqi" delivers, the strange fear in a boy when she walks in the room. His deep voice holds the key to perhaps every emotion locked within oneself.

As the pioneer of non-film music wave Jagjit & Chitra have been greatly instrumental in popularizing Ghazals. They have also created the music and songs for various films and even TV serials. Jagjit & Chitra have their fans spread out not only in India but all over the world. The response to their performances in concerts has been tremendous. Their ability to establish a rapport with their audience makes the evening a memorable experience. Looking for new talents and promoting them has been Jagjit Singh's constant endeavor. Artistes such as Talat Aziz, Ghanshyam Vaswani, Vinod Sehgal, Ashok Khosla and Siza Roy are his contribution to the field of music. Succession awards have been conferred upon him from several state governments and music associations. Their enchanting ghazals use the choicest poetry by renowned lyricists like Mirza Ghalib, Ameer Meenai, Kafeel Aazer, Sudarshan Faakir and Nida Fazli. The lyrics which stirs an emotive appeal are given mood and life by Jagjit and Chitra Singh.Songs like "Sarakti Jaye Hai Rukh se Naqab Aahista Aahista","Aah Ko Chahiye","Baat Nicklegi To Door Talak Jayegi"and "Woh Kagaz Ki Kashti"are some of his best songs.

3

Reply

Quote

Kanta80

@Kanta80

Inactive

15

Posted: 19 years ago

#2

BEYOND TIME: THE AGELESS MUSIC OF JAGJIT SINGH

The Pictorial Biography of a Superstar

Jagjit Singh is a musical superstar, an artiste who has almost singlehandedly revived the ghazal as an art form for our times. He has broken the barriers of language to endear this poetic form to even those who cannot understand its lyrics but respond intuitively to the emotion of his singing. Not just the ghazal but Urdu poetry as a whole has received a shot in the arm, thanks to his enormous popularity which extends to millions of fans around the world.

How did this happen, what was the path to super-stardom, what explains his amazing popularity?

Here is that story in a book authenticated by the maestro himself :

"BEYOND TIME: The Ageless Music of Jagjit Singh" .

"Beyond Time" is more than just a biography. Based on close to 40 hours of recorded interviews with Jagjit and Chitra Singh, with members of their family, with friends, musicians, poets, film directors, colleagues, it is written with the warmth and intimacy of personal recollections. Its total authenticity comes from candid memories revealed for the first time; the words come to the reader just as they were spoken, evoking deeply-felt emotions of joy and sorrow.

In this simple and direct approach Jagjit Singh speaks in his own voice about his life and his music, his modest beginnings and years of struggle, his ultimate success, his personal and musical partnership with his wife, Chitra and the terrible tragedy they suffered with the death of their son. His own account is made richer by the participation of not only Chitra, but also those who know him best, voices that recount rare insights, anecdotes, observations that present both the public and private worlds of a musical phenomenon.

The book is structured in six chapters, with a Foreword by Lata Mangeshkar. While the main text follows a chronological narrative, sub sections capture facets of the man and his music, ranging from his thoughts on the ghazal and composition to the active encouragement he gives young singers and his quiet dedication to charitable causes. Also highlighted are six of his albums, from the pathbreaking "The Unforgettables" of 1976 to "Samvedna" released in 2002 featuring the poetry of the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

The text is complemented by photographs from Jagjit Singh's own collection, family and studio sources, as well as some specially shot for the occasion; a variety of images that capture the many faces of Jagjit Singh, from nostalgic sepia prints of the young eager student of music to mood shots of a mature artiste at the pinnacle of fame and career.

Pankaj Kodesia, the publisher of the book, says "it is a 'must read' not only for millions of Jagjit Singh's fans but all those who love music & musicians".

Edited by Kanta80 - 19 years ago

Reply

Quote

Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

26

Posted: 19 years ago

#3

Biography of Jagjit Singh

There was a time, in the decade of seventies to be precise, when people talked about Ghazals they usually meant Noor Jahan, Malika Pukhraj, Begum Akhtar, K.L. Saigal, Talat Mahmood and Mehdi Hassan. But the perceptions changed soon; in 1976 an album by the name 'The Unforgettables' hit the music stores. Essentially a Ghazal album, it had a new feeling about it, fresh sounds and melodic lyrics being the notable features of this album. Skeptics had their own reservations, purists scorned at it but the audience was, well, lapping up the album and this is what mattered or matters.

Jagjit Singh with his better half, is single handedly responsible for changing the course of this genre of music known as Ghazals making it more ear friendly, melodic and mass oriented without poaching on the purity, which he has remarkably maintained. An Aquarian, he was born on the eighth day of February in the year 1941 at SriGanganagar in Rajasthan. His father Sardar Amar Singh Dhiman, a Government servant, originally hailed from Dalla village in Ropar district and his mother Sardarni Bachchan Kaur came from deeply religious Sokhi family of Ottallan village near Samralla. His siblings include four sisters and two brothers and he is fondly called Jeet by his family.

The maestro has all the traits of the sun sign like inventiveness, vision, imagination and innovation. Although his late father always wanted him to pursue IAS as a career, he took immense pride in his son's achievements in the world of music today. Schooling was done from Khalsa High School at SriGanganagar. He passed his Inter in Science stream from Government college, SriGanganagar. He graduated in the Arts stream from DAV College, Jalandhar. He also acquired a Post Graduate Degree in history from Kurukshetra University, Haryana. His association with music goes back to his childhood days when he was twelve years old.

He first learnt under Pandit Chaganlal Sharma for two years in SriGanganagar. After which for another six years he learnt under Ustad Jamaal Khan of Sainia Gharana, under whom he learnt all forms of Indian ClassicalMusic - Khayal, Thumri and Drupad. He always had an open mind and was ready to learn from lesser known but talented musicians throughout his college days. The Vice Chancellor of Punjab and Kurukshetra University, Late Professor Surajbhan envinced keen interest of music in him.

Bollywood beckoned him and he reached Bombay in 1965 and his struggle from another wannabe to the pinnacle of Ghazal started. Like any other struggler, he too had his share of trials and tribulations. He never had a god-father and hence it was an uphill task to survive in Mumbai. He lived as a paying guest and accepted every singing assignment that came his way - be it jingles for ad films or performing at weddings and parties.

In 1967 he met Chitra while doing jingles and they got married in 1969.

They first tasted success with 'The Unforgettables' released in 1976, this album set new sales records and since then there has been no looking back. They epitomise the first successful husband-wife singing team. The love affair that started with 'The Unforgettables' continued well into 'Ecstasies'. It flew high with 'A Sound Affair' and grew passionate with 'Passions'. Needless to say, that all of them disappeared from the shelves like magic. And magic it was, of the duo's voice, of the blissful romance and the utter blithesome quality of their Ghazals.

While the above-mentioned albums were breezy, 'Beyond Time' released in the opening years of nineties was an experimentation with sounds and conveyed a feeling that was beyond space and time. Around this time the duo was struck by grief as their only son met an untimely death. Shocking, as it was to them, it was as much shocking for the innumerable fans across the world. The album is a tour to the soul, ethereal, conscientious and introspective. Fraught with pain, the album in one word is touching. 'Someone Somewhere' has become the last album by the duo together and subsequently Chitra Singh called it quits.

The towering persona of Jagjit Singh braved the tragedy and continued alone treating the listeners with gems like 'Hope', 'In Search', 'Insight', 'Mirage', 'Visions', 'Kahkashan', 'Love Is Blind', 'Chirag' and a few others. 'Sajda' in collaboration with Lata Mangeshkar was another brilliant release and made its mark as a classic Ghazal album. All of these and others further consolidated his position as the numero uno of Ghazal singing. The audience wanted more and Jagjit Singh obliged with his Punjabi albums. Ebullient, effervescent and bubbly, his Punjabi songs are pleasant as well as joyous.

Bollywood was more than smitten by him and tracks of classics like 'Arth', 'Saath Saath' and 'Prem Geet' bear witness to his calibre. The albums sell like hot cakes even today. Apart from singing, Jagjit Singh composed the music of a few films too. Ah, that reminds us of the splendid music he composed for the TV serial, 'Mirza Ghalib'. The sensitive poetry of Ghalib in Jagjit Singh's voice assumed a new meaning. It would not be out of place to say that till date if any artist has done true justice to Ghalib's immortal poetry, arguably it is Jagjit Singh. The album stands out as a magnum opus.

Like a true genius, Jagjit Singh did not restrict himself to Ghazals and has also cut a few albums of Bhajans. 'Maa', 'Hare Krishna', 'Hey Ram...Hey Ram', 'Ichhabal' and also 'Man Jeetai Jagjeet' in Punjabi, put him in the league of Bhajan singers that has a restricted membership and the prominent members of which are Mukesh, Hari Om Sharan, Yesudas, Anup Jalota and Nitin Mukesh. The soothing effect, his voice has on frayed nerves has prompted psychiatrists in metros to prescribe them to stressed out souls.

Of late, there has been a clear shift in the mood of his Ghazals; they have acquired a more soulful and poignant demeanour, as in 'Marasim', 'Face To Face' and the latest 'Aaeena' 'Cry For Cry'. But all through this romance never took a backseat! The journey to the soul is punctuated by romantic pauses like 'Dil Kahin Hosh Kahin'. A testimony to his popularity is his Ghazals in recent Bollywood flicks like 'Dushman', 'Sarfarosh' and 'Tarkieb'.

In addition to cultivating his own successful career, Jagjit Singh has been involved in guiding many new talents such as Talat Aziz and Vinod Sehgal. He is also active in several philanthropic endeavors such as the Library at St.Mary's, Bombay Hospital, CRY, and ALMA, an organization whose focus is to adopt students for further education and development. Jagjit Singh currently resides in Bombay, but does tour every 3 years or so with a talented group of Musicians from India.

Reply

Quote

Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

26

Posted: 19 years ago

#4

CLOSE TO MY HEART - JAGJIT SINGH

http://ww.smashits.com/music/ghazals/songs/2393/close-to-my- heart-jagjit-singh.html

Edited by Qwest - 19 years ago

Reply

Quote

Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

26

Posted: 19 years ago

#5

Kanta, BEYOND TIME: THE AGELESS MUSIC OF JAGJIT SINGH
Great post.!!!! Will wait for more from you.****

Edited by Qwest - 19 years ago

Reply

Quote

Sunitha V

@Sunitha.V

Inactive

12

Posted: 19 years ago

#6

Thanks a lot Qwest ji and Kanta ji for the articles. He is unique and I love his ghazals. His ghazals he has sung for films are all so beautiful.... 'Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho' 👏

Some of the best in musicindiaonline

Edited by svm73 - 19 years ago

Reply

Quote

Kanta80

@Kanta80

Inactive

15

Posted: 19 years ago

#7

Originally posted by: Qwest
Kanta, BEYOND TIME: THE AGELESS MUSIC OF JAGJIT SINGH
Great post.!!!! Will wait for more from you.****

Sure, Qwest da 😊. Afterall, he is my favorite Ghazal singer.

Reply

Quote

Kanta80

@Kanta80

Inactive

15

Posted: 19 years ago

#8

Jagjit and Chitra Singh (b. 1941)

Profile

Jagjit Singh is indisputably one of the most talented artists of India. He was born on February 8, 1941 in Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, India. He received his musical training from Ustad Jamal Khan, and gained early recognition from his recordings at HMV and EMI India. Chitra Singh was born in Calcutta to a musical family. Her mother was a classical vocalist. She learnt classical music and Rabindra sangeeth from an early age. After complete a degree in English she moved to Bombay hoping to become a playback singer. Both Jagjit and Chitra tried hard to get a break into playback singing but with little success. They met in 1965. During that time Chitra's first marriage collapsed and they got married in 1967. But work was hard to come by and they had to just sing jingles for a living. In 1976, they recorded their first album The Unforgettable. This album set new sales records and has been followed by numerous ghazals as well as devotional/religious albums, all of which have become classics. Jagjit's work created a renewed interest in the art of Ghazal poetry and ghazal as an art form reached its highest point of popularity in 1980s. Jagjit's playback compositions and singing for films like Arth and Saath Saath has also been very well received.

Unfortunate death of their only son in a car crash, Chitra has stopped singing. Jagjit has continued to sing and released Sajda with Lata Mangeshkar, her first ghazal album. Jagjit has continued his ghazal voyage with his latest release Saher.

Edited by Kanta80 - 19 years ago

Reply

Quote

Kanta80

@Kanta80

Inactive

15

Posted: 19 years ago

#9

Jagjit Singh (singer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For Jagjit Singh the science writer, see Jagjit Singh (writer).

Jagjit Singh (February 8, 1941 - ) is a popular singer of ghazals in Hindi/Urdu and Punjabi, a composer and also a playback singer in Bollywood. Jag and Jit (both Hindi/Punjabi words) mean "World" and "Victory" respectively, thus the meaning of the name is One who has conquered the world.

Jagjit Singh was born in Ganganagar (also called "SriGanganager"), Rajasthan. His father Sardar Amar Singh Dhiman, employed with the Government of India, hailed from Dalla village in Ropar district of Punjab and his mother Sardarni Bachchan Kaur came from a deeply religious Sikh family of Ottallan village near Samralla. His siblings include four sisters and two brothers and he is fondly called Jeet by his family members. Although his late father wanted him to become a bureaucrat by joining the Indian Administrative Service, he was later reported to be happy with his son's achievements in the world of music. Jagjit went to Khalsa High School at Ganganagar. He studied Sciences during higher secondary (after matriculation) from Government College, Ganganagar and went on to graduate in the Arts stream from DAV College, Jalandhar. He also acquired a Post Graduate Degree in History from Kurukshetra University, Haryana.

Career

Early years

His association with music goes back to his childhood. He learnt music under Pandit Chaganlal Sharma for two years in Ganganagar, and later devoted six years to learning Khayal, Thumri and Dhrupad forms of Indian Classical Music from Ustad Jamaal Khan of Sainia Gharana. He was willing to learn from lesser known but talented musicians throughout his college days. The Vice Chancellor of Punjab and Kurukshetra University, Late Professor Surajbhan encouraged his interest in music. He arrived in Mumbai (then Bombay) in 1965 in search of better opportunities as a career musician and singer. His early struggle in the music industry, though not too harsh by his own account, still had its share of trials and tribulations. He lived as a paying guest and his earlier assignments were singing advertisement jingles or performing at weddings and parties.

Rise of Jagjit Singh

During 1970s, in India, the art of ghazal singing was dominated by well-established names like Noor Jehan, Malika Pukhraj, Begum Akhtar, Kundan Lal Saigal, Talat Mahmood and Mehdi Hassan. However, Jagjit was still able to make his mark and carve out a niche for himself. In 1976, his album The Unforgettables (On HMV LP Records) hit the music stores. Essentially a ghazal album, it's emphasis on melody and Jagjit's fresh voice was a departure from the prevalent style of ghazal rendition, which was heavily based on classical and semi-classical Indian music. Skeptics had their own reservations, purists scorned at it but it was widely successful among listeners and the album set new sales records.

In 1967 he met Chitra, also a singer, while doing jingles. After a two year long courtship they got married in 1969. They epitomise the first successful husband-wife singing team. Jagjit Singh, with Chitra, has contributed immensely towards changing the course of this genre of music known as 'Ghazal' making it more ear friendly, melodic and enojoyable by a wider audience.

Later successful releases of the duo include Ecstasies, A Sound Affair and Passions.

While the above-mentioned albums were breezy, Beyond Time released in the opening years of nineties was an experimentation with sounds and conveyed a feeling that was beyond space and time. Around this time the duo was struck by grief as their only son, Vivek, who was twenty-one, met an untimely death in a road accident. Not only Jagjit and Chitra, it was a big shock to his numerous fans also. The album is a tour to the soul, ethereal, conscientious and introspective. The ghazals have a moving quality to them since they express the personal loss of Jagjit and Chitra. 'Someone Somewhere' was the last album containing ghazals sung by both. After that, Chitra quit singing.

Jagjit Singh continued singing his later albums, including Hope, In Search, Insight, Mirage, Visions, Kahkashan (meaning "Galaxy"), Love Is Blind, Chirag (meaning "Lamp"/"Flame") also achieved success. Sajda (an Urdu word meaning "offering"), which has ghazals sung by Jagjit and Lata Mangeshkar was another brilliant release and made its mark as a classic Ghazal album. The combined successes of his many albums made him arguably the number one ghazal singer in India. The audience wanted more and Jagjit Singh obliged with his Punjabi albums. Ebullient, effervescent and bubbly, his Punjabi songs are pleasant as well as joyous. Their enchanting ghazals use the choicest poetry by renowned poets including Mirza Ghalib, Ameer Meenai, Kafeel Aazer, Sudarshan Faakir and Nida Fazli…. and contemporary writers like Nazir Bakri, Faiz Ratlami and Rajesh Reddy.

Jagjit also sang (as playback singer) for various songs in Bollywood films including Arth, Saath Saath and Premgeet (all from 1980s). The scores remain popular even today. In fact, all the songs of film Premgeet were composed by Jagjit. His compositions for the TV serial Mirza Ghalib (based on the life of the poet Mirza Ghalib), remain extremely popular among ghazal aficionados. The elusive element of Ghalib's poetry was sensitively and wonderfully brought out in the soulful compositions of Ghalib's ghazals by Jagjit Singh. The album could veritably be called a magnum opus.

Compared to his earlier ghazals (sung during 70s and 80s) his later ghazals have acquired a more soulful and poignant demeanour, as in albums such as Marasim, Face To Face, Aaeena, Cry For Cry. But all through this, romance never took a backseat! The journey to the soul is punctuated by romantic pauses like Dil Kahin Hosh Kahin. A testimony to his popularity is his ghazals in recent Bollywood flicks like Dushman, Sarfarosh and Tarkeeb.

Most of the earlier albums of Jagjit Singh had English titles. Later, these had Urdu names like Sahar (meaning "Dawn"/"Morning"), Muntazir (meaning "In waiting"), Marasim (meaning "Relation"/"Relationship"/"Affinity" ) "Soz" (Pathos) etc.. The switchover may not be deliberate but marks a milestone in his singing. These new albums show a far better selection of lyrics and yes, even the singing has scaled new peaks.

Besides ghazals, Jagjit Singh has also sung Bhajans and Gurbani(Hindu and Sikh devotional hymns respectively) . Albums such as Maa, Hare Krishna, Hey Ram...Hey Ram, Ichhabal and also Man Jeetai Jagjeet in Punjabi, put him in the league of Bhajan singers such as Mukesh, Hari Om Sharan, Yesudas, Anup Jalota and Purushottam Das Jalota. The soothing effect that Jagjit's voice has on frayed nerves has prompted psychiatrists in metros (as large cities in India are called) to prescribe them as stress relievers.

In addition to cultivating his own successful career, Jagjit Singh has been involved in guiding many new, talented singers such as Talat Aziz, Ghanshyam Vaswani, Ashok Khosla, Siza Roy and Vinod Sehgal. He also lends active support to several philanthropic endeavors such as the Library at St. Mary's (Mumbai), Bombay Hospital, CRY, and ALMA (an organization that adopts under-privileged students for further education and development).

Jagjit Singh lives in Cumballa Hills, Mumbai.

Awards

In 2003, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan.

Criticism

Jagjit Singh is alleged by Pandit Bholanath to have made ghazal a very much commonplace and commercial stuff. Unlike Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali and Talat Mehmood, his singing lacks the purity of ghazal rendition as deviates from classicism and imparts on light singing, mostly influenced by mass culture.

Discography

Sung for films

hazaar baar ruke ham, hazaar baar chale

Heena (TV serial) (1999)

Music composed for films

11. Prem Geet (1981)

Ghazal albums

Best of Jagjit & Chitra Singh (includes Mere Darwaaze Se Ab Chand Ko Ruksat Kar do by Ali Sardar Kaffrey)

Edited by Kanta80 - 19 years ago

Reply

Quote

Bob Chowdhury

@Qwest

Inactive

26

Posted: 19 years ago

#10

Jagjit & Chitra Singh

Here's a list of songs arranged alphabetically. Some of them are listed twice bcause they are compiled in two or more albums, follow the links to the page for the album itself.

Aadmi Aadmi ko kya degaa

Aadmi aadmi ko kya dega

Aah ko chahiye ik umr asar honey tak

Aaj ke daur mein ae dost ye manjhar kyoon hai

Aap Se Gila Aap Ki Qasam

Aap aaye janab

Aap ko bhool jaayen hum

Aap ko dekhkar dekhta reh gaya