baat niklegi to phir door talak jayegi
Early life and career
Jagjit Singh was born in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan to Amar Singh Dhiman, a government employee, a native of Dalla village in Punjaband his mother, Bachan Kaur from Ottallan village, Samrala in a house that was known as Pat Ram Ki Chhikari (cluster of six houses). He had four sisters and two brothers and he was known as Jeet by his family. He was raised as a Sikh by religion.
He went to Khalsa High School in Sri Ganganagar and then studied science after matriculation at Government College Sri Ganganagar and went onto graduate in Arts at DAV College, Jalandhar. He is a post-graduate in history from Kurukshetra University in Haryana.
Jagjit was initially named Jagmohan Singh. He went to meet his sister at Sahwa in Churu district where a saint of the Namdhari sect, on hearing him sing hymns, suggested to his brother-in-law Ratan Singh that he be renamed as Jagjit Singh as he had the ability to win over the world with his golden voice.[citation needed]
His association with music goes back to his childhood. He learnt music under Pandit Shaganlal 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 the Sainia Gharana school , a distant relative of Mehndi Hasan.
The Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University and Kurukshetra University, Late Professor Suraj Bhan encouraged his interest in music. He arrived in Mumbai in 1961 in search of better opportunities for being a 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. Singh was first offered to sing in a Gujarati film, Dharati Na Chhoru produced by Suresh Amin.
Fame
During 1970s, the art of ghazal singing was dominated by well-established names like Noor Jehan, Malika Pukhraj, Begum Akhtar, Talat Mahmood and Mehdi Hassan. However, Singh was able to make his mark and carve out a niche for himself. In 1976, his album The Unforgetables (On HMV LP Records) hit music stores. Essentially a ghazal album, its 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 it, but it was widely successful among listeners and the album set new sales records.
In 1967, Jagjit met Chitra, also a singer. After a two year courtship they got married in December 1969.They epitomize the first successful husband-wife singing team. Jagjit and Chitra Singh have made immense contributions to ghazal music and the Indian music industry in general.
Successful releases of the duo include Ecstasies, A Sound Affair and Passions. While these albums were breezy, Beyond Timereleased in the opening years of 1990s was an experimentation with sounds.
Around this time the duo was struck by grief, when their only son, Vivek (19), died in a road accident on 28 July 1990. Their son was returning late night to A Road, churchgate residence .A few hours earlier,someone had crashed into the lampost and darkened the street and a repair truck came to try to repair it. Vivek accidently drove into the stationery truck and was killed. Their subsequent albumSomeone Somewhere was the last album with ghazals sung by both. After that Chitra Singh quit singing. Jagjit Singh would often sing "Miti da bawa", which was originally sung by Chitra Singh in a punjabi film, which relates to his own story of losing a loved one at a young age.
Jagjit Singh's 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 "prostration") had ghazals sung by Jagjit and Lata Mangeshkar. The combined successes of his many albums made him the number one ghazal singer in India. The audience wanted more and Jagjit Singh obliged with his Punjabi albums. His ghazals use poetry by renowned poets including Mirza Ghalib, Firaq Gorakhpuri, Qateel Shifai, Shahid Kabir, Ameer Meenai, Kafeel Aazer, Sudarshan Faakir and Nida Fazli, and contemporary writers likeZaka Siddiqi, Nazir Bakri, Faiz Ratlami and Rajesh Reddy.
Singh also sang (as playback singer) for various songs in Bollywood films including Arth, Saath Saath, and Premgeet (all from 1980s). These 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.
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. His ghazals have been used in more recent Bollywood films likeDushman, Sarfarosh, Tum Bin 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" ), and Soz (meaning "Pathos").
Besides ghazals, Jagjit Singh has also sung bhajans and Gurbani (Hindu and Sikh devotional hymns respectively). Albums such asMaa, 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, prompted psychiatrists in metros (as large cities in India are called) to prescribe them as stress relievers.[citation needed]
Jagjit Singh's contribution in promulgating punjabi language and its poetry through singing its traditional folks, such as tappe and countryside songs, was extremely important and these songs were made exteremely popular in both East and West Punjab. His songs such as "Sare Pind ch puawde pae", "dhai din na jawani", "chadia di joon buri" are listened by both the punjabi and non-punjabi speaking audience. His another contribution is in bringing the beautiful poetry of Shiv Kumar Batalvi to masses through his album "Birha Da Sultan" and would remain his magnum opus for the punjabi diaspora. He would sing all the songs with the simple note and emotional touch in it and put across the wording in such a manner as if the poet himself is singing it. His melodious voice and Shiv Kumar Batalvi'spoetry would just rightly fit in. "Mae Ni Mae Main Ik Shikra Yaar Banaia", "Rog Ban Ke Reh Giya Hai Piyar Tere Shehar Da", "Yaariyan Raab Karke Mainu Paen Birhan De Pide Ve", "Eh Mera Geet Kisi Ni Gana" are few of the songs from his album created a landmark in the punjabi music and will forever remain popular. His soulful singing of "Asa Tan Joban Rute Marna" ( I am going to die in the season of youth) justified the emotion with which the poet wrote and true to his word, Shiv Kumar Batalvi died at a young age of 37. Till date "Birha Da Sultan" remains one of the most popular album of punjabi songs sung by Jagjit Singh.
On 10 May 2007, in a joint session held in the historic Central Hall of India's Parliament (Sansad Bhawan), Jagjit Singh rendered the lastMoghul Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar's famous ghazal "Lagta nahin hai dil mera" to commemorate the 150th anniversary of India's First War of Independence (1857). President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and dignitaries including former Prime Ministers, Members of Parliament, Foreign Ambassadors and High Commissioners were in attendance.[5]
Illness and death
Jagjit Singh underwent surgery after he suffered a brain hemorrhage. Doctors at the hospital performed an emergency surgery on Singh. Dr Ajit Menon, a cardiologist at Lilavati Hospital said that Singh "underwent a surgery to remove clots in his brain." The doctors monitored him in the intensive care unit as he was breathing with the aid of a ventilator. Singh also had a history of heart ailments. In January 1998, he suffered a heart attack, which led him to quit smoking. In October 2007, he was hospitalised following blood circulation problems. He died on 10 October 2011.
Before this illness, his last concerts were held on 16th September 2011 at Nehru Science Centre in Mumbai, on 17th at Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi and on 20th September at The Indian Public School in Dehradun
Awards
- In 2003, Singh was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian award, by the Government of India
Film scores
| Film name | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Gandhi to Hitler | 2011 | "Har or tabahi ka manzar" |
| Pyar Kare Dis : Feel The Power of Love | 2007 | |
| Umar | 2006 | "Khumari Chaddh Ke Utar Gayi" |
| Kasak | 2005 | |
| Veer-Zaara | 2004 | "Tum paas aa rahe ho" |
| Dhoop | 2003 | "Benaam Sa Ye Dard", "Har Ek Ghar Mein Diya", "Teri Aankhon Se Hi" |
| Joggers' Park | 2003 | "Bari Nazuk Hai" |
| Pinjar | 2003 | "Haath choote" |
| Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai | 2003 | "Aisi Aankhen Nahin Dekhi" |
| Leela | 2002 | "Dhuan Uttha Hai", "Jaag Ke Kati", "Jabse Kareeb Ho Ke Chale", "Tere Khayal Ki" |
| Vadh | 2002 | "Bahut Khoobsurat" |
| Deham | 2001 | "Yun To Guzar Raha Hai" |
| Tum Bin | 2001 | "Koi Fariyaad" |
| Tarkieb | 2000 | "Kiska Chehra ab mai dekhun" |
| Shaheed Udham Singh | 2000 | |
| Bhopal Express | 1999 | "Is duniya mein rakha kya hai" |
| Sarfarosh | 1999 | "Hosh Walon Ko" |
| Heena | 1999 | TV serial |
| Dushman | 1998 | "Chhitti Na Koi Sandesh" |
| Hello Zindagi | 1995 | TV documentary ("Hai Lau Zindagi (Title Song)") |
| Neem Ka Ped | 1994 | TV serial ("Muunh ki baat sune har koii (Title Song)") |
| Khudai | 1994 | "Din Aa Gaye Shabab Ke", "Ulfat Ka Jab Kisis Ne Liya Naam", "Ye Sheeshe Ye Rishte" |
| Mammo | 1994 | "Hazaar baar ruke ham, hazaar baar chale" |
| Khalnayak | 1993 | "O Maa Tujhe Salaam" |
| Nargis | 1992 | "Dono Ke Dil Hai Majboor Pyar Se", "Main Kasie Kahoon Janeman" |
| Billoo Badshah | 1989 | |
| Aakhri Kahani | 1989 | |
| Doosra Kanoon | 1989 | TV |
| Kaanoon Ki Awaaz | 1989 | |
| Mirza Ghalib | 1988 | TV serial directed by Gulzar |
| Rahi | 1987 | |
| Aashiana | 1986 | "Humsafar Ban Ke Hum" |
| Long Da Lishkara | 1986 | "Ishq Hai Loko", "Main Kandyali Thor Ve", "Sare Pindch Puare Paye" |
| Phir Aayee Barsat | 1985 | "Na Mohabbat Na Dosti Ke Liye" |
| Ravan | 1984 | "Hum to Yun Apni Zindagi Se Mile", "Main Gar Mein Chunariya" |
| Bhavna | 1984 | "Mere Dil Mein Tu Hi Tu Hai" |
| Kalka | 1983 | |
| Tum Laut Aao | 1983 | |
| Zulf Ke Saye Saye | 1983 | "Nashili Raat Mein" |
| Arth | 1982 | "Jhuki Jhuki Si Nazar", "Koi Yeh Kaise Bataye", "Tere Khushboo Mein Base Khat", "Too Nahin To Zindagi Mein Aur Kya Reha Jayega", "Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho" |
| Saath Saath | 1982 | "Pyar Mujh Se Jo Kiya Tumne", "Tum Ko Dekha To Yeh Khayal Aaya", "Yeh Bata De Mujhe Zindagi", "Yeh Bata De Mujhe Zindagi", "Yeh Tera Ghar Yeh Mera Ghar", "Yun Zindagi Ki Raah Mein" |
| Sitam | 1982 | |
| Prem Geet | 1981 | "Hontho se chhoo lo tum" |
| Ek Baar Kaho | 1980 | "Raakh Ke Dher Ne", "Phir Pukara Hai" |
| Griha Pravesh | 1979 | |
| Avishkaar | 1974 | "Babul Mora Naihar" |
| Bahuroopi | 1966 |
Discography
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