name | Jagjit Singh |
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background | solo_singer |
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born | February 08, 1941Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, India |
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genre | Ghazal, Classical, Devotional, Folk |
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occupation | Composer, Singer, Music Director, Activist, Entrepreneur |
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instrument | Vocals, Harmonium, Tanpura, Piano |
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years active | 1966–present |
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label | EMI, HMV, Saregama, Universal Music, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Polydor, TIPS, Venus, T-Series |
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spouse | Chitra Singh |
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website | www.jagjitsingh.co.uk
}} |
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Jagjit Singh (, , ) (
born February 8, 1941) is a prominent Indian
Ghazal singer, composer, music director, activist and entrepreneur. Popularly known as "The Ghazal King" he gained acclaim together with his wife, another renowned Indian
Ghazal singer
Chitra Singh, in the 1970s and 1980s, as the first ever successful duo act (husband-wife) in the history of recorded Indian music. Together, they are considered to be the pioneers of modern
Ghazal singing and regarded as most successful recording artistes outside the realm of Indian film music. He has sung in
Punjabi,
Hindi,
Urdu,
Bengali,
Gujarati,
Sindhi and
Nepali languages. He was awarded India's third highest civilian honour, the
Padma Bhushan, in 2003.
Widely credited for the revival and popularity of Ghazal, an Indian classical art form, through his music in landmark films such as ''Prem Geet'' (1981), Arth and ''Saath Saath'' (1982), and TV serials Mirza Ghalib (1988) and Kahkashan (1991), Jagjit Singh is considered to be the most successful ghazal singer and composer of all time, in terms of both critical acclaim and commercial success. With a career spanning over five decades and a repertoire comprising 80 albums the range and breadth of his work has been regarded as genre-defining. He is the only composer and singer to have composed and recorded songs written by Prime Minister - Atal Behari Vajpayee, also a critically acclaimed poet - in two albums, ''Nayi Disha'' (1999) and ''Samvedna'' (2002). India's current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur are known to be his avid admirers.
On May 10, 2007, in a milestone joint session held in the historic Central Hall of India's Parliament (Sansad Bhawan), Jagjit Singh rendered the last Moghul 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.
Jagjit Singh is the first Indian composer, and together with his wife Chitra Singh the first recording artist in the history of Indian music to use digital multi-track recording for their (India's first digitally recorded) album, ''Beyond Time'' (1987). He is regarded as one of India's most influential artistes. Together with sitar legend Ravi Shankar and other leading figures of Indian classical music and literature, Singh has voiced his concerns over politicisation of arts and culture in India and lack of support experienced by the practitioners of India's traditional art forms, particularly folk artists and musicians. He has lent active support to several philanthropic endeavors such as the library at St. Mary's School, Mumbai, Bombay Hospital, CRY, Save the Children and ALMA.
Early years and background
Jagjit Singh was born in
Sri Ganganagar,
Rajasthan to Amar Singh Dhiman, a government employee, a native of Dalla village in
Punjab (India) and his mother, Bachan Kaur from Ottallan village,
Samrala. He had four sisters and two brothers and he is 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.
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 the Sainia Gharana school.
Career
Early career
The Vice-Chancellor of
Punjab University and
Kurukshetra University, Late
Professor Suraj Bhan encouraged his interest in music. He arrived in
Mumbai in 1965 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 or performing at weddings and parties.
First Entry Into Movies
Jagjit Singh was first offered to sing in a Gujarati Film.
"Dharati Na Chhoru" produced by Mr. Suresh Amin, famously known by Jagjit Singh as "Jholi Vaaley Baba" : known so, because he carried a Red Shoulder Bag wherever he went. Mr Suresh Amin was from Baroda-Gujarat and was associated with Scad Consultants Pvt Ltd. When, Mr Suresh Amin died in 1998 and Scad Consultants, Baroda, Organized a Live Concert by Jagjit singh in December 1998 - Jagjit Singh [Famously Called by friends as Maharaj] paid a special Tribute to Mr Suresh Amin and dedicated the Scad Consultants Concert to Mr Suresh Amin by Singing the song " Chitthi Na Koi Sandesh ", the perfect song to match his unawareness of Suresh Amin's Death.
Rise to 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, he 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 (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 Time'' released in the opening years of 1990s was an experimentation with sounds and conveyed a feeling that was beyond space and time.
Around this time the duo was struck by grief, when their only son, Vivek (21), met an untimely death in a road accident on 28 July 1990. Their subsequent album 'Someone Somewhere' was the last album with ghazals sung by both. The album is a tour of the soul, ethereal, conscientious and introspective. These ghazals have a moving quality to them since they embody a feeling of deep personal loss. After that Chitra Singh quit singing.
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"), 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 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. His enchanting ghazals use the choicest 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 like Zaka Siddiqi, 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). 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. The exclusive 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'', ''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). The switchover may not be deliberate but marks a milestone in his singing. These new albums show a far better selection of lyrics and his 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.
Influence
Jagjit Singh is accredited with bringing the ghazal genre, which was previously restricted to the elite classes, to the masses. His music direction can be seen to be pioneering in changing the sound layout by adding more Western instruments while mostly retaining the traditional orchestra (which includes a tablaa, dholak, bongos, sitar, sarod, santoor, flute, and harmonium, and a couple of string instruments]. Jagjit Singh is also nicknamed Ghazaljeet Singh.
Jagjit Singh is accredited with finding a famous singer of modern times Kumar sanu. Sanu himself confessed that Jagjit singh offered him the first chance to sing.
Jagjit Singh voiced his opinion against artists from Pakistan being allowed to sing in India, when Pakistan refuses to reciprocate the gesture.
In addition to cultivating his own successful career, Jagjit Singh has been involved in guiding many new, talented singers such as Abhijeet, Talat Aziz, Ghanshyam Vaswani, Ashok Khosla, Siza Roy, Vikram Singh, 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). He assisted Peta India in asking the Minister of Railways to enforce speed restrictions to prevent further elephant deaths from collisions with speeding trains.
Personal life
Jagjit Singh married the popular singer
Chitra Singh in 1969. They live in Vivek Singh Lane (a road dedicated to their son) on
Breach Candy in Mumbai. Their only son, Vivek, died in a road accident in the early 1990s.
In January 1998, Jagjit Singh had his heart attack, which led him to quit smoking. In October 2007, he was hospitalized following blood circulation problems.
Music career
Ghazals
There are many successful ghazals composed by Jagjit Singh. Some of them are listed below:-
Yaarian Rab Kar Ke (Sang for Shiv K. Batalvi)
Umr Jalwon mein basar ho
Der lagi aane mein tumko
Apni aankho ke samundar mein utar jaane de
Koi paas aayaa sawere-sawere
Apne hothon par sajaana chaahta hoon
Meri zindagi kisi aur ki, mere naam ka koi aur hai
Apne haathon kee lakeeron mein
Sadma to hai mujhe bhi ke tujhse juda hoon main
Aadmi aadmi ko kya degaa
Haath chhooten bhi to
Garaj baras pyaasi dharthi par phir paani de maula
Apni marzi se kahan apne safar ke hum hain
Ik barahman ne kaha hai
Main na hindu na musalmaan mujhe jeene do
Kaise kaise haadse sehte rahe
Wo jo hum mein tumme qaraar tha
Patta-patta boota-boota haal hamaara jaane hai
Chak jigar ke see lete hain
Main bhool jaaoon tumhe, ab yahi munaasib hai
Jaate jaate wo mujhe achchhi nishaani de gaya
Shaam se aankh mein namin si hai
Tere baare mein jab socha nahin thaa
Tere aane ki jab khabar mehke
Tamanna fir machal jaaye agar tum milne aa jaao
Ab main ration ki kataron mein nazar aata hoon
Tujhse milne ki saza denge tere shehar ke log
Patthar ke khuda, patthar ke sanam
Huzoor aapka bhi ahtraam karta chaloon
Din aa gaye sabaab ke aanchal sambhaaliye
Gulshan ki faqat phoolon se nahin kaaton se bhi zeenat hoti hai
Baat saaqi ki na taali jaayegi
Roshan jamal-e-yaar se hai anjuman tamaam
Tera chehra kitna suhaana lagta hai
Tum nahin, gham nahin sharaab nahin
Sarakti jaaye hain rukh se naqaab aahistaa-aahista
Ae khuda ret ke sehra ko samandar kar de
Yeh daulat bhi le lo, yeh shohrat bhi le lo
Hoshwalo ko khabar
Honthon se chhoo lo tum
Koi yeh kaise bataye
Tere khat
Bahut khoobsurat hai
Kiska Chehera
Kal chodvi ki raat thi
Baat niklegi to
Der laagi ane mein tumko
Main nashe mein hoon
Pyar mujhse jo kiya tumne
Tera chehera hai aaeene jaisa
Chitthi na koi sandesh
Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho
Jab se kareeb ho kay chale zindagi se hum
Koi fariyaad
Kahin duur jab din
Kehta hai baabul
Jhuki jhuki si nazar
Tumko dekha to yeh khayal
Sehma sehma
Yaad kiya dil ne kaha ho tum
Aap ko dekh kar
Jab saamne tum
Hazaron khwaishe aisi
Ya to mit jaaeeye ya mita deejiye
Tere aane ki jab khabar mehke
woh khat ke purje jala raha tha
tum ye kaise khafa ho gaye
hum to hai perdes mein desh mein
Jeevan Maran Chhe Ek (in Gujarati)
Woh kaaghaz ki kashti
Badi Najuk he ye manzil mohabbat ka safar he
Awards
In 2003, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian honours, by the Government of India
In 2006, he was presented the Teacher's Achievement Awards
Discography
Song for films
Film Name !! Year !! Details
|
Dear Friend Hitler
| 2011
|
"''Har or tabahi ka manzar''"
|
Pyar Kare Dis : Feel The Power of Love |
2007 |
|
Umar |
2006 |
Kasak |
2005 |
Dhoop'' |
2003 |
Joggers' Park |
2003 |
Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahin Dekha Hai |
2003 |
Leela |
2002 |
Vadh |
2002 |
Deham |
2001 |
Tum Bin |
2001 |
Tarkieb |
2000 |
Shaheed Udham Singh |
2000 |
Bhopal Express |
1999 |
Sarfarosh |
1999 |
Dushman |
1998 |
Khudai |
1994 |
Mammo |
1994 |
Khal Nayak |
1993 |
Nargis |
1992 |
Billoo Badshah |
1989 |
Aakhri Kahani |
1989 |
Doosra Kanoon |
1989 |
Kaanoon Ki Awaaz |
1989 |
Mirza Ghalib |
1988 |
Rahi |
1987 |
Aashiana |
1986 |
Long Da Lishkara |
1986 |
Phir Aayee Barsat |
1985 |
Ravan |
1984 |
Bahuroopi |
1966 |
Bhavna |
1984 |
Kalka |
1983 |
Tum Laut Aao |
1983 |
Zulf Ke Saye Saye |
1983 |
Arth (film) | Arth |
1982 |
Saath Saath |
1982 |
Sitam |
1982 |
Prem Geet |
1981 |
Ek Baar Kaho |
1980 |
Griha Pravesh |
1979 |
Avishkaar |
1973 |
Heena |
1999 |
Neem Ka Ped |
1994 |
Hello Zindagi |
19** |
Ghazal albums
The Unforgettables (1976)
Birha Da Sultan(Shiv Kumar Batalvi) Jagjit & Chitra (1978
Live in Pakistan (1979)
A Milestone (1980)
Main aur Meri Tanhaayee (1981)
The Latest (1982)
Ae mere Dil (1983)
Live at Royal Albert Hall ª(1983)
Ecstasies (1984)
A Sound Affair (1985)
Echoes (1985–86)
Beyond Time (1987)
Mirza Ghalib (Two Volumes) (1988), TV Serial Directed by Gulzar
Passion / Black Magic (1988)
Ghazals from Films (1989)
Emotions
Man Jite Jagjit (1990)
Memorable Ghazals of Jagjit and Chitra (1990)
Someone Somewhere (1990)
H O P E (1991)
Sajda (Two Volumes with Lata Ji) (1991)
Kahkashan (Two Volumes) (1991–92), TV Serial Directed by Jalal Agaa
Visions (Two Volumes) (1992)
In Search (1992)
Rare Gems (1992)
Face to face (1993)
Your Choice (1993)
Chiraag (1993)
Desires (1994)
Insight (1994)
Cry for Cry (1995)
Mirage
Unique (1996)
Come Alive in a Concert (1998 (CD))
Live at the Wembley
Love is Blind (1998)
Silsilay (1998) (Lyrics by Javed Akhtar)
Marasim (1999) (Lyrics by Gulzar)
jaam utha(1999)
Saher (2000)
Samvedna 2002 (Atal Behari Vajpayee's poetry))
Soz (2002) (Lyrics by Javed Akhtar)
Forget Me Not (2002)
Muntazir (2004)
Jeevan Kya Hai (2005)
Tum To Nahin Ho (Lyrics by Bashir Badr) (2005)
Life Story (2006)
Best of Jagjit & Chitra Singh (includes Mere Darwaaze Se Ab Chand Ko Ruksat Kar do by Ali Sardar Jaffrey)
Koi Baat Chale (Lyrics by Gulzar)
Jazbaat(2008)
Inteha (2009)(Promoted on Banoo Main Teri Dulhann)
Aeena (2009)
Vakratunda Mahakaya (2009)
His Nepali Ghazal 'Kun Maya Sadar Bho, Mero maya badar bho...' [which love has been granted, my love has been disproved]is a big hit... some other songs in the same album is romantic song which is 'not his type'sung with Sadhana Sargam. though his nepali pronunciation in romantic songs are not perfect still worth listening.
Vakratunda Mahakaya
The album Vakratunda Mahakaya was released on December 4, 2009 and was published by Times Music, a subsidiary of
The Times Group. The album contained 3 tracks, each about 30min in length.
Tracks
Vakratunda Mahakaya
Om Gam Ganapatayenamah
Jai Ganesh Deva - Aarti
All three tracks are composed of multiple layers of Jagjit's voice with a subtle Tabla rhythm in the background to produce a powerful, transcendental tone to the music.
Trivia
The album 'Beyond Time' is the first digitally recorded album of India.It was recorded in the studio 'Western outdoor' by sound recordists duo 'Daman Sood and Avinash Oak.
References
External links
Jagjit Singh's Official website
IMDB entry
Twitter
Article on the Genius of Jagjit Singh in Asian Lite Magazine by Sreeram Chaulia
Review of Jagjit Singh's Biography, ''Beyond Time'', in Asia Times by Sreeram Chaulia
Jagjit Singh Lyrics and Translations
Bazm-E-Jagjit
Jagjit Singh Albums and Lyrics
Ghazal singer Jagjit Singh in Dulhann
Dollar Mehta does a PhD on Jagjit-Singh
Category:1941 births
Category:Living people
Category:Indian composers
Category:Indian ghazal singers
Category:Indian Sikhs
Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan
Category:People from Sri Ganganagar district
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hi:जगजीत सिंह
kn:ಜಗಜಿತ್ ಸಿಂಗ್
pa:ਜਗਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ
ps:جګجيت سنګهـ
pt:Jagjit Singh
te:జగ్జీత్ సింగ్
ur:جگجیت سنگھ