6.00 pm Cultural Program - India-Link.org

Jagjit Singh
The legend lives on...
By Ashok Kumar
50 INDIA LINK, 2011
On October 10 th 2011, a shining star disappeared in the oblivion! It left millions
of music lovers in India, Pakistan, and across the globe in tears and melancholia.
Only way to deaden the infinite pain, it would seem, is to submerge oneself in the
vast legacy he left behind. The maestro left a world of ghazals and songs behind
for the music lovers to savor and create an aura of calming and soothing emotions.
In the words of Javed Akhtar, he had “chaen” (stable calmness) in his creations.
Beyond a vast treasure trove of ghazals, Jagjit’s
major contribution was to bring the ghazals within
the reach of a common man. Prior to jagjit, ghazals
were set in hard, literary Urdu or Arabic language
and sung with considerable classical artistry. Only
the musically gifted could sing ghazals. Jagjit Singh
used simple tunes and simple words (many times in
Hindi dialect, not even in Urdu) for his ghazals that
everyone could understand and hum. But, lurking
behind the simplicity of words were thoughts and
emotions so deep and penetrating that seared and
etched directly into the heart and descended into the
soul. The dearth of classical wizardry or adroitness
in his tunes did not take away an iota of profound
musical value and impact that traditional ghazals
generated.
Tum ko dekha to ye khayal aaya, Zindagi dhop
tum ghanaa saayaa ( I saw you and this thought came:
My life was [in the hot] sun and you were the thick
shadow). Or, Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho, Kya ghum
hai jisko chhupa rahe ho – You are smiling so much;
what hurt are you hiding? These two ghazals, which
were on the lips of millions of Indians and Pakistanis,
embrace and reflect the entirety of Jagjit singh’s
ghazals’ character and philosophy. They are simple
to understand, easy to sing, and yet incredibly
profound and deep in their impact. Keeping with the same promise of simplicity
and elegance, then came numbers such as Hoton se chhoo lo tum, mera geet amar
kar do (Touch my song with your lips and immortalize it), or Ye daulat bhi lelo, Ye
shohrat bhi lelo (take all my wealth, all my frame) that pain-immersed rendering
echoed the yearning of many of us who recall our childhood days with nostalgia. I
do not think there is another piece of art or music that expresses these emotions
more expressively or eloquently. The list of memorable melodies like yeh zindagi
kisi aur ki, mere naam ka koi aur hai, Patta-patta boota-boota , Hazaar baar
ruke ham, Kal chaudhavin ki raat thi, … the list of musical pearls is endless.
Importantly, these hits which played on the lips of millions were made when the