The Ghazal Maestro!

When I switched on the radio this morning I just felt nice because I heard some of my favourite numbers and then I soon realised they had a common thread, that of being sung by Jagjit Singh. Then there was this sadness that crept up with a sudden realisation that dawned on me! They usually play such clusters either when its someone's birthday or when someone dies and the probability of the latter was higher since he was in the I.C.U. And then I finally heard one of the Radio Jockeys announce that this great singer with such an enchanting voice had indeed passed away. It felt sad , like a void and a vaccum and the corresponding thought was that we may no longer have songs that will reflect our deepest sorrow, pain or hurt, in relationships and in life! That feeling of 'wow someone understands our intense emotions and actually puts them into words and renders them as beautiful songs that touch the deepest core of our heart and soul" suddenly felt alien enough like it was some distant dream! Sure the songs are usually penned by profound writers but to lend a voice to those words that render them so soulful, is no small task!

Jagjit Singh has this deeply profound and haunting ( in a good way!) kind of voice which can tug at your heart strings and linger on and on much after the song is over. The pain in the voice is that of a person who sings from his heart and has seen life with all its peaks and valleys. I do know of his personal tragedies where he lost his daughter and then his son early on in life ! The classic "chithi na koi sandes" was written after his son's death, in his memory apparently. So the real pain always reflected in his singing as well. It was like this man felt and lived every emotion and feeling that the words in his songs evoked. He knew what it felt like when he rendered compositions like " apni marzi se kahan apne safar ke hum hain", or like " tum itna jo muskura rahe ho , kya gham hai jisko chhupa rahe ho!" These are my all time favourites . You almost felt like someone just peeked into your life and got out stuff that was burried under the many layers in your soul , like way down there where no one could go ! And that feeling was as daunting as it was reassuring!

I remember as a child we had this music album on an LP which had songs by him and his wife. I had two favourites then and those were the first ones I had heard. Till then I did not really know who this man was. One was " saare pindich puare aaye" , it was a punjabi song , so sweet on your ears that u really did not care that u coud not understand most of the words. And the other one being " woh kagaz ki kashti , woh baarish ka paani'. I was a kid then, so the profanity of the words eluded me, but I enjoyed listening to it nonetheless because it had words like nani etc and kids could relate to what was being described in the song in a childlike manner, though not in the way it was meant to be or in the way you would relate to it as an adult! After that introduction to this genius called JS , there was no looking back! 'Honthon se chhoo lo tum' and 'tumko dekha to yeh khayal aaya' are so soothing apart from being lyrical masterpieces and couple of my most favourite lines in the latter are " hum jisse gunguna nahi sakte , waqt ne aisa geet kyun gaya..... aaj phir dil ne ek tamanna ki , aaj fir dil ko humne samjhaya"..... so so beautiful and his rendition of the same have just made these ghazals evergreen classics. These songs literally give me goose bumps, especially when I listen to them in some specific phases of my life, when they suddenly become so meaningful and true!

There is something about his songs that anyone or atleast most people I know love. Everyone has atleast one favourite JS song if not more! And given our own life stories, we identify with the ones that resonate most with what we have individually gone through. For me that one or rather two are which I have already mentioned above! 'Apni marzi se' and 'Tum itna jo muskura rahi ho'! There is a phrase in hindi which does complete justice to his voice and describes it perfectly. It says "unki awaz mein itna dard hai ke seedha dil ko chhoo jaati hai". Literally translated into english will make it lose its essence, so I shall let that pass!'Hoshwalon ko khabar kya' is also a lovely song but my own bias against Sonali Bendre just dilutes its whole effect for me! I wish it was sung in honour of some true diva!

Its sad that he cud not do his last concert with another legend, Ghulam Ali! That would be so memorable, yet it came as such a disappointment for the fans who made sure they booked well in advance so they dont miss this beautiful opportunity. And what a stroke of fate that he took ill the same day or just the night before! Life can be so strange and unpredictable at times. But the bright part is that even after he has gone he will continue to live forever in our hearts through his soulful melodies. There never was and there never will be another like him! May his soul rest in peace and may his songs live on for generations to come.