Ghazal Maestro Jagjit Singh no more..

Mumbai:After battling for life for over two weeks, ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh passed away early Monday morning.


He was admitted to the Lilavati hospital in Mumbai on September 23 following brain haemorrhage and had undergone dual life saving surgeries. But his health condition deteriorated and he succumbed to his illness at around 8 am this morning.

He was 70 and is survived by his wife Chitra Singh.

Padma Bhushan Jagjit Singh was regarded as one of the greatest singers India has ever produced. He belonged to the Agra Gharana of Indian classical music.

Born in Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, his parents wanted him to be an IAS officer but music was his calling. He left his studies prematurely at the Kurukshetra University and went to Mumbai in 1965 to try his luck as a singer/composer. Jagjit Singh gained acclaim together with his wife in the 1970s and 1980s, as the first ever successful duo act (husband-wife) in the history of recorded Indian music.

He has sung in Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Sindhi and Nepali languages.

Remembering his contribution, noted classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj said, “I have lost a beautiful friend. His contribution was immense. After Begum Akhtar he was the one who revived Ghazals.”

Singer Asha Bhosle said, “If am feeling very sad…Chitra is very lonely now.”
Composer Lalit said, “He was a great human being. Exactly one year back he had celebrated his birthday, he was dancing…he was a man with so much of life.”