Jagjit Singh: Remembering the King of Ghazals and Some of His Not-So-Known Ghazals

October 28, 2021

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Jagjit Singh-album cover — Jagjit Singh (Photo courtesy: Spotify)

By Jaya Pandey

(Editor’s note: Undoubtedly, Jagjit Singh (Feb. 8, 1941-Oct. 10, 2011) popularized ghazals popular in India and brought this art of singing to the masses. His first LP with his wife Chitra Singh was released in 1977 and became an instant hit. It was called “The Unforgettable”, which had his most famous ghazal–Baat Nikalegi–and every ghazal lover knows that ghazal by heart. On his 10th death anniversary, Jaya Pandey pays a tribute to the King of Ghazals and shares some of his not–so-known ghazals.)

सुनते हैं के मिल जाती है हर चीज़ दुआ से, एक रोज़ तुम्हें माँग के देखेंगे ख़ुदा से…

The month of October brings a beautiful fall season for us New Englanders and in general we associate it with crisp cool breeze, apple picking and colored leaves.

For me it adds one more thing to the list. Perfect outdoor weather of fall brings awesome morning walks with headphones on and evenings with a nice cup of chai on my deck and Ghazals in the background. Ghazals are part of my existence all year around but fall season does add it’s own flavor.

For every music lover, there is one singer or musician who speaks to their soul and for me Jagjit Singh has occupied that space forever.

Oct 10th is Jagjit Singh’s death anniversary. It’s been 10 yrs. There are days when I don’t want to believe in my loss and there are days when I feel why it matters to me because his physical presence didn’t matter anyway. But back then, I wish I knew better so I could have enjoyed his “live” concerts more.

I did see him in person a few times. But now I realize that I would have appreciated those even more. More than anything I miss the “access” part. I wonder how it would have been if he was visiting Boston now, I could reach out, meet or see him in close proximity. I have written about his ghazals, music and what he did to our generation in my previous articles.

Today, I want to write about some of his masterpieces. If you have not heard these before and got to know about them today through this article, then that makes it worthwhile for me.

There is no way to fulfill the void he created in my musical world. But to overcome that I did what I could to best and brought people in my life who were lucky to be around him.

Talking to them, listening to their stories and cherishing their memories seemed good enough for me and brought me closer to him in my own way. Through them, I can now listen to some of his amazing live and rare recordings, including some from private collections. So for now, I am just happy to be able to hear them.

Over the years I have come a long way, I love a good music system and appreciate the nuances of clean recordings but when it comes to Jagjit Singh it does not matter. I won’t mind a messed up sound too, as long as his voice is there because that makes it up for me.

I used to listen to all the “studio recordings mostly” but I am loving the “Live recordings” more and more now because they bring another level of vibrancy and connection. They also show the brilliance of his singing. I am not the kind of fan who has a favorite ghazal or song as I don’t even listen to his regular/popular ghazals. But there are some that I always go back to because they are connected to me due to various events/stages of my life. And listening to them always brings back that nostalgia.

So I go back to them often. However, today’s list is different. Please note that I am not listing his usual hits because the idea here is to introduce some new ghazals to your playlist. Hope you enjoy these rare gems.

1.Gin Gin Tare Raat Guzaari

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3jYtur8Dds

2. Mujhse milne ke wo karta tha bahane kitne ( Sung by Chitra Singh in the album)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVPsiubz4UY

3. Bahut Bechain hai dil Jahan ho chale aao

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lrLlJh_-Ig

4. Chandani hai hawa hai

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DbclAyTAycE

5.Ye kis khalish ne phir is dil mein aashiyana kiya

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqk4LsnYpJU