Ghazal king Jagjit Singh passes away

Ghazal king Jagjit Singh passed away at Lilavati Hospital at 8 am today. The 70-year-old was not just a soulful singer and composer but also an activist and an entrepreneur.

Gazal maestro Singh, who underwent a brain hemorrhage surgery on 18 September, was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit at Lilavati. He was in coma since 23 September.

Born on 8 February 1941, Singh has left a mark in the history of music by singing in several languages including Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Nepali.

Singh was introduced into music as a child by his father. But after he joined All India Radio, he became a household name.

His voice ruled during early 80’s in films like Prem Geet, Saath Saath and Arth. However, his major work is spread over more than 60 filmy and non-filmy albums.

Singh was the first Indian music director to use the technique of multi-track recording for his album ‘Beyond Time’.

Singh,  had a history of heart ailments. In January 1998, he suffered a heart attack, which led him to quit smoking. In October 2007, he was hospitalised following blood circulation problems.

But Singh continued to charm his audiences with his charismatic voice. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2003.

Listen to a 24 hour music station that runs only Jagjit Singh’s songs/ghazals.

Singh gained acclaim together with his wife, singer Chitra Singh. The couple was considered to be pioneers of modern Ghazal singing and regarded as most successful recording artistes outside the realm of Indian film music.

Chitra stopped giving public performances after their only son, Vivek, died in a road accident in the early 1990s. However, Jagjit Singh continued to be a prolific singer.