Delving into Singh’s personal triumphs and tragedies, Sathya Saran presents a man loved by many, revered by some and unsurpassed as yet in his chosen field.
Baat Niklegi Toh Phir — The Life and Music of Jagjit Singh
Sathya Saran
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 225; Price: Rs. 699
Sathya Saran was the editor who ensured ‘Femina’ became the last word in Fashion and Lifestyle. She is an accomplished film biographer with her volumes on Guru Dutt and S.D.Burman (reviewed by us).
The book under review is the saga of a “King of Ghazal”, Jagjit Singh, who was loved by many, revered by some and has not been surpassed by any one in his chosen area. Jagjit re-invented the ghazal at a time it was groaning under the onslaught of giants of the Hindi film music like Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Lata. He introduced novel expressions, unexpected twists and a variety of instruments leading to a new avatar of the traditional ghazal.
Jagmohan was the third of eleven children. His father Amin Chand was by birth a Hindu but adopted consciously the tenets of Sikhism. He became a Namdhari Sikh and changed his name to Amar Singh. His guru advised him to change Jagmohan’s name to Jagjit. The guru declared, “He will win the world over.” His father discovered Jagjit Singh’s passion for music and encouraged him. His first guru was Pandit Chhaganlal Sharma, a blind singer. Ustad Jamal Khan, a descendant of Tansen, taught the boy thumri and khayal.
The alphabets of Jagjit’s music were the songs of Mohammed Rafi and the Gurbani. His first successful rendering of a song in public was “Ki Tera Aithaar O Rahiyaa” in Raga Bhairavi followed by the Rafi classic from Baiju Bawra. In fact Rafi was his idol and he chose Rafi songs that tore at the heartstrings.
Jagjit drank deep the songs of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Amir Khan and Talat Mahmood. For getting a foothold and to get a picture of himself he decided to cut his hair, beard and cast away his turban. Thus was born the Jagjit Singh we know.
The “Unforgettables” released in 1976 catapulted Jagjit to an unprecedented level of popularity. Sharing the limelight with him was Chitra Singh, his one-time student and wife. She acquired fame for her jingles and she was called “Jingle Queen”. She was the first wife of Deboo Dutta and they had a daughter Monica. Dutta made her go through the agony of a divorce and the wife and daughter stayed separately. Jagjit was their protector. Jagjit married Chitra in 1970.
Chitra and Jagjit started singing as a couple. Jagjit started recording E P which became highly successful. A son was born to them in 1971 and was named Vivek and called Baboo. HMV approached Jagjit to record a full album. A revolution began with the release of “The Unforgetables”. The Singhs never looked back.
Jagjit made the ghazal sound cool with western instruments and stereophonic recording. The “Singh-ing” duo were invited to the most prestigious performance venues—Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, etc. Their music transcended the barriers of language. Jagjit has to his credit a staggering eight albums. Highly successful albums were, “Live at Wembley” and “Come Alive”.
Jagjit’s three songs in the film “Arth” of Mahesh Bhatt are attributed by Shabana Azmi as partly the cause of her success. Jagjit did great work in giving music for Gulzar’s serial “Mirza Ghalib” with Naseeruddin as the poet.
The world crashed for Jagjit and Chitra when their son’s car crashed into a ladder as he was driving on a night. Baboo was at the wheel and died soon after being admitted in a hospital. He was only 18 years old. Chitra stopped singing. It took six months for Jagjit to become normal. The duo released a new album, “Someone Somewhere” in memory of Baboo.
Jagjit Singh’s persona changed with this great tragedy. He drifted into new realms and his songs became more introspective and more spiritual. His songs took on serious spiritual overtones and his lyrics expressed human life in a contemplative context.
More tragedy piled up. Monica their daughter committed suicide at the age of 46 due to marital disharmony. This is a very passionately written book about a singer who had more sorrow than justified. The volume gives the texts of important ghazals and is veritable album of photographs of the Jagjit Singh family.
