The ghazal (Arabic/Pashto/Persian/Urdu: غزل; Hindi: ग़ज़ल, Turkish: gazel, Bengali: গ়জ়ল, Gujarati: ગ઼ઝલ) is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. In its style and content it is a genre which has proved capable of an extraordinary variety of expression around its central themes of love and separation. Ghazal "Gayaki", the art of singing or performing the ghazal in Indian classical tradition, is very old. Singers like Ustad Barkat Ali and many other singers in the past used to practice it, but due to the lack of historical records, many names are anonymous. It was with Begum Akhtar, and later on Ustad Mehdi Hassan, that classical rendering of ghazals became popular amongst the masses. The categorization of ghazal singing as a form of "light classical" music is a misconception. Classical ghazals are difficult to render because of the varying moods of the "shers" or couplets in the ghazal. Understanding the complex lyrics of ghazals required education typically available only to the upper classes. The traditional classical rāgas in which the lyrics were rendered were also difficult to understand, until…..
Year 1976, when music albums were not launched by customary noisy promos, a couple of models shown in a video or elaborate hoopla of celebrity gathering, an album of ghazals by the name of The Unforgettables quietly sailed into the LP racks of music shops. It was the time when we had very few true ghazal singers, let alone the popular ones. Most of the ghazal enthusiasts were the fans of Mehdi Hasan or Ghulam Ali (both from Pakistan).There were 10 ghazals in the album, sung by a couple called Jagjit and Chitra Singh. Each of those songs was marked by a rare freshness and lilt, his voice deep and golden, hers clear and sharp.
One of the ghazals by Amir Meenai went on to become something of an anthem: Sarakti jaye hai rukh se naqab. So popular was the ghazal that listeners and live audiences would join Singh in the refrain "ahista, ahista" with great gusto. “I bought the album just to listen to this ghazal over and over again” says Lata Mangeshkar. Till then, Indian ghazal lovers had only two options - the filmi stuff which could be very good or mediocre and the unalloyed classical singing of the kind Begum Akhtar took to great heights. The album came as a rare and refreshing experience because the compositions were catchy and contemporary, the singing was flawless and the ghazals themselves eminently hummable. It wasn't the classicist's cup of tea but it clicked.
In my opinion, Jagjit Singh's biggest contribution to ghazals was that it drew the masses to the style, masses that till then only patronized filmi ghazals. Aficionados & connoisseurs preferred the heavy stuff. But Jagjit Singh selected the poetry that was not so laden with Farsi. And he sang them like a movie songs. ". That, perhaps, was the secret of Jagjit Singh's huge popularity - his music was totally accessible. This is not to say that it was lightweight or shallow but it could engage and befriend the listener. You had to be a curmudgeon not to enjoy Meri zindagi kisi aur ki, Thukrao ab ke pyaar karo, or Badi haseen raat thi. "He was a pioneer because he broadened the base for ghazal, took it to lay music lovers. He did this by bringing in western instruments like the guitar into ghazals, introducing instrumental interludes, experimenting with non-traditional rhythm patterns and simplifying the tunes to make them very melodic," says singer Talat Aziz, who was mentored by Singh back in the late 1970s (he composed Aziz's first album).
Impressed by the huge fan following Mehdi Hassan and Ghulam Ali found in India, HMV had launched Singh as a potential Indian ghazal icon (Ironically, Ghulam Ali was the last artist to sing with Jagjit Singh before his death). Till then the singer had only managed a 33/13 RPM EP. It was a big gamble for the record company but it paid off. The singer's golden voice drew fans in droves. His success also paved the way for younger ghazal singers like Pankaj Udhas, Anup Jalota, Peenaz Masani and Chandan Das.
Singh's bhajans and Punjabi songs, both folk and poetic (he set rebel poet Shiv Batalvi to music) had an immense following too. Snagging a pass for any of his public concerts was considered a tough feat. Also, there was not much singing in his albums about the use of alcohol or praise of alcohol, unlike his contemporaries
Jagjit Singh's work for Bollywood particularly for Aavishkar, Arth, Saath Saath and Prem Geet- was remarkably grave and unfilmi. He composed the music for the last three films and produced unforgettable gems like Hothon se chhoo lo tum (Prem Geet) and Tum ko dekha to yeh khayal aaya (Saath Saath). Mahesh Bhatt's Arth was defined as much by its superlative music as its theme, and Koi yeh kaise bataye, Jhuki jhuki si nazar and Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho rank among some of the best songs of the '80s. His score for Gulzar's TV serial Mirza Ghalib stands on its own as an album. He also collaborated with Lata Mangeshkar (Sajda).
Through a life marked by devastating tragedies-he lost his son 19-yearold Vivek in an accident and his stepdaughter Monica committed suicide two years ago-the one thing that stayed with him was his music, and his popularity as a live performer never flagged. (Chitra had given up singing after their son's death)
I still remember the time when I used to save my pocket money so that I can go and buy a Jagjit Singh album. Now I have MP3s but some of the albums I bought 3-4 times due to the damage my continuous playing brought to the audio tapes. Those were the days when music was “Music”. Now it’s mere cacophony. His death is an immense loss for music lovers everywhere, but specially for people like me who grew on a staple diet of “Yeh tera ghar yeh mera ghar, Gham ka khazana, Woh kagaz ki kashti”.
