Jagjit Singh

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Jagjit Singh is the name of a soul touching voice . 'Jag' means World and 'Jit' means Winning. Like his name, he has won millions of hearts all over the world. His talent of singing Ghazals in unique style, with his own mix of classical and western music have changed the typical way of singing ghazals. He has given the Ghazal singing a new dimension. Jagjit Singh was born in the City of Ganganagar in Rajasthan, a western state of India on 8 Feb 1941. Being born in a very religious Sikh family; his father inspired him to sing the religious chants in ragas. But as Jagjit grew up he was more drawn towards the modern music and his talents in ragas gave him a chance to master the art of ghazal singing. After receiving a B.A. Degree from D.A.V. College at the City of Jalandhar he came to Mumbai for a playback singing career and then the struggle began. He used to sing at different Marriage parties and functions at that time. During this struggle to survive in such a vast city he meet Chitra Singh; fell in love; and married her. He got his first LP out in 1976 which was a big hit and his first song in this "The Unforgettable" Album was " Baat Niklegi to Phir door talak jayegi ". So we can say "Baat nikli aur abhi tak goonj rahi hai ". From there on he has been singing in Hindi, Punjabi films and had big number of albums released which were liked by almost anybody who understood Hindi or Punjabi. Jagjit Singh went through a painful time when he lost his only son, Vivek to a car accident. In one interview on a Canadian T.V. he mentioned that he could not have survived this pain if there was no music." 'Jag' ne cheena mujhse mujhe jo bhi laga payara....sab 'Jit' gaye mujhse main hardam hi hara", clearly shows the pain Jagjit Singh has encountered in his life. "I'm a trained musician, and know the language, I first choose the ghazal and then set the tune. After that I select the instruments, the sound, which is suitable for that particular poetry. Selection of a raga is also kept in mind, in the studio I sit for mixing the song also and I try to use new sounds , new technology in my ghazals. Why not? The thought in the poetry is the only muse"-Jagjit Singh Ji.