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Jagjit & Chitra Singh

This set of pages explores the work of Jagjit and Chitra Singh, probably the best known ghazal singers alive today. There is a page for each individual release of Jagjit or Chitra's work that I would find. As such, it includes original albums, live recordings and compilations of various ghazals from earlier releases. I've commented on various ghazals and wherever possible, links to lyrics from the ITRANS songbook have been included.

NOTE: I'm transcribing as many ghazals as I can myself and putting them in ITRANS format, I'm also writing up short reviews for ghazals as I go along. In other words, these pages are in the works, but contain enough information to be useful right now. If anyone has reviews to contribute that would be great, I can put them up here. If you're looking for a tour schedule or current information on Jagjit & Chitra Singh, visit the official site jagjitchitrasingh.com. Please note that there are no audio clips here since I don't have permission to broadcast or distribute that material. If you're interested in listening to Jagjit and Chitra, head down to your neighbourhood store and buy a couple of albums, and try not to get bootlegged copies please.

I've always thought of Jagjit and Chitra as not only remarkable singers, but also excellent editors who select from among the best iterature to present the finest songs and ghazals. I don't entirely like the work Jagjit has been putting out recently though, especially the "socially relevant" songs in Cry for Cry and Mirage (which I thought was a disaster). I can understand what drives Jagjit to work with such material but I don't think it can stand on its own feet when compared to the richness of the older ghazals.

Sometimes people say Chitra Singh's voice and technique are not as refined as Jagjit's and that her work is not as compelling as his is. At times I agree with that view. I certainly think Jagjit is a better ghazal singer than Chitra. To truly judge their work however, one must listen very carefully to the Punjabi songs they have recorded. For instance, I think Chitra's Lori from the Punjabi movie Diva Bale Saree Raat is perfect. The range of emotion she puts on display in Lori is unmatched by anything I can find, even in Jagjit's own work. Lori never fails to move me, and if for nothing else, Chitra is Jagjit's equal.

Ghazal Maestro Jagjit Singh

Jagjit Singh (Punjabi: ਜਗਜੀਤ ਸਿੰਘ, Hindi: जगजीत सिंह) (February 8, 1941 - October 10, 2011 ) was a prominent Indian Ghazal singer, composer, music director, activist and entrepreneur. Popularly known as "The Ghazal King" he gained acclaim together with his wife, another renowned Indian Ghazal singer Chitra Singh, in the 1970s and 1980s, as the first ever successful duo act (husband-wife) in the history of recorded Indian music. Together, they are considered to be the pioneers of modern Ghazal singing and regarded as most successful recording artistes outside the realm of Indian film music. He has sung in Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Sindhi and Nepali languages. He was awarded India's third highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan, in 2003.

Widely credited for the revival and popularity of Ghazal , an Indian classical art form, by simplifying the complex form of Ghazals in to a more simpler form of Ghazals by amalgamating Ghazal and Geet. His music became popular in mass media through films such as Prem Geet (1981), Arth and Saath Saath (1982), and TV serials Mirza Ghalib (1988) and Kahkashan (1991). Jagjit Singh is considered to be the most popular ghazal singer and composer of all time, in terms of commercial success. With a career spanning over five decades and a repertoire comprising 80 albums the range and breadth of his work has been regarded as genre-defining. He is the only composer and singer to have composed and recorded songs written by Prime Minister - Atal Behari Vajpayee, also a critically acclaimed poet - in two albums, Nayi Disha (1999) and Samvedna (2002). India's current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur are known to be his avid admirers.

On May 10, 2007, in a milestone joint session held in the historic Central Hall of India's Parliament (Sansad Bhawan), Jagjit Singh rendered the last Moghul Emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar's famous ghazal "Lagta nahin hai dil mera" to commemorate the 150th anniversary of India's First War of Independence (1857). President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Vice-President Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and dignitaries including former Prime Ministers, Members of Parliament, Foreign Ambassadors and High Commissioners were in attendance.

Jagjit Singh was the first Indian composer, and together with his wife Chitra Singh the first recording artist in the history of Indian music to use digital multi-track recording for their (India's first digitally recorded) album, Beyond Time (1987). He is regarded as one of India's most influential artistes. Together with sitar legend Ravi Shankar and other leading figures of Indian classical music and literature, Singh had voiced his concerns over politicisation of arts and culture in India and lack of support experienced by the practitioners of India's traditional art forms, particularly folk artists and musicians. He had lent active support to several philanthropic endeavors such as the library at St. Mary's School, Mumbai, Bombay Hospital, CRY, Save the Children and ALMA.