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| Muhabbat
Ki Zuban |
By
Kavita Chhibber |
| Jagjit Singh on the
struggles, his music and what has made his
style of ghazal gayaki so popular through
the generations. |
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Kaun
Kehta Hai Muhabbat ki zuban hoti hai, yeh
haqeeqat to nigahon se bayan hoti hai (Who
says that love has a tongue, its truth is
mirrored in the eyes)
Jagjit Singh sang this very popular ghazal
many years ago with wife and singing partner
Chitra. For a man who is perceived as a
musical legend and a blunt, outspoken enigma,
you need to just look into his eyes to see
the kindness, the simplicity and a childlike
mischief sparkling in them. Follow him around
and you can also observe his thoughtfulness
toward those he loves.
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| He performs random acts of
kindness quietly, has a razor sharp memory
and wit, and an incredible sense of humor.
While he doesn't suffer fools gladly or
mince words when something annoys him, those
who know him well swear by Jagjit Singh's
generosity and purity of heart. Deepak Pandit,
his extremely talented violinist, says,
"No one, not even Lata Mangeshkar looks
after her musicians the way Jagjit uncle
does. He insists our troupe stays with him
in the same five star luxury, he takes care
of our needs before his own. |
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"
When Pandit lost both his parents in a
short span of time, the maestro and his
wife who had lost their only son Vivek,
barely a month short of his 19th birthday,
in a tragic car accident around the same
time, put their sorrows aside to nurture
Pandit instead.
The immensely talented and undisputed
king of ghazals for close to three decades,
Jagjit Singh took the time to complete
an exclusive interview with Little India,
which began in Atlanta, spanned Vancouver,
Edmonton, Cleveland, Florida and finally
concluded in New York. With his inimitable
candor, Jagjit Singh speaks of the struggles,
the tragic death of his son, his music
and what has made his style of ghazal
gayaki so popular through generations.
The late Vilayat Khan Sahib said
his earliest memories of music were falling
asleep during his father's recital and
waking up to see the color yellow around
him. He was then told by his father it
was the color of Raag Basant. What are
the earliest memories you have of music
and your childhood?
I wasn't lucky enough to be born in a
musical family, where music was an intrinsic
part of life and children grew up surrounded
by musicians and music in their blood.
My father was a government servant and
we were posted in villages and small towns.
In small villages in Punjab and Rajasthan,
you slept on the roof during hot summer
months. I was about 5-6 years old and
had listened to a song by Lata Mangeshkar,
which had been very popular and was singing
that song in my sleep. My father heard
me sing and felt I had musical talent
and it should be nurtured.
My parents were the typical hard working
middle class people. We were a large family
of seven surviving siblings though my
mother gave birth to 11, and it was really
a hand to mouth existence. We didn't even
have a transistor in the house and would
listen to songs and news of the Second
World War while going past shops or homes
of other people. I think growing up in
a village makes you retain your innocence
for a longer period of time. You also
have to be extremely careful about how
you present yourself before your elders,
because everyone knows each other and
news spreads if you cross the lines of
etiquette.
I studied in a village school sitting
on the floor and we wrote on slates called
tactic. We would study at nights with
lamps, because there was no electricity.
But religion was a very important part
of the school curriculum. We started with
the morning prayer, then yoga and then
studied the life of many saints, like
Surdas, Kabir and Meerabai, and I think
that heritage stands you in good stead
when you grow up and face life. Character
formation cannot to be pinpointed to one
thing. It depends on so many things, your
upbringing, the values your parents teach
you, the company you keep and your own
life's journey. I think in spite of a
hand to mouth existence, I had a very
rich childhood. These days the world revolves
around computers and calculators; somewhere
the spirit of our heritage is being eroded.
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Did your father feel
comfortable about you pursuing a musical
career?
Not at all. While he appreciated my musical
talent, he had no lofty expectations that
I was going to be a great musical success
He nurtured my musical talent but he always
wanted me to study for the Indian Administrative
Service exams, become a government servant
and pursue music as a hobby and as something
to enhance my life. I started my music training
around the age of 10-11 with the local village
teacher, a blind musician Pandit Chaganlal
Sharma who taught me the basics and then
from Ustad Jamal Khan sahib from whom I
learnt at an advanced stage. |
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My first
public success came when I was in 9th class
and there was a poets' gathering where accomplished
poets used to recite poems based on religious
or national themes. I was invited to sing
as a local artist and sang a geet for which
I composed music. It was a big success and
I was showered with applause and money.
It made me realize that I must pursue music
seriously. I also loved to see films, especially
the ones that had high quality music, and
since my father didn't approve of films,
we couldn't ask for money, so we would either
bribe the ticket collector or take discarded
tickets that matched and stuck them together
to make a whole and then hurriedly push
through during the most crowded times! I
didn't want to waste my time on studies
and sitting for the civil services exams,
but wanted to pursue a musical career in
Bombay at the earliest.
But you did go to college?
Yes and barely scraped through, and I always
joke that these days I have a lot friends
who show up everywhere at my concerts claiming
they went to school with me. The number
is so immense, because I spent two years
in each class. In college day,s I was an
acclaimed singer. During summer months,
we used to enroll with the Punjab police
and win music trophies for them with my
team of musician friends. I also made money
singing at private parties. My friends and
I cheated our way through the exams. We
would sit near each other and pass the answers
around. During one exam the invigilator
came to us and told us to get up. We were
very scared when he escorted us out. But
he just took us to another room and said,
"Do it here in peace, others complain
when you do it there." I just realized
I was wasting my time and decided to just
leave college a month before my final exams
and head for Bombay. I arrived there in
1965.
How did Bombay treat you?
I didn't know too many people, but the few
friends I knew gave me great moral support.
Bombay was very different in those days.
It was not as crowded. Today you get into
a bus or a train and you can only get out
if you are a big burly person, or when the
ocean of people sweeps you out with them
whether you have reached your destination
or not!
I met some really nice people who gave me
a lot of moral support. There was Mr. Berry
who owned a restaurant and introduced me
to a lot of film people. I used to live
in a hostel called Sher-e-Panjab. Each room
had an iron cot in each corner so there
were four people in one room. It had bed
bugs and rats. One morning I woke up to
find the dead skin from my feet had been
nibbled away by the rats. But I could yell
out from the window to the nearby restaurant
and have my morning tea delivered - a novel
form of room service! I finally ended up
being a party singer. I was invited by well
known film personalities like Balraj Sahni,
Raj Kapoor, Rajinder Kumar, the Rawails'
and was a big hit, but most of the songs
went to the clique of four male singers
Manna Dey, Modd Rafi, Mukesh and Talat Mehmood.
I know I could have sung those songs as
well if not better than some of the singers,
but no one wanted to give a newcomer a chance.
I composed jingles in the meantime to earn
a living, but my recording career was slow.
I also did stage shows, sang at mehfils
and parties and survived until the early
1970s.
Then came The Unforgettables album
in 1976 and you have never looked back since
then.
Yes, HMV asked me to do an LP and that itself
meant I had finally made it. The album was
rather a novel experiment even then and
ahead of its time. I had broken away from
traditional ghazal singing, which went on
for a minimum of 30 minutes in classical
style, and with its conception, the album
changed the face of ghazal gayaki. I believe
traditions are made, not born. Anything
that has become obsolete must be discarded
and replaced with some thing new and novel.
I simplified the ghazal, both in rendition
and melody without taking away from its
beauty and depth. I also limited the time
of rendition to six to seven minutes and
used modern instruments, using double bass,
guitar, piano, as well as sarangi and sitar,
and while it sounded like a film song, it
still had the richness and beauty of a ghazal.
The album cover was also very well done.
The Unforgettables was very well received
and to this day remains one of the most
popular albums. I also realized that the
vast majority prefers simpler ghazals and
ones that can be sung on stage.
Beyond Time was an outstanding album.
What many people don't know about you is
that you are the only artist who composes,
arranges and records his own music apart
from singing it. You also did an amazing
job with Mirza Ghalib as well. Gulzar said,
"Mirza Ghalib is Jagjit Beyond Jagjit.
No other composer could have achieved what
he did."
Beyond Time was the first purely digital
CD album to bear the DDD label in India.
It meant it had been recorded, mixed and
mastered digitally. I stayed at a residential
studio in London with my musicians after
a concert tour and recorded it. To this
day it is still used as a reference when
sound engineers balance the sound for a
concert of Indian music.
Mirza Ghalib was a big challenge because
firstly it was a serial that Gulzar was
making and he wanted to show Mirza Ghalib
in a unique light. Ghalib's poetry was simple,
but full of emotion and pain. He lost all
his children to death, and that pain made
him a philosophic poet. I wanted to bring
that out. Also so many top notch singers
had already sung Ghalib -Talat Mehmood,
Lata ji, Begum Akhtar. I composed music
for Mirza Ghalib by immersing myself in
his poetry and becoming Mirza Ghalib. His
poetry provided the canvas and I painted
in the musical and vocal strokes. I also
made sure that the music didn't superimpose
the poetry. Too many times musicians fall
into the trap of showcasing their own virtuosity
and suffocating the lyrics. I didn't want
to do that. Ghalib was a poet and not a
singer, the music had to be kept simple.
I even introduced the rabab to capture the
essence, the fragrance of those times. Gulzar
had to add a scene showing a rabab player
just for that.
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| Sajda with Lata Mageshkar
has turned out to be another feather in
your cap. I heard she was in bad health,
barely did non film albums and was hesitant
to do a ghazal album after so many years.
You had lost your son around the time.
But when Sajda was completed, evidently
Lata Mangeshkar said that there could
not ever be a sequel to it - it's that
perfect.
Sajda was indeed a dream come true and
remains a big favorite. I had hoped to
compose for Lata bai for a long time.
To work with a living legend, the voice
of the century, meant coming up with lyrics
and music that would do justice to her
voice, and that itself was an incredible
challenge. She was having health problems,
but I have always felt that no matter
what you are going through, once you decide
to do something you have to give it your
best, especially when you are making an
album. |
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Once it
is done, there is no turning back, no
scope for improvement, and it is there
forever. We often started our sessions
with jokes to break the ice. She is very
fond of listening to jokes and we both
have a good stock. Initially the album
was meant to be a solo album, but she
herself insisted I sing some duets with
her, and that eventually was greatly appreciated.
Another reason that the album stands out
is because life's painful, emotional experiences
are universal.
It was written in a chat interview
that you said you would never sing with
Asha Bhonsle.
I never said that, but frankly after singing
with Lata bai, what or who else is left
to sing with. Even if the opportunity
arose to make an album with Asha bai,
I would have to think about it. There
is nothing beyond Lata bai.
You have collaborated with Gulzar,
Javed Akhtar and even ex Prime Minister
Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on albums. How was
it working with them?
The unique thing about Gulzar is that
each time we collaborate he comes up with
some thing fresh, something new, unlike
Javed Akhtar, who I consider to be a routine
poet. The poems of Atal Bihari Vajpayee
that I picked to sing in Samvedna were
written decades ago when he was still
inspired by the legacy of our political
forefathers. They were made from a different
mould altogether. He still had that idealism,
that sensitivity, that vulnerability and
appreciation of human emotions and was
really at par with any poet of reckoning.
His soul was untouched by the darker side
of today's politics. I can't say he is
still untouched or unpolluted by the kind
of politics we see today, where you try
to please everyone and end up losing yourself
in that muddle. I would never select any
of his poems if he was to write something
today.
When you are surrounded by corruption,
where can you find that integrity within
you? I have always felt that not just
ghazal but all of music and what we convey
through it should have a meaning, a message
for future generations. The poets of yesteryears
wrote about life, the socio-political
problems, the communal problems, human
emotions, life's experiences. The music
was soulful and to this day those lyrics
and music are revered. Whether we accept
it or not, every musician has a responsibility,
either through his music or his earnings
to make a contribution to society.
What is the reason for the amazing
success of your music? One thing that
does stand out is the fact that its arrival
coincided with the era of "the angry
young man" Amitabh Bachchan, and
for the next two decades all we saw was
violence, cabarets and inane films. Except
for parallel cinema and people like Yash
Chopra not many film directors were going
in for quality music. Even though Silsila
was a Bachchan film, Yashji had the music
composed by Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hariprasad
Chaurasia.
I think I have always felt that my music
must make the listener experience the
colors and nuances of life. I have also
believed that music should be simple and
yet enriched with beauty and depth and
soul. A lot of the music from the late
70s to this day is unfortunately nothing
but noise. There were people like Basu
Bhattacharya, Mahesh Bhatt and Shatrughan
Sinha's company that offered me films
for composing music and I have sung for
Avishkaar, Arth, Saath Saath. Since I
had been branded as a ghazal singer by
then, I ended up getting offers to sing
in art or parallel cinema than commercial
films. As forYash Chopra, he doesn't care
if it's Amitabh Bachchan, he does not
tolerate anything but high quality music
in his films.
How has music changed over the years?
I think the standard of music has definitely
changed. When I started out, every music
director in the film industry was highly
qualified and trained in music. The lyrics
were written by poets of great literary
stature. Today if songs like Ati Kya Khandala
become hits why would any one bother to
create music of substance? Today the media
exposure and hype creates overnight stars
who think they can get away with anything.
The desire to work hard and perfect one's
craft is missing, but what they don't
realize is that after the initial hype
ultimately it's your work that will sustain
you. So these people fade out after one
release. Then there was the era of lipsyncing
that people began to hate after a while,
even on stage shows. My songs have survived
generations also because you can sing
them in the presence of your family, something
I cannot say for all the songs that seem
to be coming out these days.
Today because of technology, synthesizers
and rhythm machines, the happening musicians
of today create computerized music. I
insist on sticking to the harmon-ium and
performing live music, because there is
something very special about the human
touch, even the human mistakes. There
are some musicians who have still maintained
their integrity, but these days most musicians
will set the rhythm in advance, then copy
some latest western hit, make a track
and fit in the words.
Why has ghazal singing remained a
predominantly male domain?
It is so because the ghazals are written
predominantly by male lyricists. In the
olden days there were courtesans who used
to sing ghazals and write them. In fact
there were separate Kothas (the houses
of the courtesans) for women and men had
their own meeting places also called Kothas
where they met and recited poetry. A few
women have now started writing ghazals
but the numbers are still few.
You lost your only son Vivek in a
tragic accident in 1990 when he was about
to turn 19. Chitraji stopped singing and
turned to spiritualism and trained as
a spiritual healer and found solace. You
turned to music. You have both openly
talked about going to spiritual mediums
in India and abroad and found evidence
of life after death. Your son has appeared
in your dreams and talked to you and she
has connected with him through mediums.
There are many skeptics who would disregard
all this, but there are other bereaved
parents who would take inspiration from
your strength. Deepak Pandit says he has
not seen anyone with the inner strength
and will power that you have. You even
performed at a concert soon after your
mother's funeral so the organizers didn't
lose money. Where do you get that strength?
I have seen my share of tragedies in my
life. I think anyone else in my place
would be comatose by now. I lost a brother
in an accident as well, but nothing prepares
you for the loss of a child. I was devastated,
and a broken man. I had finished a concert
close to 2 a.m. and had come home when
I got the news.
I remember rushing to the hospital wearing
my pajamas inside out. I couldn't sing
for several weeks and even when I finally
did get back to music and my first tour
in 1991, I would cry at concerts. The
lyrics I choose for my music, always showcase
life's experiences and as I would sing
some couplet it would hit close to home
and I would break down.
Yes, we went to all kinds of mediums both
in India and abroad. These are not people
who do this for commercial purposes, but
have to be sought out through the right
sources. Yes my son has appeared in my
dream many times; he still appears in
them and still talks to me. Some may call
it auto suggestion, but I finally came
to the realization that while we sought
relief by going to mediums, it was the
wrong approach in the long run.
People who lose loved ones must remember
that there is nothing permanent in life
other than death. We all have to die some
day, and we cannot cling to those who
have passed away and forget about living.
The pain never goes away, but you have
to learn to live with it. I have sung
about that in my first CD of gurbani,
Man Jeete Jagjit, which came out after
his death. I think my pain has given my
music better focus and richness. It has
increased my creativity and concentration.
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| You married a very
beautiful woman, who also became your
singing partner. You gave her 9 ? marks
out of 10 in beauty when asked by Farukh
Shaikh on the show Jeena Isi Ka Naam Hai
and Chitraji asked now ask him where did
he cut that half mark? Jokes apart, Chitraji
said it took her 30 years to understand
you and yet she cannot imagine her life
without you. She looks up to you as her
friend, philosopher and guru, because
she was an untrained singer and has learnt
so much from you. How easy is it for a
husband and wife to be in the same field?
Well firstly every guy must keep at least
half a mark to keep your madam in your
hand! I'm glad that finally she has understood
me after 30 years! Sometimes people don't
get it even after sharing a life time.
I think people are too quick to give up
on their partners. |
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When you accept someone and make the
commitment to be with them then you must
accept that person in totality with all
their good points and flaws. Neither of
us is perfect, but I think she is immensely
talented and I like her in totality as
a person.
It is easier for a couple to perform together
when the husband is the teacher and the
wife is the disciple. The trouble begins
when it's the other way around, because
our society has been male dominated and
the male ego comes in the way if the wife
is more talented or more learned.
So you have the soul of a poet, and
you sing romantic ghazals. What is your
idea of romance and what is the most romantic
thing you have ever done for Chitraji?
Well I'm a small town boy. In our times,
romance was just a perception of a glance!
I know because I once romanced a girl.
I used to take my bicycle in front of
her house, and would sometimes pretend
the bicycle chain was broken or that the
air had leaked out. I would then pretend
to fix the broken bike in front of her
house just hoping to get that one glance
from her. I miss the beauty of that kind
of romance. It's too in your face these
days!
The most romantic thing for Chitraji I
have done is to compose some wonderful
music for her to sing.
Is she planning a come back? I believe
after almost 13 years she is back to practicing.
Well it's off and on. It is very difficult
to get back to the same level after such
a long gap. The vocal chords become weak,
and age is a big factor. I have told her
to take it easy and leave things as they
were. People remember her voice and singing
with such reverence. I want them to live
with those golden memories. If she doesn't
reach the same heights it will be painful
for her and her admirers.
What is it about Jagjit Singh that
we don't know? We also hear you have a
penchant for horse racing and Las Vegas
casinos. Your Violinist Deepak Pandit
mentioned a very funny story.
Well, I can tell you in 30 seconds what
flaws a particular sound system has. I
am very particular about sound and I hate
to play in auditoriums that don't have
a good system.
About that funny story, we were in Las
Vegas and were gambling. Both Deepak and
I were losing and after giving him extra
money, which he again lost, I told him
enough, neither of us should gamble any
more.
We both said goodnight and went to our
rooms which were in separate towers. After
a short while I stole out of my room and
took the elevator to go back to gamble.
At one floor the door opened and who do
I see but Deepak standing outside intending
to do the same thing. We had a good laugh
and went on to gamble one more time!
So what is in the works now?
I had performed in Pakistan recently and
a DVD of the concert tour is in the works.
Sony is also keen that I do another album
with Gulzar so I will be working on it.
There were times I felt I have done so
much, but today I feel there is still
so much left to do and so little time
to do it.
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