Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh passes away

Legendary ghazal singer Jagjit Singh has passed away, days after he suffered a brain hemorrhage. He was 70.

Jagjit was admitted to Mumbai�۪s Lilavati Hospital on Friday 23rd September. A hospital spokesman said he had suffered another hemorrhage this morning and died.

He was born on 8th February 1941 in Rajasthan. ‘The Ghazal King’ was a singer, composer, activist and entrepreneur. He had sung in several languages including Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Nepali.

Jagjit entered the music industry at a time which was primarily dominated by Pakistani ghazal singers, and Indian singers were considered relatively lesser authentic than their Pakistani counterparts.

He is survived by his wife, Chitra Singh, who is also a leading ghazal singer. Their only son Vivek Singh had died in a road accident in 1990.

Jagjit and his wife Chitra had commercial success with songs recorded together in the 1970s and 1980s.

Jagjit Singh recorded more than 50 albums, many of them major commercial successes. He also sung tracks in films like ‘Long Da Lishkara’, ‘Prem Geet’ and ‘Dushman’. He also voiced title tracks for drama serials like ‘Mirza Ghalib’ and ‘Kahkashan’.

Online social networking sites Twitter and Facebook have been flooded with tribute messages for Jagjit Singh.