Ek Bauchhar tha wo..

I still remember the day when I heard the news of brain hemorrhage of Jagjit Singh Sahab. Though I knew it was not possible to recover from it yet there was a hope that he can’t go so early like this. I prayed for his health. But my prayers were not powerful enough to save his life and this very day 2 years back he left us.

I was in my office that day when I heard the news of his passing away. I informed my brother and younger sister who are also fan of Jagjit Sa’ab. I was sad and shocked with this loss. I felt as someone of my family is passed away. I had a dream to listen him signing live. But a dream was shattered. A heart was broken.

My love for Jagjit Singh’s work was not just few years old. I am grown up listening to his Ghazals. My brother is huge fan of Jagjit Sa’ab. I would not say that we had all the audio cassettes of his albums but what we had were beautiful. At the age of 12 what do you understand about the feelings, the expressions, the meaning of a couplet. But this voice bounded me with its magic. His voice is so peaceful that without understanding the meaning of few words I belived that something beautiful was being conveyed in them. This gave a birth to my new love for poetries.

I remember, I was waiting for my class 10 board result and my brother used to play “kyu dare zindagi mei kya hoga~kuch na hoga to tajruba hoga” :D and I found a quick relief from result tension.

Hazaron Khwaishei... Sarakti Jaye hai... Charag Aftaab Gum... Ghr se nikle the... Wo kagaz ki kashti... are some (not only) ghazals which we used to listen. I am not sure if I understood the meaning of these ghazals then, but I grew up understanding their meanings. I feel proud of following him religiously.

I am not writing this blog to tell about my favourite his ghazals because there are many. Once I decided to make a playlist of his Ghazals and when I was finished, the playlist had some hundreds of ghazals.

He was the man who brought Ghazals to the reach and understanding of non-urdu people.

Poet Nida Fazli once said: “After Mehdi Hasan, if anyone knows how to present the misra, it is Jagjit Singh.

In the words of Gulzar:

“The way he takes the metre and plays with it to set the taal on it... No word is lost. The beauty is that he understands poetry, the significance of the verse and the weight of each word and how to present it.

Not only ghazal singing but his simple living attitude, serenity in his eyes and his pure soul make him a legend. His smile is so innocent and child like but it never gives you a hint of the ocean of sorrow flowing in his heart.

Thoroughout my life I will have a regret not being able to listen him live. His voice and his compositions have a special part in my life. My mobile memory card has more than half of the storage dedicated to his ghazals.

People who are known for their work never die; but their physical presence is often missed.

You are being missed and remembered everyday.

And As Gulzar wrote this poem as a tribute to Jagjit sahab

Ek Bauchhar Tha Wo..

Ek Bauchhar tha wo shakhs bina barse

Kisi abra ki sahami se nami se jo bhigo deta tha..

Ek Bauchhar hi tha wo

Jo kabhi dhoop ki afshaa.n bhar ke

door tak sunte hue Cheharo.n par Chidak deta tha

Neem taareek se Hall me Aankhe.n chamak uthati thi’n

Sar hilaata tha kabhI jhoom ke tahanee ki tarah

lagta tha jhonka hawaa ka tha koi chhed gaya hai..

Gungunaataa tha to khulte hue baadal ki tarah

Muskurahat me ka.ee Tarbo.n ki Jhankaar Chupi thi

Gali Qasim se chali ek Ghazal ki jhankaar tha wo

Ek awaaz ki bauchhar tha wo...