Renowned ghazal singer Jagjit Singh passes away

Renowned ghazal singer Jagjit Singh, 70, passed away at 8.10 am in Lilavati Hospital on Monday morning.
Jagjit Singh was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital on September 23 after he suffered brain haemorrhage in suburban Bandra where a life-saving surgery was performed on him.

Popularly known as "The Ghazal King", he gained acclaim together with his wife in the 1970s and 1980s, as the first ever successful duo act (husband-wife) in the history of recorded Indian music.Recipient of Padma Bhushan award, he has sung in several languages including Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Nepali.

Credited with popularising the ghazal genre and making it accessible to the masses, Singh cut more than 40 private albums and sang for innumerable Bollywood films, influencing an entire generation of music lovers. Stirring millions of hearts with his soulful numbers 'Jhuki jhuki si nazar' and 'Kaagaz ki kashti', ghazal king Jagit Singh infused a new life in the dying genre of music in the seventies and carved a niche for himself in Bollywood. His popular ghazals include, Meri zindagi kisi aur ki, mere naam ka koi aur hai, Apni marzi se kahan apne safar ke hum hain, Wo jo hum mein tumme qaraar tha, Patta-patta boota-boota haal hamaara jaane hai, Hoshwalo ko khabar, etc.
The pain and melancholy in his voice gave vent to the feelings of many a lonely heart. One of the most successful and loved artistes of his time, he has left behind a huge body of work in a career spanning five decades, including 80 albums. Bollywood's loss was ghazal's gain, as Jagjit's fresh voice infused a new life into the dying genre, which was confined to select admirers.