KOCHI: Ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh who died on Monday had influenced generations of music lovers. “His departure leaves a wound in the heart. The sweetness of his unique voice touches your heart,” recalls Kerala’s own Ghazal singer Umbayi. Jagjit who popularised Ghazals was able to inculcate the modernism in music without compromising with the originality of ghazals, he observes. “His voice, his style of blending Hindustani with the Western, are inimitable. When he sings ‘Savere Savere’ in jab tal, that really stands out. “He always maintains the original style of ghazals. Even Lataji has said that!” Umbayi says.Each of his albums are like a new chapter in ghazals. “There are Ghazal singers like Ghulam Ali, Anup Jalota and all. Also there are filmy Ghazals from Talat Mahmood. But when Singhji renders, it is different. I could tell you how I feel listening to Singhji’s Ghazals, only with a harmonium in front of me. It is not just a song, it is an experience altogether,” he says. Kochi had hosted the legendary ‘Ghazal King’ around two years ago. Umbayi also recalls Jagjit’s unique way of mixing humour in the midst of singing a Ghazal. “There are many Ghazal singers who speak in between the Ghazals; but Singhji was different. While others chose to be more serious when they speak, Singhji would come up with some rare humour talk as if it is something part of the Ghazals,” the ghazal singer remembers.
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