By Dr. K. Javeed Nayeem, MD
Ghazals have always been an integral source of relaxation and enjoyment for everyone in my family and although our favourites include legends like K.L. Saigal, Mehdi Hasan and Ghulam Ali, our most favourite Ghazal singer of all time has always been Jagjit Singh, who bid adieu to all his fans on Oct.10, 2011, at what was undisputably the prime of his singing career.
Yes, seventy years, that marks the onset of old age for most others, can certainly be called the prime of life for any vocalist, as that is the stage when his or her voice acquires the fine and mellow tonal quality that makes maestros out of ordinary mortals. It can perhaps be likened to the maturing of fine wine, a process that takes many years and which can never be hastened.
Although my family and I have been listening to the melodies of Jagjit Singh for decades, we remember and cherish to this day, the day we first heard and met him in real life. If my memory serves me right, the year was 1995 when a family friend, Mallika, called me up to say that Jagjit Singh, our heart-throb and who was also a close friend of hers, was going to perform at the Chowdiah Memorial Hall in Bengaluru, the very aptly violin shaped hall that was built in the year 1980, in memory of Vidwan T. Chowdiah, the celebrated violinist of Karnataka.
That show was like no other that we had known till then and the highpoint of that evening was the leisurely interaction we had with the man, backstage, after the show was over. I still remember the almost eerie softness of his hands I felt when I held them in mine and I even told him that they were as soft as his voice itself! He was so humble and modest that after that meeting he would himself ring me up and inform me whenever he was slated to visit Bengaluru.
But my fondest desire was to have a concert of his here in Mysuru, a dream that very sadly remained unfulfilled.
Coming to the present, perhaps as a prelude to our 11-day Dasara festival which is just around the corner, on a cool Saturday evening, exactly nine days ago, a small group of excited and expectant Mysureans found themselves huddled in the newly created JCAC Auditorium in our city. And, my family and I, equally excited and expectant, were among them. The reason for our coming together was that we were all poised to listen to the resurrection of the melodies and music of the legendary Jagjit Singh, the now long gone but unforgotten Ghazal maestro of the yesteryears.
It was an unusually lucky break that this was the third time in as many weeks that we here in Mysuru, were being treated to shows that were bringing performances of Urdu poetry, Hindustani Classical music and Ghazals, into our lives, in a surprisingly quick succession.
Although such events are not new to our culture infused city, they are certainly rarer than they should be, a deficiency which we should all try to address in the coming days.
This triple bonanza started with the poetical drama ‘Zikr-E-Ghalib’ about which I have written a full column very recently. While this was a gift from the Karnataka Urdu Academy, presented by the playwright and dramatist, Zafar Mohiyuddin, from Bengaluru, the next two shows, a Sarangi Jugalbandhi and a concert of Ghazals, were brought to our city by the Concoction Group of intrepid youngsters, under the logo of ‘Tajruba,’ a most beautiful and apt name that in Urdu means, ‘experience’. Yes, I say this because such shows are meant not just to be heard and seen but to be experienced by the hearts and souls, of all lovers of art and music. The Sarangi event was an Independence Day gift to us Mysureans, being a Jugalbandhi or musical duel by Ustad Dilshad Khan and his young son Arhaan Khan, for whom it was his debut. They were accompanied by Trilochan Kampli on the tabla and this event too was reportedly a runaway success, which very sadly I had to miss, because of a prior engagement that had me exploring and imbibing the wild beauty of the Western Ghats, a Tajruba by itself, no less invigorating than what I had missed!
The second gift from Concoctions was the concert of the Ghazals of Jagjit Singh sung by Kaamod Subash from Mumbai. He was very ably accompanied on the violin by Sachit Choudhuri, the tabla by Rupak Dhamankar and the keyboard by Vishal Dhumal. And, mind you, all four of them are surprisingly very young!
Although the singer was very good by himself, having the perfect tune, tempo and Talaffuz, which is what determines what impacts a learned audience, I could not help feeling that his three musketeers clearly outshined him in their prowess at their respective instruments. But the beauty of the whole effect was that their unusually high competence took the impact of the singer himself to greater heights.
And, that is exactly how any musical concert has to be relished, as a whole, for its effect instead of being analysed piece by piece, under the microscope of our sensibilities. It would be only an over-polite exaggeration to say that the singer sounded exactly like Jagjit Singh himself because he did not and I certainly would not like to delude myself or do the same to you. No, he had a voice of his own, which was slightly different but in no way less melodious. And, he certainly charmed us all in full measure, leaving us all not only cheering him and his group but also craving for more, even as the event drew to a close, leaving us all with no regrets whatsoever.
While talking of the most recent times, it would not be out of place to mention here that the Ghazal Singer, Raghupathi Jah, who performed at the recent Zikr-E-Ghalib show, had a voice with very unusual clarity, that most closely resembled Jagjit’s. You only had to close your eyes, to experience Jagjit himself singing before you. But this is something that comes our way only occasionally and it is an added bounty which we should not expect all the time, from all singers.
A friend and medical college classmate of mine, Dr. Ranade Kishore, who is now based in the US and who is not a trained singer but someone who is yet bold enough to sing at all our informal get-togethers, always says that a person should sing in his or her own voice and not try too hard, to exactly replicate the voice of other famous singers. And this makes much sense, to all of us friends, which is why whenever we meet, although unlettered and untutored in music, we always enjoy sitting late into the nights, listening to each other’s songs, sung in our own way, instead of sitting in silence and staring into the darkness while wondering why their magic has gone missing!
The Tajruba series is the brainchild of Jaheena, a lady from our own city and it is curated by Trilochan Kampli, the celebrated tabla player, who is referred to as the Zakir Hussain of the South. They will be organising a night of authentic Sufi Music by the Langa community of Rajasthan here in our city on Oct. 18.
The Tajruba mission is to give a platform to talented but unrecognised artistes from across India, allowing them to showcase their music in its purest form. At a time when traditional art forms are at the risk of fading into oblivion, initiatives like Tajruba are very essential to keep these priceless treasures alive.
A very noble mission indeed. So, Thank You, Concoctions and Thank You, Tajruba, we have more expectations from you!
e-mail: kjnmysore@rediffmail.com
This post was published on September 21, 2025 6:05 pm