JAGJIT SINGH

Jagjit Singh was born in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan. His father Amar Singh Dhiman, a government employee, was a native of the village of Dalla in Punjab (India) and his mother, Bachchan Kaur from Ottallan village, Samrala. He had four sisters and two brothers and he is known as Jeet by his family.He was raised as a Sikh.

He went to Khalsa High School in Sri Ganganagar and then studied science after matriculation at Government College, Sri Ganganagar and went onto DAV College, Jalandhar to graduate in arts. He is a post-graduate in history from Kurukshetra University.

Jagjit Singh's association with music goes back to his childhood. He learnt music under Pandit Chaganlal Sharma for two years in Ganganagar, and later First Entry Into Movies Jagjit Singh was first offered to sing in a Gujarati Film.

"Dharati Na Chhoru" produced by Mr. Suresh Amin, famously known by Jagjit Singh as "Jholi Vaaley Baba" : known so, because he carried a Red Shoulder Bag Wherever he went. Mr Suresh Amin was from Baroda-Gujarat and was associated with Scad Consultants Pvt Ltd. When, Mr Suresh Amin died in 1998 and Scad Consultants, Baroda, Organized a Live Concert by Jagjit singh in December 1998 - Jagjit Singh [Famously Called by friends as Maharaj] paid a special Tribute to Mr Suresh Amin and dedicated the Scad Consultants Concert to Mr Suresh Amin by Singing the Ghazal " Chitthi Na Koi Sandesh ".... the perfect ghazal to match his unawareness of Suresh Amin's Death ! ! This is what Jagjit Singh is for his Friends and Fans!!!

Rise to fame

During 1970s, the art of ghazal singing was dominated by well-established names like Noor Jehan, Malika Pukhraj, Begum Akhtar, Talat Mahmood and Mehdi Hassan. However, he was able to make his mark and carve out a niche for himself. In 1976, his album The Unforgettables (On HMV LP Records) hit music stores. Essentially a ghazal album, its emphasis on melody and Jagjit's fresh voice was a departure from the prevalent style of ghazal rendition, which was heavily based on classical and semi-classical Indian music. Skeptics had their own reservations, purists scorned it but it was widely successful among listeners and the album set new sales records.

In 1967, Jagjit met Chitra, also a singer. After a two year courtship they got married (1969). They epitomize the first successful husband-wife singing team. Jagjit and Chitra Singh have made immense contributions to 'Ghazal' music and the Indian music industry in general.

Successful releases of the duo include Ecstasies, A Sound Affair and Passions. While these albums were breezy, Beyond Time released in the opening years of 1990s was an experimentation with sounds and conveyed a feeling that was beyond space and time.

Around this time the duo was struck by grief, when their only son, Vivek (21), met an untimely death in a road accident. Their subsequent album 'Someone Somewhere' was the last album with ghazals sung by both. The album is a tour of the soul, ethereal, conscientious and introspective. These ghazals have a moving quality to them since they embody a feeling of deep personal loss. After that, Chitra Singh quit singing.evoted six years to learning Khayal, Thumri and Dhrupad forms of Indian Classical Music from Ustad Jamaal Khan of the Sainia Gharana school.