the entertainment industry mourns the death of ghazal maestro jagjit singh as he breathed his last on monday morninghis voice stired emotions jagjit singh gave an emotional syntax to my generation in the 80s when i conceived arth he had already mesmerised the audience by giving a complete new dimension to singing ghazals to the accompaniment of the guitar while making arth i knew my inner melody was something which was residing in a different body that body belonged to jagjit singh what made him so special was that he was the one of the end products of the sheer heritage of india he combined a mixed tehzeeb of a hindu islamic culture his music had resonances of the diversity that india talks about no one could sing ghazals that way without having a understanding of the ethos of indian culture i still remember the enchanting evenings jagjit and i had at janki kutir with kaifi azmi both jagjit and i would carry his harmonium to the lawns of kaifi saabs house while kaifi saab would recite the lyrics we would listen to him with rapt attention once kaifi saab was done jagjit would inhale it all and soon enough he would exhale a tune thats how the three songs jhuki jhuki tum itna jo and koi yeh kaise bataye were composed an artiste should create his works effortlessly and jagjit seemed so much at ease when he created the songs he never tried to force his songs on anyone while rhythm is the be all and end all for music today he knew how to stir the emotions of the listeners with his soothing numbershe was fond of racing this is just too devastating a news i was numb i must have been 1718 when i was first introduced by badal dhar chowdhury to jagjitji chitra didi his wife is from kolkata he was very fond of racing he loved horses and would so often encourage me to get a taste of it i feel a strange sense of void todayhe made ghazal popular i had to immediately cancel my show at pune and am now rushing back to mumbai it is very tragic and shocking jagjitbhai was an artiste who revolutionized this genre of music i remember in 1975 we came out with an album unforgettable he always showcased his versatility and promoted his form of music not only amongst our generation but also among the youth his music left a mark on everyones life he made the world aware of what ghazal is i remember post his 70th birthday he spoke to me and told me that he was planning to do a 70concert show across the world unfortunately anup jalota and talat aziz are both out of india and have their shows in usa they will be also very shocked when they come to know about the news i hope ill be able to do a show with anupji and talat as a tribute to