# Jagjit Singh
**Jagjit Singh** (born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman, 1941 – 10 October 2011) was an Indian ghazal singer and composer, widely called the "Ghazal King", who brought the ghazal, a form of Persian-origin poetry set to music, from a largely elite and classical audience to the Indian mainstream.[1](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2011/10/14/jagjit-singh-singer-revived-persian-ghazal-songs/I2cj9aodvSB9gOsxvikXjO/story.html) • [2](https://www.femina.in/media/magazines/2020/october/Filmfare_Mobile.pdf) In a career spanning five decades he recorded about 80 albums, composed the music for the Hindi film *Arth* and sang in *Saath Saath*, and set the poetry of poets from Mirza Ghalib and [Mir Taqi Mir](https://www.edgepedia.org/mir-taqi-mir) to Gulzar and [Javed Akhtar](https://www.edgepedia.org/javed-akhtar).[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09) • [2](https://www.femina.in/media/magazines/2020/october/Filmfare_Mobile.pdf) • [18](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/saath-saath/songs/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | Born 1941 in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, to a Sikh family; died 10 October 2011 in Mumbai of a brain hemorrhage, aged 70[4](https://portal.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/D%20Ward/Heritage-Sites/55_Legacy%20of%20D%20Ward_Article_Jagjit%20Singh.pdf) • [1](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2011/10/14/jagjit-singh-singer-revived-persian-ghazal-songs/I2cj9aodvSB9gOsxvikXjO/story.html) |
| Birth name | Jagmohan Singh Dhiman, son of Sardar Amar Singh Dhiman, a government Public Works Department surveyor; renamed Jagjit on the advice of the family guru[4](https://portal.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/D%20Ward/Heritage-Sites/55_Legacy%20of%20D%20Ward_Article_Jagjit%20Singh.pdf) |
| Breakthrough | *The Unforgettables*, his first LP album for HMV, released in 1976 as a joint venture with his wife Chitra[1](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2011/10/14/jagjit-singh-singer-revived-persian-ghazal-songs/I2cj9aodvSB9gOsxvikXjO/story.html) |
| Output | About 80 albums over five decades, in Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Sindhi and Nepali[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09) • [5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/music/news/jagjit-singh-a-musician-a-mentor-a-friend-and-a-benefactor/articleshow/10310895.cms) |
| Signature style | Bol-pradhan singing, which lays emphasis on the words, with guitar and saxophone used alongside tabla and sitar[2](https://www.femina.in/media/magazines/2020/october/Filmfare_Mobile.pdf) |
| Honors | Padma Bhushan (2003), India's third-highest civilian honor; Rajasthan Ratna posthumously (2012); commemorative postage stamps released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in February 2014[1](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2011/10/14/jagjit-singh-singer-revived-persian-ghazal-songs/I2cj9aodvSB9gOsxvikXjO/story.html) • [6](https://rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in/books-2019/books-2022/cls10/HistorynCulture.pdf) • [7](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=103271) |
## Early life and training
Singh grew up in [Sri Ganganagar](https://www.edgepedia.org/sri-ganganagar), in [Rajasthan](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajasthan) on the Punjab-Haryana border, one of seven siblings in a Namdhari Sikh family, and began by singing kirtans, devotional Sikh songs, in gurudwaras.[4](https://portal.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/D%20Ward/Heritage-Sites/55_Legacy%20of%20D%20Ward_Article_Jagjit%20Singh.pdf) • [8](https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/jagjit-singh-humble-prodigy-made-ghazals-accessible/303302/) His father, who loved music himself, first recognized his son's talent and sent him to learn under Pandit Chhaganlal Sharma; he later trained for six years under Ustad Jamaal Khan of the Senia gharana, gaining knowledge of the Khayal, Thumri and Dhrupad forms of [Hindustani classical music](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindustani-classical-music).[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09)
His parents wanted a stable career for him, and he pursued a master's degree in history at Kurukshetra University in Haryana, joining the M.A. program in 1963.[1](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2011/10/14/jagjit-singh-singer-revived-persian-ghazal-songs/I2cj9aodvSB9gOsxvikXjO/story.html) • [9](https://jagjitchitra.wordpress.com/interviews/good-music/) While still in [Jalandhar](https://www.edgepedia.org/jalandhar) he worked as a professional singer at the city's [All India Radio](https://www.edgepedia.org/all-india-radio) station, which offered him six live music segments a year for small payments, and in 1962 he composed a welcome song for the visiting [President of India](https://www.edgepedia.org/president-of-india), Rajendra Prasad.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09) • [4](https://portal.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/D%20Ward/Heritage-Sites/55_Legacy%20of%20D%20Ward_Article_Jagjit%20Singh.pdf)
## Mumbai and the breakthrough
Singh first came to Mumbai in 1961 to try his luck in playback singing, but after failed attempts he returned, dispirited, to Jalandhar.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09) He tried again, moving to the city in March 1965, and managed to get two of his ghazals recorded with HMV; this was also the period when he gave up his turban and hair.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09) [Playback singing](https://www.edgepedia.org/playback-singing) continued to elude him, and he earned a living composing jingles, advertising films and documentaries.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09)
During one such recording he met the Bengali singer Chitra, whom he married in 1970 after a courtship of about two years; India Today describes the marriage as a turning point in his career.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09) • [1](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2011/10/14/jagjit-singh-singer-revived-persian-ghazal-songs/I2cj9aodvSB9gOsxvikXjO/story.html) In 1975 HMV asked him to compose his first LP album, *The Unforgettables*, released in 1976; its song "Baat Niklegi" established Jagjit and Chitra on the Indian music map.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09) • [10](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/music/jagjit-singh-ghazals-mainstream-urdu-lyrics-contemporary-music-bollywood-songs-videos-7760777/) The couple followed with hit albums including *Ecstasies*, *A Sound Affair*, *Passions* and *Beyond Time*, and became a formidable husband-wife duo, his heavy baritone contrasting with her sharper voice.[11](https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/entertainment/2011/Oct/10/a-tribute-to-jagjit-singh-298864.html) • [12](https://www.dailyo.in/amp/arts/ghazals-jagjit-singh-classical-music-chitra-singh-jagjit-and-chitra-the-unforgettables-15551)
## Style and popularization of the ghazal
Until Singh embraced the form, ghazal singing was followed largely by the elite and was the preserve of classical and semi-classical singers such as [Mehdi Hassan](https://www.edgepedia.org/mehdi-hassan), Begum Akhtar and Angoori Bai.[1](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2011/10/14/jagjit-singh-singer-revived-persian-ghazal-songs/I2cj9aodvSB9gOsxvikXjO/story.html) • [2](https://www.femina.in/media/magazines/2020/october/Filmfare_Mobile.pdf) His voice, a departure from the prevalent classical-based style of rendition, earned him an enthusiastic following and helped bring the form to a wider audience, including young listeners steeped in rock and hip-hop.[1](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2011/10/14/jagjit-singh-singer-revived-persian-ghazal-songs/I2cj9aodvSB9gOsxvikXjO/story.html)
His approach had identifiable features. Critics describe his composing and singing as bol-pradhan, giving emphasis to the words, and note that his raag-based renditions used the saxophone and guitar alongside the tabla and sitar.[2](https://www.femina.in/media/magazines/2020/october/Filmfare_Mobile.pdf) He is credited with introducing modern instruments alongside the traditional sarangi and tabla in ghazals, and with choosing simple, understandable Urdu; in his own words, he looked for "a new thought" in the poetry and avoided the conventional tropes of wine and beauty.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09) • [13](https://www.cinemasangeet.com/hindi-film-music/interviews/jagjit-singh-an-interview.html) • [2](https://www.femina.in/media/magazines/2020/october/Filmfare_Mobile.pdf) He set poets ranging from Mirza Ghalib, Mir Taqi Mir and Daagh Dehlvi to Sudarshan Fakir, Nida Fazli, Gulzar and Javed Akhtar, and also recorded the Punjabi poetry of [Shiv Kumar Batalvi](https://www.edgepedia.org/shiv-kumar-batalvi) in the album *Birha Da Sultan*.[2](https://www.femina.in/media/magazines/2020/october/Filmfare_Mobile.pdf) • [3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09)
## Films, television and recordings
Film success followed the albums. In 1980 Singh sang Javed Akhtar's poetry in *Saath Saath* ("Yeh tera ghar, yeh mera ghar"), and [Mahesh Bhatt](https://www.edgepedia.org/mahesh-bhatt)'s *Arth* the same year, with the Jagjit-Chitra composition "Tum itna jo muskura rahe ho", made the duo's popularity soar; the ghazal sound became a character in the relationship-driven films of the 1980s.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09) • [2](https://www.femina.in/media/magazines/2020/october/Filmfare_Mobile.pdf) Other remembered film songs include "Hothon Se Chhu Lo Tum" and "Hoshwalon Ko Khabar Kya".[14](https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/jagjit-singh-birthday-a-look-at-ghazal-king-s-musical-journey-1810140)
In 1987 he recorded *Beyond Time*, described by India Today as the first digital CD by an Indian musician; the Times of India reports that he and Chitra were the first recording artists in India to use digital multi-track recording for that album.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09) • [5](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/music/news/jagjit-singh-a-musician-a-mentor-a-friend-and-a-benefactor/articleshow/10310895.cms) He recorded and composed music for Gulzar's television serial *Mirza Ghalib*, and later set former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's poetry in the albums *Nayi Disha* (1999) and *Samvedna* (2002); India Today calls him the only composer and singer to have recorded Vajpayee's songs in two albums.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09) His last song for a Hindi film was "Har ore tabaahi ka manzar" in *Gandhi to Hitler* (2011).[15](https://openthemagazine.com/special/jagjit-singh)
## Personal life and death
Singh and Chitra lost their only son, 18-year-old Vivek, in a car accident in 1990.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09) Chitra stopped singing thereafter and never returned to the stage or a recording studio, while Singh continued, recording the Sikh devotional album *Man Jite Jagjit* as the first album after his son's death.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09)
In his seventieth year he had set out to perform 70 concerts; he managed 46.[11](https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/entertainment/2011/Oct/10/a-tribute-to-jagjit-singh-298864.html) A planned concert with the Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali at Shanmukhananda Hall in Mumbai on 23 September 2011 was canceled after he fell ill the same day.[3](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09) He died of a brain hemorrhage at Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai, on 10 October 2011.[1](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2011/10/14/jagjit-singh-singer-revived-persian-ghazal-songs/I2cj9aodvSB9gOsxvikXjO/story.html)
## Legacy
Singh's honors trace the recognition of his work: the [Padma Bhushan](https://www.edgepedia.org/padma-bhushan) in 2003, a posthumous Rajasthan Ratna from the Rajasthan government on 31 March 2012, and two commemorative postage stamps released by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on 8 February 2014, at a ceremony attended by [Chitra Singh](https://www.edgepedia.org/chitra-singh).[1](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2011/10/14/jagjit-singh-singer-revived-persian-ghazal-songs/I2cj9aodvSB9gOsxvikXjO/story.html) • [6](https://rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in/books-2019/books-2022/cls10/HistorynCulture.pdf) • [7](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=103271) At the stamp release the Prime Minister described him as an exceptional artiste adept at classical, devotional, folk and ghazal music.[7](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=103271) Commentators credit him with taking the ghazal to the common man and giving it a place in [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema), and later reappraisals among younger listeners have continued to treat his recordings as the entry point to the genre.[16](https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai/undisputed-king-of-ghazal/story-IZgeSu0ELUbbV52HCwXGkJ.html) • [17](https://indianexpress.com/article/fresh-take/jagjit-singh-for-gen-z-and-millennials-10069359/)
## References
1. [Jagjit Singh, at 70; singer revived Persian ghazal songs, The Boston Globe (2011)](https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/obituaries/2011/10/14/jagjit-singh-singer-revived-persian-ghazal-songs/I2cj9aodvSB9gOsxvikXjO/story.html)
2. [Filmfare tribute to Jagjit Singh (2020)](https://www.femina.in/media/magazines/2020/october/Filmfare_Mobile.pdf)
3. [Jagjit Singh: When ghazal lost its king!, India Today (2011)](https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/ghazal-king-jagjit-singh-1941-to-2011-143030-2011-10-09)
4. [Legacy of D Ward: Jagjit Singh 1941–2011, Mumbai Legacy Project, Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai](https://portal.mcgm.gov.in/irj/go/km/docs/documents/D%20Ward/Heritage-Sites/55_Legacy%20of%20D%20Ward_Article_Jagjit%20Singh.pdf)
5. [Jagjit Singh: A musician, a mentor, a friend and a benefactor, Times of India (2011)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/music/news/jagjit-singh-a-musician-a-mentor-a-friend-and-a-benefactor/articleshow/10310895.cms)
6. [Jagjit Singh, Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education, History and Culture textbook](https://rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in/books-2019/books-2022/cls10/HistorynCulture.pdf)
7. [PM releases postage stamps in honour of Ghazal singer and musician Shri Jagjit Singh, Press Information Bureau (2014)](https://www.pib.gov.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?lang=2®=48&relid=103271)
8. [Jagjit Singh, the humble prodigy who made ghazals accessible, ThePrint (2019)](https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/jagjit-singh-humble-prodigy-made-ghazals-accessible/303302/)
9. [Good Music – Jagjit & Chitra Singh (interview)](https://jagjitchitra.wordpress.com/interviews/good-music/)
10. [How Jagjit Singh made ghazals mainstream with simple Urdu lyrics and contemporary tunes, The Indian Express (2022)](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/music/jagjit-singh-ghazals-mainstream-urdu-lyrics-contemporary-music-bollywood-songs-videos-7760777/)
11. [A tribute to Jagjit Singh, The New Indian Express (2011)](https://www.newindianexpress.com/amp/story/entertainment/2011/Oct/10/a-tribute-to-jagjit-singh-298864.html)
12. [How Jagjit Singh redefined the modern ghazal, DailyO (2016)](https://www.dailyo.in/amp/arts/ghazals-jagjit-singh-classical-music-chitra-singh-jagjit-and-chitra-the-unforgettables-15551)
13. [Jagjit Singh – an interview, Cinema Sangeet](https://www.cinemasangeet.com/hindi-film-music/interviews/jagjit-singh-an-interview.html)
14. [Jagjit Singh Birthday: A Look At Ghazal King's Musical Journey, NDTV (2018)](https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/jagjit-singh-birthday-a-look-at-ghazal-king-s-musical-journey-1810140)
15. [Jagjit Singh, Open magazine (2011)](https://openthemagazine.com/special/jagjit-singh)
16. [Undisputed king of ghazal, Hindustan Times (2011)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai/undisputed-king-of-ghazal/story-IZgeSu0ELUbbV52HCwXGkJ.html)
17. [In a world on fire, Jagjit Singh helped me make sense of the chaos, The Indian Express (2024)](https://indianexpress.com/article/fresh-take/jagjit-singh-for-gen-z-and-millennials-10069359/)
18. [Saath Saath Movie Music, Saath Saath Movie Songs, Download Latest Bollywood Songs Music - Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/saath-saath/songs/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › South Asian scenes › Hindi film music (Bollywood) and Indian pop*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license