A musical tribute to ghazal king Jagjit Singh

SD Sharma 

Chandigarh, October 10 

The larger than life image of the legendary ghazal king and Padma Bhushan awardee, Jagjit Singh, swelled in the minds of intrusive audience as a well-known singer and composer RD Kailey doled out ghazals, immortalised by the ghazal icon at the Randhawa Auditorium. 

The musical concert was organised by the Sargam Society of Indian Music and Art, Mohali, in collaboration with the Punjab Arts Council and the Department of Cultural Affairs, UT, to commemorate the fifth death anniversary of the legend. 

Kailey opened up with a traditional Punjabi song ‘Mainda ishq vee tu’ weaved in mysticism of Baba Farid. With the rendition of a few Urdu couplets, Kailey set the mood for ghazals like ‘Log har mod pe ruk ruk ke sambhalte kyun hain’ and ‘Main chahta bhi yahi tha woh bewafaa nikle’ followed by a bit crisp number ‘Aate aate mera naam sa reh gaya’. A surprise melodious ghazal came from Sushil Nagpal, executive director, FCI, who sang ‘Naye prindo ko..’ before Kailey presented Jagjit Singh’s intoxicating number ‘Yeh peene waale..’ penned by city lyricist S Rakesh.     

Kailey attempted to emulate with justification Jagjit in Mirza Ghalib’s ‘Hazaaron khwahishen aisi..’  besides ‘Sarkati jaye ‘ and many others and concluded  with the hit Punjabi number  ‘Dhai din na jawaani naal chaldi ‘. Pandit Gyan Chaurasia led the orchestra.