His ghazals transcended borders and likewise in death, singer Jagjit Singh brought together Afghans and Pakistanis on Monday to mourn with his Indian fans over the end of an era; best remembered not just for his film songs but also for giving voice and melody to poets like Mirza Ghalib and Shiv Kumar Batalvi.
Summing it up in a phrase — strategic depth — that has plagued these three countries for years, an Afghan fan tweeted: “Jagjit's death has saddened Pakistanis and Afghans as much as it has Indians. That's true strategic depth.” Given the Pakistani establishment's preoccupation with securing strategic depth in Afghanistan, the irony was not lost and this tweet was doing the rounds all day as people exchanged Singh's songs online to pay homage to the singer with his own voice.
Writing for The Dawn 's website, Asif Noorani, who compiled and created Mehdi Hasan: The Man and his Music , said Singh considered Hasan to be his spiritual guru. Recounting an encounter with Jagjit and Chitra Singh in 1979, Noorani recalled him taking ‘aashirvaad' from his idol during that visit. And, he was most cooperative with Noorani while he was working on the book on Mehdi Hasan. “In a telephone conversation, he [Jagjit] regretted that Mehdi Hasan had been suffering for so long and added that at least he was still with us.”
“I would love to see him back on his feet and back in front of a mike, Jagjit said. But the younger singer couldn't wait for that to happen, he passed away. By the way, Mehdi Hasan's family members haven't told him about Jagjit's demise. He is in no position to bear that shock,'' wrote Mr. Noorani.
