Jagjit's ghazals run through my veins: Chitra Singh

Jagjit Singh and Chitra Singh. Pic/Google

Chitra stopped singing and quit the limelight for a quieter life following the death of their son Vivek in 1990. But in an old interview, she said Jagjit Singh's music never really left her.

"I remember him every moment, there is not one thing that I can't think of. His ghazals run through my veins," Chitra told in an interview. The album 'The Master and His Magic' was released on Singh's first death anniversary on October 10, 2012, by Sony Music.

The album contained eight original, unreleased compositions by Singh. Chitra said the recordings came to her through an admirer. "We have this friend of ours in Ahmedabad who has been a fan of Jagjitji since a very long time. He had a collection of Jagjit's unreleased songs from various performances lying with him and he handed them over to me. None of them were studio recordings, so I had to work on restoring and re-mastering of these recordings," said Chitra.

"This album is a tribute from me to Jagjitji and a gift to millions of his fans. These songs were sung at different time periods during Jagjitji's live performances between say late 80s and mid 90s. To give his fans something new, Jagjitji used to present new compositions every time," she added.

Chitra, who complimented Singh in memorable duets like 'Yeh Tera Ghar, Yeh Mera Ghar', 'Tum Aao To Sahi', 'Woh Nahin Milta Mujhe' and 'Lab-e-Khamosh Se', were also part of the album but not as a singer. "I am not a part of this album but you will be able to hear me. However, I would not like to divulge any details.

The lyrics were penned by India's greatest lyricists Wasim Bareilvi, Farag Roohvi, Ghalib and the ghazals took us through the different phases of Jagjitji's life." When asked her about the possibility of bringing out more albums of the singer and Chitra says, "May be, but right now we are happy about 'The Master and His Magic'." The world remembers Singh as one of the greatest singers but Chitra said he was very grounded in real life.

"He was an extremely humble person, he was humility personified," she said. Apart from the album, Chitra is also planning to open a foundation on the singer's name to keep his memory alive. "Jagjitji was very fond of children, I would like to take the responsibility of 20 poor children and form a foundation in his name.

Apart from preserving memorabilia and music, the prime objective was to educate and take care of children. But everything depends on the government grant that we have applied for now."

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