Jagjit & Chitra Singh

Born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, Jagjit Singh rose from singing ad jingles to becoming a pioneering ghazal artist, renowned for modernising the genre with Western orchestration and plainspoken poetry. He and Chitra, a Bengali singer born in Kolkata, met in Mumbai during the late 1960s and married in 1969, forging one of Indian music’s most captivating partnerships. Their debut album as a duo, "The Unforgettables" (released 1976–77), featured both solo and duet tracks including the timeless “Baat Niklegi,” and became a watershed moment in popularising ghazals beyond elite audiences. Their contrasting vocal textures—Jagjit’s deep baritone and Chitra’s lighter, playful tone—struck a chord across generations. Through the 1970s and 1980s, they produced acclaimed albums like “Shiv Kumar Batalvi – Birha da Sultan,” “Live in Concert at Wembley,” “Ecstasies” (1984) and compositions for television serials such as “Mirza Ghalib” and “Kahkashan.” Their music brought Urdu poetry, especially works of Ghalib and Batalvi, into the living rooms of millions. Tragedy struck in 1990 with the death of their son Vivek in a road accident, after which Chitra withdrew from public life. Jagjit continued solo, releasing revered works including the duet album "Sajda" with Lata Mangeshkar and collecting prestigious awards including India’s Padma Bhushan in 2003. Their legacy endures in the countless fans and musicians inspired by their sympathetic, soul-stirring ghazals. Even today, Jagjit & Chitra’s recordings—spanning vinyl, cassette and CD—are treasured for their emotional depth, lyrical clarity and enduring appeal to both connoisseurs and new listeners discovering the ghazal genre.