Ghazal singer Jagjit Singh passes away Read more at: http://movies.ndtv.com/movie_story.aspx?ID=ENTEN20110185756&subcatg=MUSICINDIA&keyword=music&ni

Renowned ghazal singer Jagjit Singh died this morning at the Leelavati Hospital in Mumbai after he suffered a brain haemorrahage. Mr Singh was 70.

He was admitted to hospital on September 23, hours before he was scheduled to perform at a concert in the city. Doctors kept him in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) till he died. Reports say he had been on life support for the last few days.

Mr Singh is survived by his wife, Chitra.

His debut album in 1976-The Unforgettable - did not make a hollow claim. Mr Singh made his mark at a time when ghazals were rendered by powerhouses like Mehdi Hasan, Noor Jehan, Beghum Akhtar and Talat Mehmood.

Critics often suggested he sacrificed technique for melody. It didn't matter to the thousands of fans that enabled the album to set sales records. Writer Khuswant Singh commented, "He sings better than Mehdi Hassan and looks better than Dilip Kumar."

Mr Singh married Chitra Datta in 1970. She belonged to a musical family in Kolkata and had been married when she was very young to a man who ran a sound recording studio. Chitra was a popular jingle singer and her marriage had unravelled by the time she met Mr Singh. They first worked on jingles for ad films together. Then came Unforgettable.

Through films like Saath Saath and director Mahesh Bhatt's debut, Arth, their popularity climaxed. The Singhs travelled the world for sold-out concerts. Perhaps their best work together was in the teleseries made by Gulzar on Mira Ghalib.

In 1990, their only child, Vivek, died in a road accident. Chitra gave up singing. Mr Singh cut back drastically on his albums and concerts, opting instead to lend his support to campaigns for children''s causes.


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