When Jagjit Singh made history with Lata Mangeshkar

Like so many myths and misrepresentations regarding the Goddess Of All Melodious Things, which were floating around while she was still here with us, the misinformation regarding the milestone historic album titled Sajda that she recorded with Jagjit Singh needs to be extinguished with immediate effect.

I am talking about the myth that Jagjit Saab’s better-half Chitra Singh wouldn’t “allow” him to sing with the great Lata Mangeshkar although he was pining to do so.

This is a complete bunk. And all those who have heard the captivating content in Sajda which to this day endures as a consummate masterpiece of Ghazal composition, and one of the finest albums in Lataji’s repertoire, is testimony to Chitra Singh’s support in making the dream project come true.

For years and years Jagjit Saab harboured the dream of doing an album with his Latabai. The cynics said it wasn’t happening because his wife opposed the idea. This was far from the truth. Chitra in fact knew Lataji from long before Jagjit. Chitra was a chorus singer in some of Lataji’s songs in 1960, and big fan of the Nightingale. After Chitra coupled with Jagjit the duo became a rage on stage.

“Pataa nahin waqt kaise nikal gaya. Chitra and I became so successful we had no idea time for the album that I wanted to do with Latabai. Also, Latabai was busy with numerous recordings day in and day out. We both needed a phase of freedom and respite to do Sajda,” Jagjit Saab told me.

Sajda finally happened in 1991 after years of dreaming and delay. The credit must go to Sanjeev Kohli, son of the illustrious composer Madan Mohan and at that time a top executive at HMV/Saregama, who pushed for the album to happen.

How much poorer the music world would have been without Sajda! The ground-breaking Ghazals, 7 solos by Lataji and her 4 duets with Jagjit Singh, plus 2 solos by Jagjit are architectural marvels. These are compositions of eternal resplendence, each one a self-contained Taj Mahal of a creation.

Lataji’s solos Dard se mera daaman bhar de (poetry: Qatil Shifai), Meri tasveer mein rang aur kisi ka toh nahi (Muzaffar Warsi) and Dhuan banake fiza mein uda diya mujhko (Nazeer Baqri) rank among her finest Ghazals, right next to Madan Mohan’s compositions in Adalat and Jahan Ara, and Hridaynath Mangeshkar’s Ghalib.

Then there are her duets with Jagjit Singh, the only songs they sang together: Har taraf har jagah beshumar aadmi, Gham ka khazana tera bhi hai mera bhi and Mili hawaon mein udne ki wo saza yaaro…. 40 years after composition, every song in Sajda sounds as fresh and accessible as it was composed yesterday.

Lataji had spoken to me about the album Sajda and Jagjit Singh: “The first time I heard about Jagjit Singh, I was recording with Madan Mohan who told me, 'Ek Jagjit naam ka ladka aaya hai bahut achcha gaata hai.' When I heard his voice I was bowled over, but somehow Jagjitji's voice was not considered suitable for film heroes at that time. As time passed his voice became a household name and he sang for many film heroes. But it was the song Sarakti jaye hai rukh se naqab ahista ahista which I just couldn't get out of my head. Jagjitji was highly influenced by Mehdi Hassan and gradually he moulded his voice in his style. He also met his future wife Chitra Singh and they became a very saleable Ghazal-singing couple. So many other couples subsequently tried to emulate the Jagjit-Chitra style, but in vain.”

Lataji revealed that initially Sajda, recorded in 1991, was supposed to have only her solos. “It was supposed to be only me singing to Jagjitji's compositions. But I told him he had to sing as well. This was my chance to sing with a voice I had liked for years. Sajda was an idea put forward by Madan Bhaiyya's son Sanjeev Kohli who worked at that time with HMV. They asked me if I would like to do an album with Jagjitji. I was game. Jagjitji got very emotional when I sang his composition Dard se mera daaman bhar de. He was going through a personal tragedy and the song touched his heart.”

The personal tragedy that Lataji alluded to was the death of Vivek, Jagjit and Chitra’s only son who died at age 19 in 1990. It left the couple shattered. Chitra never sang again. Another renowned singer Chithra from the South also lost her only child in a freak drowning accident. She too never sang again.