Jagjit Singh birthday celebrated by Google doodle in style

Today is ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh's 72nd birthday and Google doodle is celebrating the fact in style.

Google has splashed Jagjit Singh's picture across its omnipresent search page.

Jagjit Singh, aka Jagmohan Singh was born in Rajasthan, but with father's encouragement shifted to Bombay to ply his trade and thereby for ever changed the way Indians look at music and the entertainment music that mostly, till then, was engrossed in kitsch love songs by Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar troika's Bollywood offering.

Jagjit Singh breathed fresh air into the genre with his melodious and soothing voice that took the middle and late seventies and much of the next two decades by storm.

He met and married Chitra Dutta there in 1969, (she divorced her first husband) and the duo created the album 'Unforgettables' that even today manages to move millions with its touching rendition - that was in 1976.

Jagjit Singh, along with Chitra went on to release many albums thereafter, that went on to become extremely popular and more than that his encouragement of the genre led to many pupils of his making it big in the industry, most notably Pankaj Udhaas.

Jagjit Singh also encouraged artistes from Pakistan to come to India to ply their trade and that led to Ghulam Ali becoming an instant hit with the Indian audiences.

Among the most popular of Jagjit Singh's albums were 'Live in Concert at Wembley' and 'Ecstasies'.

His work was also picked up by Bollywood movies most notably 'Arth' 'Saath Saath', 'Bahuroopi', 'Avishkaar', 'Griha Pravesh', 'Ek Baar Kaho'.

Jagjit Singh died in Mumbai on 10 October 2011 due to a massive cerebral haemorrhage.

Notables by Jagjit Singh:

Koi Yeh Kaise Bataye, Too Nahin To Zindagi Mein Aur Kya Reha Jayega, Yun Zindagi Ki Raah Mein, Jhuki Jhuki Si Nazar, Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho, Pyar Mujh Se Jo Kiya Tumne, Yeh Tera Ghar Yeh Mera Ghar, Tum Ko Dekha To Yeh Khayal Aaya, Yeh Bata De Mujhe Zindagi.

... contd.

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