Jagjit Singh's birth anniversary: 15 lesser known facts about 'The Ghazal King'

February 8 marks the 80th birth anniversary of the late ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh. In his entire journey as a singer, Jagjit Singh has more than 40 private albums to his credit and has lent his voice for innumerable Bollywood films, calming the souls and captivating the lovers. His songs like Hontho Se Chhoo Lo Tum, Tum Ko Dekha and Meri Zindagi Kisi Aur Ki Mere Naam Ka Koi Aur Hai, are evergreen hits. Regarded as "The Ghazal King", Jagjit Singh died on October 10 in 2011. On his 80th birth anniversary, let's take a look at some lesser-known facts of the melodious ghazal singer.

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Facts about late Jagjit Singh

1. According to IMDb, Jagjit Singh's real name was Jagmohan Singh Dhiman. His father wanted him to become a bureaucrat and pursue engineering. However, at the same time, he encouraged him to learn as well. 

2. Jagjit Singh, as a child, used to study by the light of lanterns as there was no electricity in his . Singh stated that they even lacked the facility of running .

3. He helped Kumar Sanu get his first break with Kalyanji Anandji. Kumar Sanu shared his experience with the press in a 2015 interview. He credits Jagjit Singh the reason for his career taking off.

4. Jagjit Singh’s first recording was at the Jalandhar All India Radio station 52 years ago. He used to do live concerts for AIR Jalandhar six times a year. In his initial days in Mumbai, Jagjit Singh used to make a living by composing jingles and performances at weddings.

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5. Jagjit Singh and his wife Chitra got married in 1969 in a two-minute wedding ceremony that cost them Rs 30.

6. Jagjit Singh reached the peak of his popularity in the 80s' when in the year 1982, the tickets for his concert Live at Royal Albert Hall were sold out in just three hours.

7. As per an Outlook report, Jagjit Singh's Beyond Time was the first album which had an Indian singer recording a purely digital CD album in 1980.

8. Jagjit Singh's relationships and family dynamics took a turn when his 20-year-old son Vivek died in a crash in 1990 leaving his parents devastated.

9. Jagjit Singh made a strong comeback post his son's demise and gave the world some of his best works like Sajda with Lata Mangeshkar, Silsilay with Javed Akhtar and Marasim with Gulzar 

10. Jagjit Singh is the only composer and singer to have lent his voice to songs written by former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. 

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11. In the year 2003, Jagjit Singh was awarded India's third-highest civilian award, Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.

12. The Ghazal King was a enthusiast and also liked betting on track racing and stock markets.

13. It was Jagjit Singh who started the practice of paying lyricists a part of an album's earnings.

14. Jagjit Singh suffered a brain haemorrhage on September 23, 2011, and was in a coma for two weeks. He passed away on the October 10 at Lilavati, Mumbai.

15. After his demise in 2014, the Government of India released two stamps in honour of Ghazal king Jagjit Singh.

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