Ghazal singer Jagjit Singh, 70, underwent a surgery at Lilavati Hospital in Bandra on Friday after he suffered a brain haemorrhage. Doctors at the hospital performed an emergency surgery on Singh. His condition was described as "critical" and doctors continued to monitor him in the intensive care unit. He is breathing with the aid of a ventilator. Dr Ajit Menon, a cardiologist, Lilavati Hospital, said,

"He suffered a brain haemorahage and underwent a surgery to remove clots in his brain. His condition is critical," said. Singh, who was scheduled to perform with Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali at a concert at Shanmukhananda Hall on Friday, has a history of heart ailments. In January 1998, he suffered a heart attack, which led him to quit smoking. In October 2007, he was hospitalised following blood circulation problems.

But Singh continued to charm audiences singing with equal ease in Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Gujrati, Sindhi and Nepali languages. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2003.

Popularly known as the 'Ghazal King', Singh gained acclaim together with his wife, singer Chitra Singh. The couple was considered to be pioneers of modern Ghazal singing and regarded as most successful recording artistes outside the realm of Indian film music.

Chitra stopped giving public performances after their only son, Vivek, died in a road accident in the early 1990s.