‘He will always be with us’

I have so many memories of him (Jagjit Singh) - memories of performing together and chatting into the night after our concerts. Thirty years worth of memories. Ghulam Ali writes.

I have so many memories of him (Jagjit Singh) - memories of performing together and chatting into the night after our concerts. Thirty years worth of memories.

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I was in Lahore when my sister called from Mumbai to tell me that Jagjit had passed away. Sunke meri tabeeyat ajeeb ho gayi, mujhe bahut afsos hua. Hum sabko ek din jaana hai, lekin aise log jaake bhi nahi jaate. (I started to feel uneasy after I heard about his demise, I am very saddened. We all leave this world one day, but people like him stay with us even after their death.

I knew Jagjit since 1976 and always kept in touch. We met in places all over the world - India, US, Canada…

We performed together at the Talkotara Stadium in Delhi on September 3 and I had no clue that he would take ill soon. But these things cannot be predicted. We were together all the time and like always, he showered immense love and affection on me. He was in a very talkative mood that day. We chatted till 3am and I finally told him that we should go to bed or may miss our flight.

Whenever we talked about music, he would tell me, "Aapka design bahut achha hai" (Your design is very nice). What he meant was that the way I presented my music was very good. I always replied, "Aapka design bhi bahut achha hai".