Najmal Babu remembers Ghazal Kings concert

KOZHIKODE: The demise of ‘Ghazal King’ Jagjit Singh was a shocker to millions of his fans around the world. The case of his fans in the city are no different. “Going by the general perception, Ghazal is verse and its lines are significant, he was a great poet in ghazal,” said Najmal Babu, ghazal singer and son of yesteryear singer Kozhikode Abdul Khader. Najmal, a keen follower of Jagjit Singh, was the translator when the ghazal maestro had visited Kozhikode. Kozhikode, the city of ghazal fans, was enthralled by the magical performance of the ‘Ghazal King’ in 1995, organised in connection with the Malabar Festival. “It was an occasion to cherish for music lovers. Amitabh Kant, then district collector, was the main organiser of the fest, and he invited Jagjit to the city.  “He spoke in Hindi and English. I translated his conversations to the media and officials,” recalled Najmal Babu. “He was very friendly,” he said. The venue was Mananchira ground. Thousands thronged there to enjoy the sweet voice of the Ghazal maestro. “He started his ghazal concert with soulful ‘Dhunia…’ Those days, he started every concert with this song. He sang other well-known ghazal numbers including ‘Tum Nahi Kam Nahi..’.’ Hundreds gathered at the ground and requested him many songs. He had rendered all of them sweetly, and made it a memorable event for us, Najmal Babu said. Najmal Babu, once active in the ghazal circles of Kozhikode, was keeping off the stage due to poor health for the past several years. “I followed Jagjit Singh’s songs from his career’s beginning. Jagjit and his wife Chitra together sang ‘Babul More’, a reproduced version of evergreen hit of Saigal for ‘Aavishkar’ in 1972. “His voice influenced me a lot and after hearing this song, I became a keen follower of Jagjit Singh,” Najmal said. “Apart from Ghulam Ali and Mehdi Hassan, the deep voice of Jagjit Singh made a remarkable mark in the 70’s. I heard the news of his demise from television and it was shocking. He was one of the most successful and loved artistes of his time,” said Najmal Babu.