The festival will be a two-day affair.
Shri Jagjit Singh Foundation and Perfect Harmony Productions have planned the first ever Jagjit Singh music festival this year, on the occasion of the platinum jubilee of the ghazal maestro's birth anniversary. The legend's timeless music and magical voice will be celebrated at the Shanmukhananda Hall on February 8.
"Jagjitji was very soft, gentle, forgiving and generous. No one would ever leave our house empty handed, as he would help everyone. This was the reason that I started this foundation. All his unfulfilled desires to help and support others are being fulfilled through this foundation. He had great plans in various fields and so we decided to announce an award in his memory to the most deserving individual in the field of arts," said his wife Chitra Singh.
The Jagjit Singh memorial award would be given to any artist who shows extreme creativity, achievement and contribution in various fields of arts.
The festival will be a two-day affair. On the first day, a group of 20 youngsters, selected by a panel of judges, will perform 75 ghazals. On the second day, well-known singers Hariharan, Sonu Nigam and Suresh Wadkar will regale the audience with Singh's chosen ghazal gems. This will be followed by the second half of the show, wherein the formidable trinity of Pt Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pt Birju Maharaj and Ustad Zakir Hussain will replicate a programme that they had with Jagjit Singh a few years ago.
"It was a beautiful programme. Jagjitji's voice and such stalwarts as accompanists, it was performed on various platforms across the nation. The same would be replicated with a different singer," said Chitra.
The husband-wife duo had sung together on many occasions, "He was a great support for me, as I would be very nervous on stage. He would help me even while performing. There have been times when I forgot the lines but he picked it up smoothly and no one even noticed it. In the 40 years of our life spent together, he was always accommodating. Being a Bengali, I had trouble with Urdu words and he would tutor me patiently. The most unbelievable fact was that he wrote and composed Bengali tracks as well, just for me," she added.
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