Google pays tribute to Jagjit Singh

Google pays tribute to late ghazal singer Jagjit Singh on his 72nd birth anniversary today with its latest doodle. The illustration shows a caricature of the singer with his harmonium.

Jagjit Singh, who died on October 10, 2011, continues to be popular with his fans even now, topping Google's list of most searched ghazal singers online.

Coming up: Jagjit Singh: Lasting musical memories

Jagjit Singh grew up in the cradle of Indian folklore, Rajasthan and was groomed by the noted musician and teacher, Ustad Jamal Khan.

He graduated from Punjab University and flowered into a fine vocalist with a rich and resonant voice that has won the heart of people the worldover alike. And his years of training in classical music is very evident from his inimitable style of singing.

Jagjit married Chitra in 1969 after a two-year-long courtship and released successful albums together including Ecstasies, A Sound Affair and Passions.

Chitra Singh grew up in the cradle of music too. Her mother, Smt. Krishna Shome, discovered Chitra's potential talents early, and put her heart and soul to provide the young one with proper guidance in music.

Blessed with the a natural gift of a sweet voice, Chitra, a graduate from Calcutta University-took to her musical training in right earnest and steadily acquired for herself an enviable position in the field of ghazal singing. She later collaborated with her husband Jagjit Singh in many projects.

Tragedy struck them at the peak of their career in the 90s. Their only son Vivek, passed away in a road accident in July 28, 1990.

It was after the untimely death of their son that Chitra quit singing and their last album together was Someone Somewhere.

Compared to his earlier works (in 70-80s) his later ghazals were more soulful and poignant in albums such as Marasim, Face To Face, Aaeena.

In a career spanning over five decades he has worked on almost 80 albums till date.

Regarded as one of country's most influential artistes, Jagjit's solo albums Hope, In Search, Insight, Mirage, Visions, Sajda , Saher were also immensely popular.

Jagjit, who has sung in Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Sindhi and Nepali languages, was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2003.

The prolific singer has given performances all over India and the world. He has won immense laurels from his concert tours in Japan, the far East, Britain, the Middle East countries and even the African continent.