Patna, Oct. 10: Jagjit Singh’s ghazals have often left listeners nostalgic and teary-eyed. Today, as he left the world after struggling with poor health for more than two weeks, music lovers didn’t need to tune in to his ghazals to feel the pain of his demise. Tears flowed as television and radio channels aired the news and websites started posting his obituary.

As Singh breathed his last at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai today, the nation mourned, including some of the renowned artistes and singers from Bihar who have had the privilege to know him very closely.

Actor-cum-politician Shatrughan Sinha had organised a grand party to celebrate the birthday of his wife Poonam Sinha at his bungalow in Juhu, Mumbai. As the news of Singh’s sudden demise flashed on the television, he did not take a minute to cancel the party.

Expressing condolence over Singh’s death, Sinha told The Telegraph that his loss is irreplaceable. “He was the king of ghazal. Nobody can match him, he not only created a platform for young ghazal singers but also gave a new dimension to this kind of singing. It appears that we have lost one of the greatest human beings in our industry. He has gifted melody to the film industry. His famous song Honton se chhu lo tum mera geet amar kar do in the film Prem Geet in early-80s is still fresh in my mind.”

Talking about his personal relation with Singh, Sinha said, “He was very much a part of my family as I knew him since a long time. I get goosebumps when I recall his last concert that I attended in Delhi on September 17 at Siri Fort auditorium. I am privileged to say that I was invited to that concert as chief guest and when the show got over, we all went to a Chinese restaurant at Greater Kailash run by none other than his (Singh) brother. We had a good time there and I complimented him saying he was 70-year-old young man. He laughed and said that it was the respect and love of his fans that had kept him lively all the time.”

“Day before yesterday, I had visited him at the hospital along with Pankaj Udhas. We met his wife Chitra and asked her to remain calm. He was a rarest of rare man. Tomorrow I have to attend his funeral. I am in a fix as tomorrow I have to attend two programmes in Patna — one at the Patna airport and later Advaniji’s public meeting at Gandhi Maidan. I am still working out how to attend the funeral as well as the programmes,” said Sinha.

Padma Shri Sharda Sinha, an exponent of folk music, said: “Few years ago, I met him (Singh) at the Mumbai airport and he was so impressed that he gave me his address and asked me to meet him there. I always had a special inclination towards his ghazal singing. Today we (teachers and students) gathered for 10 minutes to mourn his demise at Women’s College in Samastipur, where I am a music teacher.”

She further said: “In my early days, I had sung many of his ghazals on stage. His death is a big loss for people like us who have always admired him. Despite being a classical singer, there was a simplicity in his ghazals and this is the reason why even the younger generation likes to listen to him.”

Actress Neetu Chandra, too, expressed grief over Singh’s death. “I had met him a couple of times during music concerts. He was a great ghazal singer and I always admired his singing. It is a big loss and I am still not able to believe that he is no more with us.”

Chief minister Nitish Kumar expressed shock and grief on the death of the ghazal maestro. “His death is a irreparable loss to the music world,” Kumar said in his condolence message.