Tum Itna Jo.....

Never met him in person really, but he was always there to comfort me in my loneliness, heartbreaks and setbacks.

The first impressions that he made during one’s adolescence turned into some sort of pious admiration by adulthood.

He spoke to me on lazy Sunday afternoons, sometimes almost whispering.

Be it four friends getting wasted over alcohol or someone standing in the window and admiring the setting sun over a cup of tea, he always had something to say for every mood.  

He made blues endearing. With him around, it was never a thing of shame to be a hopeless romantic.

With just a harmonium and a tabla, he romanced tears and pain like no one ever will.

Claiming that smiling too much is probably a ploy to hide pain (‘tum itna jo muskura rahe ho…’) – he toyed with human psyche with masterful ease.  

The melody of his baritone could capture your heart in remarkable ways. A simple rendition of some soulful lyrics and you could at once feel both a spell of trance and the spiritual stirrings of Sufi music. Such was the realm of music that he operated in.  

The heavens endowed him with a gift, which he so sincerely and passionately shared with all of us.

We feel blessed being touched by you, dear Jagjit. Thank you very much.

RIP.