His father wanted him to become an engineer or a bureaucrat. Here are a few facts about the maestro’s life that not many know of. Though the legend breathed his last at Lilavati Hospital on October 10, 2011, his soulful voice continues to resonate for ghazal aficionados around the world. Little wonder then, that he became arguably the most popular ghazal singer of all time. And Jagjit expressed all that and more in a silken voice that captivated the listener in no time. Rewind to his iconic songs from another Mahesh Bhatt film Arth – ‘ Jhuki Jhuki Si Nazar’ and ‘Tum Jo Itna Muskra Rahe Ho’ – and their timeless ode to the feeling of love. And who can forget ‘ Hosh Walon Ko Kya Khabar Kya’ and ‘ Hothon Se Chhu Lo Tum‘? The longing, the pain of separation, unrequited love, silent admiration… these ghazals are about all these. And when it comes to expressing sad thoughts through sweet songs, Jagjit was in a league of his own. “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought,” poet P.B. Such was the magic of the ghazal maestro’s voice. But when Jagjit Singh sang them for the Mahesh Bhatt film Aaj, he brought out the poignancy of the song in a way that transported listeners to another world. It has been about three decades since Sudarshan Faakir wrote the hauntingly beautiful lyrics that begin with Woh Kaagaz Ki Kashti… The lines, about wanting to relive childhood, attained immortality on their own. Jaun Elia died on Novemin Karachi, Pakistan.On his 77th birth anniversary, we remember the singer who gave ghazals a new identity with his soulful yet simple renditions. Apart from Shaayed, all other collection were published after his death. Some of his famous poetry collections include Shaayed (1991), Yaani (2003), Gumaan (2004), Lekin (2006), Goyaa (2008), Farmood (2008), Mubada & Zakham-e-Umeed. His unique yet simple style of expressing his emotions is what makes him a popular poet and one of his kind. Most of his poetry revolves arounds the topics of love, sadness and pains of separation. He also deeply studied philosophy, islamic history, Sufi traditions and western literature. Elia was well versed in many languages including Urdu, Arabic, English, Hebrew, Persian and Sanskrit. All of his other collections were published after his death. “Shaayed” is his first and only collection which was published during his lifetime in 1991. He started poetry at the young age of eight but his collection was published a lot later. He though migrated to Pakistan in 1957 and settled in Karachi where he lived rest of his life. Elia was a communist and opposed the partition of India and once remarked that the actual idea of Pakistan was not of an Islamic country otherwise communist party would not have supported it. He initially studied in Syed-ul-Madaris in Amroha which was associated with Dar-ul-Uloom Deoband although his family was Shia. He was born in 14 December 1931 in Amroha, India. Jaun Elia though is most commonly known by his aforementioned pen name but his real name is Syed Hussain Jaun Asghar Naqvi. Now a days, he is probably one of the most searched poet on the internet especially among the younger generation where his couplets and sad quotes have gained immense traction. He was fairly popular during his lifetime but he become a household name after his death when most of his poetry books were published. Jaun Elia is a very popular and well-known poet in literary circles and is specially known for his sad Urdu poetry and his unique style of expressing his emotions both in poetry and in mushairas (poetry symposia).