Death be not proud

Braving the onslaught of the savage Mumbai monsoon one wet, greynbsp;afternoon in 1994, I made my way, pillion-riding along the Marine Drive on my way to the smart, happening Sophia College at Worli. Just before we made the final turn to Sophia, I realised we were on Vivek Lane. A bystander confirmed that the flat overlooking the lane end belonged to Jagjit and Chitra Singh, the gifted ghazal singers. I recalled a poignant interview Jagjit had given a few months after his only child, 18-year-old Vivek, had died in a car crash on the Marine Drive, on July 8, 1990. He had mentioned, with atypical angst and resignation, that, instead of doing something about improving the safety of drivers on the busy thoroughfare his son and a colleaguenbsp;were crushed when their car collided with a vehicle that emerged suddenly from a side road, the municipality had chosen to name the lane outside his house after his son. Jagjit rose above his grief and soldiered on, singing his way out of despair. Chitra, his wife, stopped singing altogether, retired into seclusion, unable to cope with her loss. Their last album together, completed just before Vivek died, titled Someone Somewhere ranks amongst their best. It speaks of loss and departure, almost as if it had presaged the loss of Vivek.nbsp;

On July 31, 2008, Ishmeet Singh, a young, 19-year-old singer of great potential was cremated, and honoured in death by a state funeral. It was paradoxical that Jagjit andnbsp;Chitra had only recently honoured him by giving him an award namednbsp;after their beloved son. Ishmeet had, ironically, survived a seriousnbsp;car accident in Mumbai where he was studying; and he had laughingly remarked that God must have intended to grant him a long life, which is why henbsp;had saved him.nbsp;

8220;Bachpan main pani se darta tha; nahane se darta tha mera beta My sonnbsp;was afraid of water, of bathing when he was a kid,8221; Ishmeet8217;s mother had indulgently remarkednbsp;after one of his singing triumphs. One can only reflect with sadness that destiny had, in its unerring, chilling way, ensured that Ishmeet8217;snbsp;mother would albeit unwittingly have a premonition of his death atnbsp;a time when he had become the nation8217;s favourite youth icon.