'Music ko alag mat kariye': When ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh gently shut down a question on Pakistani music

In an old interview that has recently resurfaced, the late ghazal maestro Jagjit Singh was asked about Pakistani music, his reply didn’t directly engage with the label but gently redirected the conversation toward the essence of art itself. Rather than defining music by geography, Jagjit Singh spoke about how art loses its purity when boxed into national identities. For him, music existed beyond borders. What truly mattered was emotion, melody, and sincerity, qualities that resonate universally, regardless of where a song is created.As stated by Money Control, addressing the issue calmly, he said, “Music ko alag mat karo. Isko alag mat kariye. Music, music hai. Chahe unka ho ya hamara ho. Iske wajah se gadbad hui hai sab,” (Don’t separate music. Please don’t divide it. Music is music, whether it is theirs or ours. All the confusion has happened because of this separation). The singing maestro also spoke about his admiration for artists across the region, saying, “Baaki purane fankaar jo hain, sabko sunta hoon main,” (I listen to all the great artists from the past). For him, artistic merit was never tied to nationality but to honesty of expression.Jagjit Singh had more than an impact solely from the number of albums he released and concerts he performed; he put the ghazal into people's homes, creating a feeling of closeness and accessibility through poetry. His voice contained both restraint and considerable emotion, the same qualities that can be found in both his music and his world view. On October 10, 2011, Jagjit Singh passed away from a brain haemorrhage at the age of 70, ending an era; however, his music and his words will remind us that true art knows no boundaries, be it era, culture, language, or geography.Known as the 'King of Ghazals,' Jagjit Singh redefined the genre with his understated, soulful voice and timeless compositions.