Chitra is too numb to react: Gulzar

I have just returned from the hospitalafter meeting Chitra. She is too numb to react. For her it has been anunending series of setbacks. She lost her young son Vivek, then her daughter and now her husband Jagjit. His death hasn’t sunk in yet. Like I said, Chitra is too numb toreact. As for me, I’m heart-broken.
Jagjit was a magician, not just a musician. It was his solo effort that kept the ghazal form alive and took it to such heights.I may add he actually revolutionised the ghazal. Memories are many. I remember going to Western Outdoor and seeing the board saying ‘JS is recording’. I would tell Daman Sood the recordist, ‘Yaar, iss jaadugar saiyyan ke baad hamara bhi recording karo.’ For me, Jagjit was a magician.
The two of us recently went to Dubai for a show. There were 4000 people in the audience. Halfway through the concert, Jagjit said, ‘I am tired, now you guys sing.’ And even before he struck two notes on his harmonium the entire audience was singing his ghazal.
Jagjit will be cremated today. Yesterday they had kept his body in a morgue and the thought of it depressed me. Here was a man who roamed the world till a few days ago, lying in an ice box. I cannot tell you how painful the thought was. It hurts even to speak.
As told to Meena Iyer
Listen to Jagjit's Ghazals on Gaana