Jagjit Singh’s body of work is so vast that it can be divided into seasons. On any given theme, his multiple offerings highlight a different shade of the palette, the way no two skies are the same. So on ‘life’ — an admittedly heavy topic — he has multiple songs: some reflective, and others hopeful. While he didn’t write the poetry himself, it is impossible to think of these ghazals and not be reminded of Singh.The way certain fragrances take you back to a certain place, or bring to mind a specific face, these songs evoke an ancient feeling.Jagjit Singh’s philosophy of musicA trained classical singer who came to be known for his ghazals, Singh was very deliberate about what he did. In an interview, Singh spoke about the primacy of words. A song wasn’t recorded to impress the listener with the singer’s range. Instead, the music served as a vessel for the words.At a time when some felt alienated by elaborate taan and aalap, the intonations central to Indian classical music, he stripped them away, making space for his own contributions to the world of ghazals, from modern instruments to simple tunes that allowed the poetry to breathe.A piece of poetry looking to become a Jagjit Singh ghazal had to be simple and yet carry a message. So Singh chose the poetry first and then stitched the music around it. Jagjit Singh turned Rajesh Reddy’s poem “Ye jo zindaagi ki kitaab hay” (This Book Called Life) into a ghazal. (x/@Rajeshreddyvb)One such example was Rajesh Reddy’s poem “Ye jo zindaagi ki kitaab hay” (This Book Called Life) that Singh turned into a ghazal and released as part of his music album Saher (Dawn) in the year 2000. Reddy’s verse captures the multitudes held within different pages of life: some happy, others not so much.Also Read | Arjan Dhillon: The bard bringing Punjabi poetry to the peopleThe tale of lifeYe jo zindagi ki kitaab hay, ye kitaab bhi kya kitaab hay.Kahin ik haseen sa khwab hay, kahin jaanleva azaab hay.(This book called life is unlike any other. In parts, it’s like a beautiful dream, elsewhere a life-threatening torment).Story continues below this adThe song was released in a country hoping for a new dawn of its own as it turned the pages of the calendar to welcome the beginning of a new century. India still carried the early imprints of the landmark economic reforms of 1991 that had opened the gates for the Coca Colas of the world along with West’s cultural exports in the form of movies, TV shows and music videos.The social divisions brought to the fore by the Babri Masjid demolition were also fresh in memory. Progress demanded coming to terms with the past and this ghazal offered a way to make sense of life.The comparison of life with a book (zindagi ki kitaab) suggested that one could turn back the pages, but there was no alternative to processing the written word before moving towards the conclusion.This was the story of the republic, the triumphs and tribulations painfully repeated over and over again, decade after long decade. And marvelling at the depth of this book called life (ye kitaab bhi kya kitaab hay) made sense.As it moved forward, the poem widened its lens.Story continues below this adKahin chaanv hay, kahin dhoop hay, kahin aur hi koi roop haykayi chehre isme chupe hue, ek ajeeb si ye naqaab hay(One finds the shade sometimes, sometimes needs to brave the sun, and sometimes comes face to face with an entirely different facet (of life). There are many faces hidden behind the strange mask/veil (we call life)).Beyond the binary of dhoop and chhanv, which can be read as adversity and hope, kahin aur hi koi roop hay is a timely reminder of so much of the life that falls in neither bracket. Its existence is free of the easy labels of good and bad.The chhanv can also be described as shelter from the sun, which unlike in the West, isn’t necessarily a positive metaphor but reminds those from the subcontinent of sweat and sunburn, of an oppressive regime.Yet plants can’t grow only in the shade. They need the sun.Story continues below this adThus, the acceptance of the multitudes within life in the next line (kayi chehre isme chupe hue) is instructive. The faces are all hidden by one mask, a strange one at that (ek ajeeb si ye naqaab hay), and it is for us to choose to see the face behind it.So how does one deal with this?A throwbackKahin kho diya, kahin paa liya, kahin ro liya, kahin gaa liya,Kahin cheen leti hay, har khushi, kahi meherbaan be-hisaab hay(I lost, I won, I cried and I sang my heart out at different points of time. (Life) sometimes snatches away all joy and at other times is endlessly generous).It is the second line of the verse that helps power through the first: the realisation that the same hand of life both rids one of all joy and showers its blessings. That makes the heartbreak of loss (kahin kho diya) and the joy of receiving (kahin paa liya) bearable.Crying and singing have been presented here as two ends of the same rope, both actions capable of releasing the pressure in the face of life’s absurdities.Story continues below this adIt is also self-referential the moment the poem becomes a song and the written word is sung. It shows a choice made: to sing, and to sing one’s heart out. Not that crying is belittled; the choice to cry or to sing becomes divorced from the outcome and ceases to be a response. Instead, it becomes the primary action. Ludhiyanvi’s song came into national consciousness when India was a young republic. (Wikimedia Commons)This merits recalling Sahir Ludhiyanvi’s verse from the film Hum Dono (1961):Barbadiyon ka sog manana fizool tha, barbadiyon ka jashn manata chala gaya(It was futile to lament my devastation, so I celebrated it).Ludhiyanvi’s song came into national consciousness when India was a young republic, having gained Independence just over a decade back and still carrying the scars of Partition. Next year, it would get embroiled in a war with China, losing territory and some national confidence.Story continues below this adIn contrast, Reddy’s verse and the prescription for dealing with life (kahin ro liya, kahin gaa liya) seem like the words of a person who had tried completely disregarding tragedy and now come to accept it as part of life. In fact, it could be the same person, captured by two different poets in vastly different times.The final verseKahin aansuon ki hay daastan, kahin muskurahaton ka bayaan.Kahi barkaton ki hay baarishen, kahi tishnagi be-hisaab hay(It is a tale of tears, and a recollection of the smiles.Blessings pour in one place, while the thirst is unbearable in another).In a post-pandemic India, these words could very well be part of an economic paper highlighting the income and wealth disparity (Kahi barkaton ki hay baarishen, kahi tishnagi be-hisaab hay).Story continues below this adIt works equally well on a personal level as a reminder that the thing with time is that it changes. The tears in eyes can soon get replaced with a windfall of happiness. It is how life works.Rakesh Reddy’s words and Jagjit Singh’s music come together to form a potent mix, bringing to the surface the whole gamut of human emotions. It also suggests that heartbreak and happiness are both inevitable and the chaos of life moves in circles.Jagjit Singh captures this well while setting the musical score. The start and the end of the song are identical, creating a musical palindrome.The first tune we hear is suggestive of curiosity, soon giving way to one offering an understanding nod to the listeners. Singh’s vocals then fill the space, entering with a calm, understated ease as he seems to sing the first line with a wry smile (ye kitaab bhi kya kitaab hay).Story continues below this adThen he proceeds to lay out each verse with care before returning to the refuge of the first couple of lines. These do form the fulcrum of the song and the poem.The song is a reminder that happiness and sorrow are not as unlike as we seem to believe. Both are impermanent, switching places.They are then not distractions or disturbances in the journey of life, but life itself — simply denoting different seasons, or chapters, to take forward the metaphor of a book (kitaab).Looking back, these chapters sure make for an engrossing read.