K.L SAIGAL, AN ASSET FROM JAMMU.
(A TRIBUTE).
IN THE AGE OF RAP SONG BATTLES AND WESTERN MUSICAL DESIGNS I RECALL THE SUPERSTAR OF PRE INDEPENDENT INDIA AND AN ASSET IN INDIAN FILMS HISTORY FROM JAMMU.  NONE OTHER THAN K. L. SAIGAL.

LONG BEFORE IN  90s my family used to listen to vibhit bharati in the morns which often played "JAB DIL HI TOOT GYA TO JEE KE KYA KRENGE"

 very keen myself, when used to ask, was told abt ,  K. L. SAIGAL, AS THE FIRST SINGER/ACTOR FROM JAMMU IN INDIAN FILMS..
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CURIOSITY MADE TO KNOW HIM MORE AND WHAT I READ WAS,

 Raychand Boral in "Begum Akhtar the Undisputed Malika of Ghazals" said, . "Never before had I heard such melody from human throat. It was superhuman. Was he a Gandharva come to earth? No expression on his face. Not much movement of lips. Perfect control over breath. Perfect pauses. Clear pronunciation. I was spellbound." . This  Superhuman /Gandharva was,
THE FIRST SUPER STAR OF INDIAN FILM INDUSTRY(LATER KNOWN BOLLYWOOD) .
Fourth child of Tehsildar Amarchand Saigal (of Dogra Maharaja's court). .
Before he Started as an untrained singer in 1930s , he used to play sitar and sing bhajans in Ramlilas of Jammu later became a sensation in the industry which was then located in Kolkata. .
In a career of 15 years, irrespective of his Dogra ethnicity, he was the one who learnt Bengali and was allowed by Tagore himself to sing his poems. .

Acted in 36 feature films, rendered 185 songs which includes 142 film songs and 43 non-film songs. His musical renderings covered the creations of poets such as Ghalib, Zauq, and Seemab.

M.Sayed Alam wrote that, Saigal never liked his film songs, just his Ghalib compositions.

He sang in low octaves from the throat which became a fashion and model for many singers. The Hindi films from 1932 to 1946 had the melody of Saigal. As per, "The Literary Works of Ranganathan Magadi"

Jyoti Belliapa quotes that, As an actor, Saigal had a special feel for the scenes he portrayed. The mood especially got reflected in his songs: his Devdas is a case in point. "Dukh ke ab din beetet nahin... " brought out the deep tonal quality in his voice. His was not just a base, guttural voice but an emotionally-charged, husky nasal articulation, descending lower octave with rasping resonance and with an infinite variety of forms.

One's all-time favourite has been "Aye katibe taqdeer mujeh itna bata dei, kyon mujse qhafa hai kya mane kiya hai... ".
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People quote that "his voice was a mixture, higher than the voice of the bass and lower than the voice of the tenor". A unique singer and an incredible actor. . He sang in low octaves from the throat which became a fashion and model for many singers. The Hindi films from 1932 to 1946 had the melody of Saigal. .
And yes he was the man who made the 3rd feature film on DEVDAS in 1936 and led the Indians know abt it much before the well known Dilip Kumar's or SRK's for today's gen (a 1900's Bengali novel of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhya) . .  Inside the most epic and emotional "Anmol Ghadi," he acted and sang a duet with Noor Jahan, "Awaaz dei kahan hai.... Duniya meri jawaan hai".
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Adored are these trend setters remain inside the old gold times and lesser known to the times of today.
A tribute was given to him in the movie DELLY BELLY AS SAIGAL BLUES.