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Etching the memoirs
Highlights
Sathya Saran has penned biographies of stalwarts like Guru Dutt and SD Burman before compiling the book ‘Baat Niklegi Toh’. Speaking about the book she says, “I have written this biography because I have been asked by the publishers and I am also a fan of Jagjit ji and I am happy that I got a chance to write about his life.”
Sathya Saran, journalist-turned author added another feather in her cap by penning the life and music of the legend Jagjit Singh, ‘Baat Niklegi Toh Phir’, after the successful biographies of Guru Dutt and Sachin Dev Burman. She speaks about her new book and more...
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Sathya Saran has penned biographies of stalwarts like Guru Dutt and SD Burman before compiling the book ‘Baat Niklegi Toh’. Speaking about the book she says, “I have written this biography because I have been asked by the publishers and I am also a fan of Jagjit ji and I am happy that I got a chance to write about his life.” About ‘Sun Mere Bandhu Re—The Musical World of SD Burman’ she says, “It was a collage of memories and fictional projections of the subject’s life with his wife Meera till he passed away in 1975 after having been in coma for nearly a year. I had to dig for a biographical story from the interviews, but for me it was difficult to write because in his friend circle nobody was alive to ask them about Burman saab.
So, I relied on the published material.” In her book on Jagjit Singh one can find evolution of a singer from student to struggler to performer par excellence, capable of making his audience laugh at a joke even as he moved them to tears with his voice. Saran tracked his personal journey— as a husband, father, friend and benefactor; the perfect partnership with his singer-wife Chitra Singh; his tryst with spirituality; his fetish for horses and his unique way of coping with loss.
“I spoke to Chitra, and she told me how they met - ‘One day I was at my home (first marriage) he (Jagjit) knocked the door. When I opened, he came inside and slept in one corner. After some time he woke up and gave his performance with the harmonium. That was the first time I saw him and I was like - what kind of a man is he?’” Saran relates.
“I spoke to Gulzar ji. They had a special connection. He said his voice had a special touch even when he (Jagjit) was not established. They worked together for a TV serial ‘Mirza Ghalib’ and they sang without music for the serial.” About her writing stint she says, “I like writing and I aspired to be a writer. I feel editor’s job is all about spotting mistakes if you miss something then everything is gone.”
The writer believes that “biographies have a ready market” because people are curious about illustrious lives. And they have a good market status too. Whereas she like to write both short stories and biographies. “I keep writing them whenever I find time.Everything I do, everywhere I go and every situation I fend, spurs a short story,” she said. Her advice to the young writers is to read more of literature not magazines because if one will read magazines they may try to copy the style of writing.
By:Askari Jaffer
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