No one can ever take the place of Ravindra Jain: Anup Jalota

As he bids adieu to friend and veteran music composer Ravindra Jain, singer Anup Jalota recalls the 71-year-old’s unique talent and cheery temperament

Sitting by Ravindra Jainji’s bedside last afternoon, I knew his chances of surviving were slim. His blood pressure had fallen to 60/40 and he needed frequent dialysis. When someone is in such a critical condition, you start to wonder if you will see that person hale and hearty again. Ten minutes past 4 pm, doctors broke the sad news to us. We had lost him.

Also read: Ravindra Jain - A tribute to the Music Maestro

Anup Jalota recalls how veteran music composer Ravindra Jain always had a smile on his face and a quip on his tongue. File pic 

We have lost a unique musician and a beautiful writer and singer. No one can ever take his place. He was a sweet, humble man who always wore a smile. He was someone who would invite you home for lunch as soon as you met him. Whenever we met, he would crack jokes or recite shayaris he had penned. His style of working was also quite different; he would carry out thorough research for his writing and composition. Imagine a blind man visualising something and writing beautiful lines about it.

Also read: Veteran music composer Ravindra Jain passes away

I had known Jainji since childhood. Not many know that my father, Purushottam Jalota, was one of his inspirations. He respected my father a lot and would attend his concerts.

I had worked with him in films like Pyaar Ka Sawan (1991) and Chintamani Surdas (1998), in which I lent my voice to the male leads. He had also composed many bhajans and I had sung a devotional number called Ram Janmbhumi for his music label, RJ Music.

Musical legend
I remember we were in Delhi for a show, where we spotted Raj Kapoor there. After Jainji made him listen to the song Ek Radha, Ek Mira, Kapoor developed Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985). This was a unique example of lyrics paving the way for a film.

He discovered several talented singers including like Yesudas, Suresh Wadkar, Aarti Mukherji and Jaspal Singh. We were thrilled when the Padma Shri was conferred on him last year.

For all the good work he has done and all the respect that he has earned, I am certain that a billion prayers will reach God for his soul to rest in peace.
(As told to Anirban Das)

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