Ghazal king Jagjit Singh dies

MUMBAI, Oct 10 (AFP): Indian musician and composer Jagjit Singh, who won generations of fans by reviving the traditional genre of "ghazal" tunes, died on Monday in Mumbai at the age of 70, hospital officials said. Singh, dubbed "The Ghazal King", had been in intensive care for three weeks after undergoing surgery when he fell seriously ill with a brain haemorrhage. Ghazals are a poetic form of singing that originated in the Middle East and spread to India from the 12th century. They were traditionally reserved for the elite, but Singh popularised the form in the 1970s and 1980s by pioneering a modern ghazal sound and using Western instruments alongside Indian classical ones.