Chitra Singh: Difference between revisions

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| alias        = Chitra [[Dutta]]

| birth_date  = <!-- Please cite a reliable source for date of birth -->

'''Chitra Singh''' (born Shome)<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sahara|first1=Rashtriya|title=Rashtriya Sahara, Volume 5, Issues 1-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8iNuAAAAMAAJ|website=Google Books|year=1997|publisher=Sahara India Mass Communication|accessdate=28 April 2015}}</ref> is a [[Bengalis|Bengali]] [[India]]n [[ghazal]] singer. She with her husband [[Jagjit Singh]] pulled the ghazal genre out of the drawing room of the elite and brought it to the masses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://indianexpress.com/article/mumbai/chitra-singh-daughter-found-hanging-was-depressed-says-family/|title= Chitra Singh daughter found hanging; was depressed, says family}}</ref> Respectfully known as the "king and queen of the Ghazal world," the husband and wife duo created some of the most successful Indian music of the 1970s and '80s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/jagjit-chitra-singh-mn0002294162/biography|title= Jagjit & Chitra Singh}}</ref>

After completing her education, Chitra met and married Debo Prasad Dutta, an executive in a leading advertising agency. The match met with the full approval of Chitra's parents because Debo Prasad was a [[Bengali people|Bengali]] like herself, belonged to her own community, and hailed from a similar family. The wedding was held in the mid-1950s, and the couple became the parents of a daughter, Monica, in 1959.<ref>http://photogallery.indiatimes.com/celebs/music/jagjit-singh/articleshow/62835581.cms</ref>

 

While still married to Debo Prasad, Chitra met the dapper and highly talented [[Jagjit Singh]], at that time a struggling singer. They first met at a recording studio in 1967, by which time the marriage of the Duttas was already under strain for unknown reasons.<ref>[https://www.filmfare.com/features/chitra-singh-remembers-her-husband-the-unforgettable-jagjit-singh-27720.html First meeting]</ref> Chitra found solace in Jagjit, and says she was much taken by his 'caring' personality. In 1968, Chitra finally left her husband, took her 9-year-old daughter with her, and began living in a separate residence. In 1969, she divorced her husband, secured custody of Monica, and married Jagjit Singh.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmfare.com/interviews/jagjit-called-me-mummy-i-called-him-papa-chitra-singh-1582.html| title= Jagjit called me Mummy, I called him Papa - Chitra Singh}}</ref>

 

More suffering was in store for Chitra. Her daughter from her first marriage, Monica, had two unhappy marriages and committed suicide in 2009 aged 50. Monica fell in love with Jehangir Chowdhary, an award-winning cinematographer by profession, and married him in 1988. The couple became the parents of two sons, Armaan and Umair. In 2005, she divorced him and married British national Mark Houghton Roger Atkins, who was working as managing director of a firm based in [[Vikhroli]], Mumbai. In 2007, she filed a case of harassment against her second husband. In 2008, a magistrate issued a non-bailable warrant against Atkins, who had already left the country. In 2009, Monica committed suicide, aged 50. She was survived by her two sons, Armaan (17) and Umair (12).<ref>[http://archive.indianexpress.com/news/chitra-singh-s-daughter-found-dead-family-says-suicide/468302/ Monica Chowdhary dies by suicide]</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-triple-tragedy-for-jagjit-singh-s-wife-chitra-1597046/ | title= Triple tragedy for Jagjit Singh's wife Chitra}}</ref>  

Two years after this tragedy, Chitra's second husband, [[Jagjit Singh]], died of a [[brain haemorrhage]] in 2011. She lives with her grandsons.

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