MUMBAI: Singer Kavita Seth says that she is deeply saddened by the demise of noted Urdu shayar Nida Fazli but noted he passed away on his friend, singer Jagjit Singh's birth anniversary.

"The big surprise is that 8 February was Jagjitji’s birth anniversary, and Nidaji expired. The friendship between the two was popular in the industry. I don't know what god has in mind," she said.

Jagjit Singh and Nida Fazli had worked together on album ‘Insight’ in 1994. Singh had sung the popular ghazal ‘Hoshwalon Ko Khabar Kya’ from ‘Sarfarosh’ which was written by Nida Fazli.

Nida Fazli passed away in Mumbai at the age of 78 due to a heart attack.

"I am deeply saddened. I respected him immensely, and I think one of India's great shayar, is no more with us physically, but the beautiful shayaris and beautiful ghazals he has written for us, are still with us.

"The biggest feature of Nidaji's shayari is that it was connected to roots, he would convey his thoughts in a very simple language, and that is why he became so popular and could connect with the audience. It's not that he used extremely heavy-duty words. If you see his 'dohes', he used to follow poet Kabir while also following Islam at the same time. He carried all the religions to convey the feeling of humanity in his poetry, which was amazing and beautiful," said Seth.

Celebrities have been paying tribute to Nida Fazli on various platforms, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also expressing his sorrow on Twitter.

(Source: IANS)