Some songs outlive the films they were made for. Chitthi Na Koi Sandesh, from the 1998 film Dushman, is one of them. Lyricist Anand Bakshi wrote it for a story about grief and loss, composer Uttam Singh set it to music, and Jagjit Singh sang it. Lata Mangeshkar recorded a female version for the same soundtrack.The words describe someone who has gone to an unknown land from which no letter or message can return. “Chitthi na koi sandesh, jaane woh kaunsa desh jahan tum chale gaye.”By the time Jagjit recorded those words, he had already lived inside them.On July 27, 1990, his only son Vivek Singh died in a road accident at the age of 20. The loss broke both Jagjit and his wife Chitra Singh completely. Chitra, who had sung alongside him for decades and helped build one of Indian music’s most beloved partnerships, stopped singing entirely and has largely stayed away from public life since.Jagjit eventually returned, channelling his grief into his work. His 1991 album Hope carried that weight openly. Chitthi Na Koi Sandesh came eight years after Vivek’s death. There is no confirmed record that Bakshi wrote it for Vivek, but audiences never needed confirmation. They heard what they heard in his voice.The tragedy did not end there. Years later, Chitra’s daughter Monica from her first marriage died by suicide, breaking what little had healed.Jagjit Singh died in Mumbai on October 10, 2011. He was 70. The road outside their Breach Candy home was named Vivek Singh Lane.