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Ever since Arijit Singh announced his retirement from playback singing, speculation has been a constant. Yet in Jiaganj , those questions disappeared. CT travelled to the Murshidabad town, where Arijit’s presence was absolute, even if he remained unseen. His refusal to meet the media was mirrored by a community that chose to protect his privacy over feeding headlines.

Arijit’s music is the heartbeat of the town – pulsing through the ringtones of a passerby’s mobile or wafting out from a roadside tea stall. There is poetry in the town’s name: ‘Jia.’ A day here and you know who embodies that word. We walked the streets, trying to put together a portrait of the son of the soil. A star who still plays cricket with boys from the hood, prioritises the welfare of his people. It is a world defined less by the artifice of a celebrity and more by the raw sincerity of belonging. Evidently, Arijit and Jiaganj are inseparable.

Shomu before Arijit Singh

In Jiaganj, long before the chart topping songs and world tours, Arijit was simply Shomu to his neighbours. For Biswajit Talapatra, the relationship was not one of proximity but of family. “To us, he has always been Shomu. The house he grew up in stands right across from ours. He was a regular at our home as a child,” he says, recalling how Arijit’s mother Aditi was his classmate and his father Kakka Singh, whom he fondly calls Kakka da, is like an elder brother. “From childhood, it was his mother who shaped his love for music. Music was something he lived for.” When Arijit announced his decision, the loss felt personal. “However, why he made that choice is personal, of course,” he says. Despite the distance that time and work inevitably brought, Biswajit says fame has not altered him. That continuity extends to those he grew up with. After Arijit returned to Jiaganj, he included Swapan Singha’s nephew, his childhood friend, into his professional world. “Today, he travels the world with Arijit,” says Swapan, another neighbour.

The school that shaped him & the man who gives back

At Jiaganj Raja Bijoy Singh Vidyamandir , where Arijit studied from classes 5 to 10, memory blends with the present. Assistant principal Dipankar Bhattacharya recalls how as a student, music was instinctive to Arijit. “He began with Rabindra Sangeet and devotional songs. After he participated in Fame Gurukul (2005), his career graph rose steadily.” What stands out more than talent, Dipankar says, is his temperament. “He is the kind of person who can sit and talk for hours, unhurried, as if time itself can wait.” Since being appointed President of the school’s Board Committee in April 2022, Arijit has overseen extensive restoration of the century old institution, including the revival of the field in front of the school, as well as its three-acre playground nearby. When he realised the playground needs work, he had it enclosed and set up a cricket academy named after his mother. “Today, CAB matches are held on the ground, alongside regular school sports activities,” he says. “When Arijit comes here, he asks his teachers to sit on the chair while he sits on the floor. There is no hesitation in him, no sense of ego.”

A shy boy with an instinct for music

For Kamalesh Shaw, who taught Arijit his third language Hindi in classes 7 and 8, the memories go back to a shy boy who came to school every day with his dida. “He joined in class 5 and studied till class 10. He always came holding his dida’s hand, and went home with her,” Kamalesh recalls. Even then, there was a sense among teachers that something set him apart. At every cultural programme, be it on Independence Day, Republic Day, Netaji’s birth anniversary or Rabindra Jayanti, Arijit was the one asked to sing. “Senior teachers often said he would go on to do something meaningful in life,” he says. Later, despite his growing engagement with music, he remained gentle and approachable. “Even today, when we meet him, he always touches our feet, and asks, ‘Sir, kemon achhen?’ There is no pride in him, even now that he is the President of this school.” He recalls how one of their teachers, Prabir Singha Chowdhury, who was also a musician, trained Arijit and his classmate Arpan, Prabir’s son, as kids. School life, he adds, was not without its share of mischief. “Arijit and Arpan were very close friends, and they bunked classes more than once,” he says with a smile.