When Arijit Singh announced that he was stepping away from playback singing, the news rippled across the music industry and stunned millions of fans. But in Jiaganj, the small town in West Bengal where the singer grew up, the reaction was deeply personal.
For the people here, Arijit is still their 'dada'.
In Jiaganj, Arijit's fame has never altered the way he lives. Residents are used to seeing him riding a scooter through narrow lanes, buying vegetables from the local market, dropping his children at school, and spending hours practising in his studio.
Though he now lives in a newly built three-storey house close to his father's old home, the neighbourhood he grew up in continues to define him.
Here's What Locals Have To Say About Arijit Singh
Tandra Ghosh, a neighbour, shared how Arijit blends into the community. "His house is next to ours now. My daughter studies in the same school as his child. What I like most is that despite being so famous, he meets everyone in such a normal way, just like one of us. In fact, my home address has now become 'near Arijit Singh's house' as a landmark," he told NDTV.
For families who have known Arijit since childhood, his retirement announcement felt unreal. Paromita Dutta, who shares a decades-old bond with the singer's family, said that his global identity never replaced the boy they grew up with.
"For us, he is still 'Shomu'. Arijit Singh is for the world," she said, adding, "He has sung so many songs that there is a song for every relationship, and a relationship with every song. Someone's first love has an Arijit song, someone's crush has an Arijit song."
The emotional connection Jiaganj feels towards his music runs far deeper than charts and awards.
Young Listeners Struggle To Accept The Reality
Among students and younger residents, the news has been met with disbelief and sadness. Many grew up listening to Arijit's voice without ever imagining a time when there would be no new playback songs from him.
Local student Arnab Saha said, "We felt very sad when we heard that Arijit will not sing anymore. I realised that I have been listening to him for so many years, and now I won't get to hear his new songs as a playback singer."
What residents admire most about Arijit is not just his talent, but his simplicity.
Holding back tears, Shiny Majumdar told NDTV, "Arijit moves among us so simply that I often tell my children - look and learn from him. He is such a big man, such a great singer, yet he lives so normally among us. This is a matter of great pride and a big lesson for us."
She added, "People usually focus only on studies, but by looking at him we understand that one can move ahead in life by singing as well, even from a small town. That itself is a very big thing for us."
While the retirement announcement has shocked Jiaganj, there is also a belief that this might not be the end of his singing journey.
Paromita Dutta summed up the town's sentiment when she said, "We don't know what is going on in Arijit's mind right now, but something must be. Otherwise, he wouldn't take such a big decision so suddenly. He will surely do something very big and very good."
When Arijit Announced His Retirement From Playback Singing
Arijit Singh officially announced his decision on January 27 through a heartfelt note on Instagram. Thanking listeners for years of love and support, the singer wrote that he would not be taking up any new assignments as a playback vocalist and was calling it quits after what he described as a "wonderful journey".
Soon after, screenshots believed to be from his private X account began circulating online, offering a more personal glimpse into his state of mind.
"There is not one reason behind this, there are several reasons plus I have been trying to do this since a long time. Finally I have gathered the right courage. One of the reasons were simple, I get bored pretty quick, thats why I keep changing arrangements of the same songs and perform them on stage. So here is the thing, I got bored," he wrote.
Arijit first came into the public eye as a contestant on the 2005 reality show Fame Gurukul, where he was eliminated before the finale. Years later, he made his playback debut with the Telugu film Kedi in 2010, before finding wider recognition in Hindi cinema with Murder 2.
Over the years, Arijit has sung hundreds of songs across languages, earned two National Film Awards, and was conferred the Padma Shri in 2025.
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