“I jumped into river Ganga…”: When Kailash Kher tried to commit suicide at 20

New Delhi: Singer Kailash Kher’s road to success has not been a bed of roses. He had his own share of his struggles.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, the ‘Allah Ke Bande’ hitmaker, who has been touching hearts with his unique voice, recalled how he struggled for years before finding his feet in the music industry. He also talked about the low phase of his life when he tried to commit suicide.

“I had done many odd jobs to survive…I was 20 or 21 when I started doing export business in Delhi. I used to send handicrafts to Germany. Unfortunately, all of a sudden that business collapsed. After facing several problems in business, I went to Rishikesh to become a ‘pandit’. However, I used to feel that I was a misfit there as my fellow mates were younger than me and my views never matched theirs. I was dejected as I was failing in everything..so one day I tried to commit suicide by jumping into the river Ganga,” Kailash recalled.

“But a person at the ghat jumped in the Ganga immediately and saved me. He asked, ‘Tairna nahin aata gaya kyu tha? (Why did you jump when you don’t know how to swim)’ I replied, ‘marne (to die)’…aur meri suicide ki baat jaane ke baad unhone mujhe tez ki tapli maari sar pe (after learning about my intentions of ending my life, he hit me hard on my head),” he said on an ANI podcast.

That “tapli” definitely made him learn the value of life as his career trajectory moved up gradually from that day.

In a career spanning over 20 years, Kailash has sung hit tracks such as ‘Teri Deewani’, ‘Saiyyan’, ‘Chand Sifarish’, ‘Yuhi Chala Chal Rahi’, ‘Ya Rabba’ and ‘Arziyan’ among others.