Pakistan ghazal maestro Mehdi Hasan passes away

Legendary ghazal maestro and former playback singer for Lollywood Mehdi Hasan passed away at Agha Khan Hospital in Karachi on Wednesday.

He, who has a huge fan following all over the world, was suffering from lung, chest and urinary tract ailments for the past many years. The legendary singer had been under treatment at hospitals in Pakistan for a while, and there had also been reports of shifting him to India.

He was admitted at a hospital in Karachi for the past couple of weeks after he had developed a chest infection and breathing problems. He passed away after he was shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at the hospital.

Mehdi Hassan’s son Arif while confirming the news said, “My father has been ill for the last 12 years but this year, his condition has deteriorated significantly and in the last one month, he was released from hospital for just one day before being admitted again”.

The king of ghazal singing was born into a family of traditional musicians at Luna village, India, in 1927. His family migrated to Pakistan after 1947.

Hr was trained at home in his initial years by his father Ustad Azeem Khan and uncle Ustad Ismail Khan who were traditional Dhrupad singers.

Being the 16th generation of a musical family, young Hassan had harbored to make a career out of music. But fate had a different plan for him in the initial stage.

His unique style of presenting Urdu couplets and giving a classical touch to soulful music made him the emperor of ghazals. His voice had an enormous range which till date remains unmatched. His mastery over the ragas made him the undisputable master of ghazals in the subcontinent.

Lata Mangeshkar had once said that Mehdi Hassan’s songs were ‘voice of God’. The two brilliant singers had collaborated for a mesmerizing number called ‘Tera Milana’ in 2010. The song was earlier composed and sung by Hassan in 2009 and later Mageshkar added her bit and it was released in an album.

He has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions: The Tamgha-i-Imtiaz granted to him by Gen Ayub Khan; the Pride of Performance bestowed on him by Gen Ziaul Haq; and the Hilal-i-Imtiaz conferred by Gen Pervez Musharraf.

Besides the Nigar Film and Graduate Awards from Pakistan, he was presented the Saigal Award in Jalandhar, India, in 1979, whereas the Gorkha Dakshina Bahu Award was given to him in Nepal in 1983. Recently, he travelled to Dubai to receive yet another award.

Mehdi Hassan left behind a legacy, a treasure trough of beautiful melodies. As he himself sang:

Ab ke hum bichhade to shaayad kabhii khwabon mein milen

Jis tarah suukhe hue phool kitaabon mein milen

Aaj ham daar pe kheenche gaye jin baaton par

Kyaa ajab kal vo zamaane ko nisaabon mein milen

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jun 13 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.