Legendary Ghazal singer Mehdi Hassan died on Wednesday at a private clinic in Karachi. He was 84. Hassan, who had millions of fans worldwide, had been admitted to the Agha Khan Hospital in the city some days ago. He had been in a serious condition and was on a ventilator. “My father passed away at 12:22 PM after a long battle against different ailments,” his son Arif Hassan said. Hundreds of fans gathered at the hospital on learning of his death. Hassan was a very popular Ghazal singer in the Indian sub-continent because of his background as a gharana trained classical singer. He cut back on his performances in the late 80s due to illness. The singer last performed in India in 2000. The Rajasthan government had extended support to the ailing singer’s family and had even promised medical treatment in the state. Hassan couldn’t visit India for treatment. However, he wished to meet Lata Mangeshkar, Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. Hassan leaves behind his nine sons and five daughters. He married twice. Both his wives are dead. However, despite his talent, it was never an easy ride for Mehdi Hassan. The man with the golden voice had to go through trials and tribulations very early in life and it was the sheer passion for music which made him the ‘Emperor of Ghazals’ in the subcontinent. Even though born into a family of musicians (on 18th July 1927) in a small village in Rajasthan, Mehdi for a long time could not pursue his passion. The ghazal maestro 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 harboured to make a career out of music. But fate had a different plan for him in the initial stage. The family was plagued by financial troubles when they shifted to Pakistan during partition. Young Hassan started working in a bicycle shop and later became a car mechanic. But as they say, the passion never died. He continued to pursue his interest, his passion, albeit behind closed doors, within the vicinity of his home. His first break came in 1957 when he got the opportunity to sing a thumri number for Radio Pakistan. The number got him instant recognition in the musical fraternity and he got more offers to sing. The talented singer had an interest in Urdu poetry and slowly started experimenting with ghazals. Two producers of Radio Pakistan, ZA Bukhari and Rafiq Anwar, tapped this singer’s unique talent and encouraged him to sing ghazals on radio. Hassan had even admitted that he owed a lot to Bukhari and Anwar for establishing his career. The singer soon became a hit amongst the masses as well as discerning audience and rafta rafta wo sabki hasti ka saamaa ho gaye. The veteran not only sang beautiful ghazals but also rendered his voice to several film numbers in Pakistan. Many feel that the 60s and 70s were dominated by Hassan and his style of ghazals. 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 indisputable master of ghazals in the subcontinent. Lata Mangeshkar had once said that Mehdi Hassan’s songs reflected the ‘voice of God’. The two brilliant singers had collaborated for a mesmerising 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. Stalwarts like Jagjit Singh and Talat Aziz were his disciples. The singer’s five decade long career started flickering in the late 80s when he started suffering from severe lung problem. The singer began making less stage appearances and also lessened his recordings. The singer, till the very end, wanted to visit his birth country, India. He had 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. Hassan leaves behind a legacy, a treasure trough of beautiful melodies.
As he himself sang
n Ab ke hum bichhade to shaayad kabhii khwabon mein milen
n Jjis tarah suukhe hue phool kitaabon mein milen
n Aaj ham daar pe kheenche gaye jin baaton par
n Kyaa ajab kal vo zamaane ko nisaabon mein milen
The life and times of Mehdi Hassan
