Ghazal King “Mehdi Hassan” remembered on sixth death anniversay

LAHORE - The sixth death anniversary of Lollywood ghazal King late Mehdi Hasan Khan is being observed today (Wednesday).

Mehdi Hassan was born on July 18, 1927 in a village called Luna, Rajasthan in Jhunjhunu district in India into a family of traditional musicians.

He was awarded KL Saigal Sangeet Shehenshah Award by the government of India, the Private news channel reported.

He was honoured with Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance and Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the government of Pakistan.

In 1983, in the court of King Birendra he was awarded Gorkha Dakshina Bahu by the government of Nepal.

He remained a leading singer of film industry along with Ahmed Rushdi. The highest civilian honour
of Pakistan, 'Nishan-e-Imtiaz' is conferred on him.

In 1957, Mehdi Hassan was given the opportunity to sing on Radio Pakistan, primarily as a thumri singer, which earned him recognition within the musical fraternity.

He had a passion for Urdu poetry, and therefore, he began to experiment by singing ghazals on a
part-time basis. He cites radio officers ZA Bukhari and Rafiq Anwar as additional influences in his progression as a ghazal singer.

Mehdi Hassan first song was ‘Jis Ne mere dil Ko dard diya’ film Susral in 1962 and popular ghazal ‘Insha ji ab kooch Karo is shar me dil Ko lagna Kia’ made him immortal. Later, Lata Mangeshkar said compliments for him that “Bhagwan talks in his throat”.

In October 2010, HMV released ‘Sarhadein’ in which probably the first and last duet song ‘Tera Milana’ featuring Mehdi Hassan and Lata Mangeshkar was released.

Mehdi Hassan was died on June 13, 2012, after a protracted illness, in a private hospital in Karachi.

Hassan died on June 13, 2012, after a protracted illness in Karachi.