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King Of Ghazal Mehdi Hassan Is Critically Ill

Sarwat Rizvi on 16, Jan 2012 | 8 Comments | in Category: Limelight

Sarwat Rizvi

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Mehdi Hassan the living legend of Pakistan , was considered one of the most  successful  ghazal singers of Pakistan He was born on July 18,1927  in a village called Luna in Rajhistan. He was classically trained in music by his father Ustad Azeem Khan and his uncle Ustad Ismail Khan who were both well respected classical musicians.

Hassan started his career as a radio singer in1957 ,it was the time when Ustad Barkat Ali, Akhtar Begum and Mukhtar Begum were the most prominent singing icons of radio and it was considered impossible to find opportunities for a new singer . Mehdi Hassan was encouraged by the greats of his time and continued his efforts. Mehdi Hassan had a natural spark and  came from a strong musical background ..He started singing ghazals on part time basis but eventually it became his passion . He later went on to become one of the leading playback singers of the country.

Hassan tried different styles of music and there was a time in Lollywood when a Lollywood production was considered  incomplete without the voice of Mehdi Hassan. Due to his remarkable commercial and artistic success he was titled ShahenShah-e-Ghazal (The King of Ghazal singing).

King of Ghazal also enthusiastically played the role of a cultural ambassador as he visited India several times and in 2009 sang a duet with Lata Mangeshkar .  Hassan’s style of singing was followed by many other singers   all over the world. Legendary Indian singer LataMangeshkar once famously said that Hassan had the voice of god (Bhagwan). Hassan received Tamgha-e-Imtiaza, Pride of Performance and Hilal-e-Imtiaz in recognition for his services from the Government of Pakistan.

During the last few years Mehdi Hassan’s health has significantly deteriorated which has effectively ended his music career, according to news reports he is currently in critical condition and has been placed on life support.  His art brought joy to us and his voice enlivened our time in a way that was very special and unique. In his prime Hassan mesmerized millions in the subcontinent and all over the world, now all we can do is wish and pray for his health.

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