Birth name Mehdi Hassan Khan Role Journalist Occupation(s) Singer, composer Organization Al Jazeera English | Instruments Harmonium, vocals Education Christ Church, Oxford Name Mehdi Hassan | |
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Also known as Khan SahabKing of Ghazal Genres Classical musicGhazal singing,film Playback singing Books Ed: The Milibands and the Making of a Labour Leader Similar People Douglas Murray, Myriam Francois‑Cerrah, Maajid Nawaz, Owen Jones, David Dimbleby Profiles | ||
Maajid Nawaz, Mehdi Hassan and Mo Ansar lock horns on BBC Newsnight
Mehdi Hassan Khan (Urdu: مہدی حسن ; 18 July 1927 – 13 June 2012) was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer for Lollywood. One of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of ghazal singing, he is famously known as the "King of Ghazal" or the "Shahanshah-e-Ghazal". Known for his "haunting" baritone voice, Mehdi Hassan is credited with bringing ghazal singing to a worldwide audience. Born to a musical family, he influenced generations of singers from diverse genres, from Jagjit Singh to Sonu Nigam. He earned numerous awards and accolades in his career and remained a leading singer of film industry along with the other contemporary playback singer Ahmed Rushdi.
Contents
- Maajid Nawaz Mehdi Hassan and Mo Ansar lock horns on BBC Newsnight
- Mehdi hassan biography
- Early life
- Singing career
- Tributes
- Death
- Musicians in his group and his students
- Family
- Civilian honours
- Awards by the Government of Pakistan
- Government of Nepal
- Government of India
- Nigar Awards
- Albums
- Ghazals
- References
Mehdi hassan biography
Early life
Mehdi Hassan was born on 18 July 1927 in a village called Luna, Rajasthan in Jhunjhunu district in British India into a family of traditional musicians. He claims to be the 16th generation of hereditary musicians hailing from the Kalawant clan of musicians. Mehdi Hassan had his musical grooming from his father Ustad Azeem Khan and uncle Ustad Ismail Khan who were both traditional Dhrupad singers. Hassan started to perform at a young age and the first concert of dhrupad and kheyal with his elder brother is reported to have been held in Fazilka Bungla, near present DC House (1935) of Undivided Punjab.
In 1947, India became independent and its partition took place, creating a new, Muslim-majority country, Pakistan. The 20-year-old Hassan and his family migrated to Pakistan, carrying little with them by way of material goods. They suffered severe financial hardships in their new country. Mehdi initially started working in Chichawatni, in a bicycle shop Mughal Cycle House. He later became a car and diesel tractor mechanic. Despite the financial hardships, he kept up the routine of his singing practice on a daily basis.
Singing career
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 Z.A. Bukhari and Rafiq Anwar as additional influences in his progression as a ghazal singer. His first song was "Jis ne mere dil ko dard diya" film Susral in 1962. In 1964, his ghazal for a film Farangi, "Gulon mein rang bharay, baad-e-naubahar chale" written by renowned Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz and composed by Rasheed Attre, gave him a major break and he never looked back after that.
Following a severe illness in the late 1980s, Mehdi Hassan stepped down from playback singing. Later due to severity of his illness he completely departed from music.
Tributes
In 1977, Lata Mangeshkar was so moved by his dulcet vocals during a New Delhi concert that she’s reported to have said, “Aisa lagta hai ke unke gale mein bhagwan boltein hain,” (God sings through his voice). In October 2010, HMV Label released "Sarhadein" in which probably the first and last duet song Tera Milana featuring Mehdi Hassan and Lata Mangeshkar was released. This song was composed by Mehdi Hassan himself, written by Farhat Shahzad.Mehdi Hassan recorded it in Pakistan in 2009, and Lata Mangeshkar later heard the track and recorded her part in India in 2010, and the song was later mixed together for a duet. The same duet, "Tera Milna," was also sung by Mehdi Hassan and Noor Jehan.
Death
He had been suffering from a serious lung condition for the few years before his death. Mehdi Hasan died at around noon on 13 June 2012 at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi after suffering a 12-year-long tenure of lung, chest and urinary tract diseases.
Populus Global in association with Musicolor organised the first tribute to shahensha-e-ghazal Mehdi Hassan on 14 July 2012. Ustad Mohan Khan, "ganda bandh shagird" of the ghazal king, paid tribute to his guru.
Musicians in his group and his students
Some of the musicians who are associated with him :
Some of his students are:
Rajkumar Rizvi
Family
Mehdi Hassan had 14 children. As many as six of his sons are active in the field of music. They are:
Civilian honours
The following civilian honours have been conferred on him.
Awards by the Government of Pakistan
Government of Nepal
Government of India
Nigar Awards
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.
Albums
Some of his albums are: