Late Pakistani ghazal singer Mehdi Hassan stirs hearts once again on his 95th birth anniversary. Known as Shehenshah-e-Ghazal or the Emperor of Ghazal, Hassan's rendition of the world of music has crossed borders reaching out to millions of people from far and wide, touching the hearts of many.
Hassan carved a niche for himself by creating his own kind of music by combining classical, folk, and popular music together. Starting his career by doing odd jobs during the Partition, he discovered the love of ghazals amongst Pakistanis and devoted his time reading Urdu poetry.
Although the Shehenshah-e-Ghazal's first break came when he joined Radio Pakistan in 1957, Hassan became a household name in Pakistan in 1964 after lending his voice to the song 'Gulon Mein Rang Bhare' from a Pakistani film named 'Farangi'. Since then, the legendary artist has successfully represented a bond between Pakistan and Bangladesh aka East Pakistan at that time.
Hassan's contribution to music resulted in him getting an invitation from the former Indian Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee to visit India. The ghazal maestro's fans in India ranged from the biggest stars like playback singer Hariharan to late actor Dilip Kumar.
Hassan further collaborated with veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar for the song 'Tera Milna Achha Lagta Hai' which was later composed into a full-fledged track. Praising Hassan, Lata Mangeshkar said that God himself sings through his voice.
The ghazal singer with his unique style of singing, baritone, lyrics, and enunciation has been etched in the memory of millions of music lovers who have dived deep into various emotions, especially love.
Some of Hassan's works of art include 'Zindagi Mein Toh Sabhi', 'Ranjish Hi Sahi', and 'Mujhe Tum Nazar Se' which have been featured in plenty of Pakistani films. The man of music also has a book to his name titled 'Mehdi Hasan: The Man & His Music'.
However, at the age of 85, Mehdi Hassan breathed his last in a Karachi hospital on June 13, 2012, after succumbing to multi-organ failure. He struggled with pulmonary problems during his last few days and also suffered strokes while in India, leaving him with speech impairments.
Hassan has rendered a massive contribution to the music industry, singing more than 50,000 ghazals during his lifetime, bagging the title of 'Emperor of the Ghazal'. Most of his songs centre around heartbreak and romance.
( With inputs from ANI )
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