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HomeThePrint ProfileRemembering Mehdi Hassan—ghazal 'shahenshah' who had legion of fans both sides of...

Remembering Mehdi Hassan—ghazal ‘shahenshah’ who had legion of fans both sides of the border

Mehdi Hassan blurred the lines between folk, classical, and popular music to weave his brand of music. Ab Ke Hum Bichhde, Ranjish Hi Sahi are testimony to it.

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It has been ten years since ‘Shahanshah-e-Ghazal’ Mehdi Hassan passed away, but his melodies and ghazals continue to evoke a sense of wonder and joy among millions of listeners across the world. The Pakistani singer’s distinctive baritone is best remembered in ghazals such as Ranjish Hi Sahi, Woh Zara Si Baat Par, and Koplein Phir Phoot Aayin.

Mehdi Hassan blurred the lines between folk, classical, and popular music to weave his own brand of music. His distinctive style, baritone, enunciation, and lyrics helped millions across the globe understand the depth of various emotions, especially love.

Lata Mangeshkar once said, “Unn ke gale mein bhagwan bolte hain (God himself speaks through Hassan’s voice)” while describing the unique sonorous baritone of the ghazal maestro. Mangeshkar and Hassan came together just once for a duet called ‘Tera Milna Bahut Acha Lagta Hai’ — a symbolic collaboration between the two stalwarts of India and Pakistan.

Ghazal singer Talat Aziz described him as his “inspiration, guru, father figure and a friend”. In an interview with Hindustan Times, he had said, “As an artiste, his sur was so perfect that it was almost divine. His gayaki [singing] was so well-structured that one could actually count the number of swaras in each taan or gamak and they would be perfect. And yet, his singing had divinity.”

Hassan’s dedication to his craft never wavered despite his family’s struggles through Partition.

From odd jobs to prominence

Mehdi Hassan was born in a family of kalawants (professional musicians) in a village named Luna, Rajasthan, on 18 July 1927. As a teenager, Mehdi Hassan sang for the kings of Jaipur and Baroda. He was trained by his father and his uncle in the Dhrupad style, a Hindustani classical music form.

In the aftermath of Partition — when the influence of Indian maharajas was waning and Mehdi was losing patronage — he had to work elsewhere to support his family that had migrated to Pakistan but fell into hard times. He first worked in a bicycle shop, and later on as a tractor driver and mechanic.

Despite doing odd jobs, Mehdi never gave up his craft and practised every night. He discovered Pakistan’s appetite for ghazals and dived deep into the world of Urdu poetry. He mastered the art of marrying verses to melodies and got his break on Radio Pakistan in 1957. But it was his rendering of Faiz Ahmad Faiz’s, ghazal ‘Gulon Mein Rang Bhare’ for the film Farangi (1964) that made him a household name in the subcontinent.

There was no looking back. Mehdi Hassan toured worldwide and performed in packed auditoriums. He was one of the most celebrated music icons representing a cultural bond between Bangladesh (erstwhile East Pakistan) and Pakistan.


Also read: How Lata Mangeshkar and Mehdi Hassan made their first and last duet a reality


Music has no borders

Mehdi Hassan visited India in 1978 at the invitation of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was Minister of External Affairs at the time. In an interview with India Today, Mehdi said he had been waiting 30 years for this moment.

From Hariharan to Dilip Kumar, the Pakistani singer had a legion of fans in India. The former started learning from him in 1985. “He became my ruhaani guru then. When you listen to him, it feels like he’s only singing for you,” he said in HT.

But it was Mehdi’s collaboration with Lata Mangeshkar that made waves. His son, Kamran Hassan, a singer himself, said that the song Tera Milna Achha Lage Hai would have not seen the light of day had Mangeshkar and his father not recorded their portions separately to be later compiled into a full-fledged track.

A couplet from his ghazal titled Ab Ke Hum Bichhde goes as follows:

“Ab ke hum bichde toh shayad kabhi khaabon me miley, 

jis tarah sookhe hue phool kitabon mey miley.”

It translates into: “If we are separated from each other, then I hope that we meet in the dreams just as dried flowers are found in books.” Another couplet from Ranjish Hi Sahi says,

Ranjish hi sahi, dil hi dukhane ke liye aa 

Aa phir se mujhe chhod ke jaane ke liye aa.”

It was featured in Pakistani films and describes the anguish of a broken heart. The verse implores the lover to return even if they are annoyed or have to leave yet again.

Hassan was not a quintessential playback singer. However, his contribution to Pakistani films remains unparalleled. Many of his ghazals like Zindagi Mein Toh Sabhi, Ranjish Hi Sahi and Mujhe Tum Nazar Se featured in Pakistani films.

Last stage

Hassan breathed his last in a Karachi hospital at the age of 85 on 13 June 2012 due to multiple organ failure.

“Mehdi Hassan is dead, but I am not sad”, were the opening words of an article by Asif Noorani published in Dawn. He also wrote a book called Mehdi Hasan: The Man & His Music. He explained that he was rather “relieved, for death has brought an end to his [Hassan] decade-long suffering”.  Mehdi Hassan struggled with pulmonary difficulties during his last days, having suffered strokes twice in India, leaving him with speech impairments.

At his death, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that he brought Sufi sensibilities to life through his songs.

Hassan is known to have sung more than 50,000 ghazals during his lifetime, attaining the title ‘emperor of the ghazal’. Most of his renditions revolved around romance and heartbreak. Whether he drew inspiration from his real life (he was married twice) is up for debate.

(Edited by Humra Laeeq)

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