Remembering Mehdi Hassan

Remembering Mehdi Hassan

Ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan, passed away at a local hospital in Karachi on Wednesday.

Before illness ended his career he was already hailed as the king of ghazal, and a man who had revolutionized the art form forever. His life and work marked an era of traditional ghazal style that many say, has ended with his demise.

He was plagued by lung, chest and urinary tract disorder for over a decade, and the illnesses had taken away his voice and career, but not his passion for music.

He was born on July 18, 1927 in Rajistan, and rose to fame with his rendition of “Gulon mein rang bhare” by Faiz Ahmed Faiz.

Hassan has a huge fan following all over the world, which includes other greats like Lata Mangeshkar. He has also been the inspiration for many legendary singers, such as Tina Sani, and Jagjit Singh.

Here are some of his celebrated ghazals:

“Muhabbat karne wale kam na hon ge”, a ghazal by Hafeez Jalandhri in Ghazal
Maestro’s later style:

“Ku-baku Phail Gayi”, by Parveen Shakir:

“Mohabbat karne walay kam na hongay”

Mehdi Hassan meant a lot to many people, each of them have their own favourites, and personal associations with his work.

Share with us, your own memories and sentiments on the great ghazal king, and tell us which of his songs/ghazals means the most to you and why.

 

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87 Responses to “Remembering Mehdi Hassan”

  1. ZAFAR IQBAL says:

    I FEEL SO SAD TO POST MY PERSONAL FEELING ABOUT THE GREATEST KING OF GHAZAL MEHDI HASSAN. I HAVE NO WORDS TO EXPRESS MY VIEWS , I STILL CAN NOT BELIEVE THAT MEHDI SAHIB IS NO MORE.HOW EVER i HAVE TO BELIEVE IT . AFTER THE SAD DEMISE OF THE KING MEHDI HASSAN THE CHAPTER OF GHAZALSINGING IS CLOSED . NO ONE LIKE MEHDI SAHEB WILL COME IN THIS PLANET AGAIN . IT IS A GREAT LOSS OF MUSIC ,ALL MUSIC LOVERS WILL MISS HIM PHYSICALLY BUT HIS EVER GREEN VOICE WILL KEEP HIM ALIVE IN OUR HEARTS.

  2. MATT says:

    Person like Mehdi Hassan are born after centuries. I was very luck to hear him live in NYC and New Jersey. I will never forget those two nights. I hope Pakistan builds a permanent building for his memory.

  3. S.H.Moulana- Sri Lanka says:

    I did not know a word of the language he sang in but one need not know the language to enjoy any music. I have been a die-hard fan of the king of Ghazal, who gave me immense pleasure listening to him, sometime for hours. He is really unique and in melody queen, Lata Mangeshkar’s words he had a divine voice. There was none like him before and there will be none like him even in the future. She is absolutely right. We all are indebted to him for all the pleasure and joy he gave us during his life time. Goodbye king of Ghazal!

  4. observer says:

    Where does one begin and what does one say.
    Merii Yaad Hogi Jidhar Jaogaey Tum, Kabhi Naghma Banke Kabhi Banke Ansoo-
    Will another voice ever capture the pathos so eloquently.
    Not to my ears at least.

  5. Wais says:

    I was always affraid of this moment to find out the King of Ghazal is no longer with us. I have immense respect for his music and great personalitly. I was honorded and lucky to be present at some family gathering where the king was singing. What a huge loss in the world of music. God bless his soul

  6. There is an adage in sanskrit “Bhooto na Bhavisyati” which means unlikely to happen in future. We will never get one more Mehdi Hassan. He was the start of Gazhal and end too. He never played to the gallery as most gazalists do but simply renderd the gazals putting heart and soul into it. Just listen his gazals GUNCHA E SHAUK LAGA HAI KHILNE and SHOLA THA JAL … and see how great this singer is. Indian Gazalist Raj kumar Rizwi, a relative of Khan Saheb, tries to copy his style and succeeded very marginally.
    Great Lataji, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and King Of Nepal Late Shri Veer Vikram sahadeo are in the list of ardent fans of this great maestro. Salute to this great soul.

  7. Sameer Ahmad says:

    zindagi mea tou sabhi piyyar kiya kartey hean
    mea tou mar kar bhi meri jaan tujhe chahoon gaaa

  8. Omesh Sharma says:

    I am having no words to reflect here as a condolence message for Mehdi Sahib. I have loved his singing more than anything. When we are talking about his gazals special indebtness is also due to the pakistan born poets like Faiz ahmed Faiz and Ahmed Faraz. I consider these three as the “Holy Trinity” It doesn’t means that I am ignoring the poetry of the pioneers like Mir, Ghalib, Zoak, Daag, and to name but a few, but the poetry from Mir till the faiz and Faraz is little difficult for a common man to understand who is not good at Urdu, even to some extent persian also. Today, we have lost the main pillar of the Ghazals. His Ghazals cannot listen by the ears but to be flown in the veins through blood same as the poetry of the G.M Hopkins, modern English poet. I will dedicate an urdu couplet to Mehdi Hassan Sahib. “Hazaro.n baras Nargis apni be-noori pe roti hai/ Bad.i mushkil se hota hai chaman main deedawar pai.da”. May almighty rest his soul in peace and resurrect him again as a Ghazal Singer for the ages to come.

  9. mUHAMMAD says:

    Nice job done
    Some important link missing
    Ahmad sh
    International broadcaster/ Journalist
    Ex- Deputy controller National broadcasting Seervice, Radio Pakistan, Lahore
    Ex- Head of Central Production Unit PBC, Lahore

  10. KamilPoet says:

    Ishq such’cha hai tu phir wada nibhana hoga
    tujhko aana hoga, tujhko aana hoga.

    Its the song whenever I recall my love…

  11. Iqbal Hadi Zaidi says:

    Anyone who is born is die and this has been practiced from day one and will be alike till dooms day but then there are those very fortunate ones who though die but are yet remembered for centuries not just month, years or decades. Late Mehdi Hassan is one of those who simply cannot be forgotten whatsoever. I pray he lives in upper class of paradise, aameen. Iqbal Hadi Zaidi / Kuwait / eyem4u2@hotmail.com

  12. Dr Asif says:

    May His soul Rest in Peace.

  13. Shoeb Khan says:

    A story published in The Times of India on Hassan Sahab’s visit to Ajmer

    http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-14/jaipur/32234192_1_mehdi-hassan-ajmer-shrine

  14. Ustad Mehdi Hassan was the one man who defeated the ideological dogmas of totalitarian rulers and militants who set out on a path to eliminate the literary and musical traditions of what is a typcial art of Islam civilisation. Whereas the totalitarian rulers succeeded in destroying much musical and literary inheritance, Mehdi Sahib ensured that the Ghazal was taken to an international scene and therefore remains untouched by those who sought to destroy it. Ustad Mehdi Hassan , along with Abdel Halim Hafez, Om Khaltum from Egypt, and Fairuz from Lebanon remains one of the great artistes to emerge from the East and who had an impact throughout the world.

  15. Mustafa says:

    Munh pay rakh daman-e-gul roain gay murghan-e-chaman
    Har rawish khaak uraaiy gi saba mairay baad

    This is from Mir Taqi Mir’s ghazal “Aa kay sajjada nasheen qais hua mairay baad…” which Mehdi Hassan sang.

  16. Muhammad Farooq, ON, Canada says:

    His voice is imprinted in my psyche since i started listening to music. How can this be erased from the memory. Physically he has left us but his work would survive and continue to enthrall music lovers generation after generation. RIP Mehdi Hassan Saheb!

  17. prafulla shrivastva says:

    How one write about his opinion on Mehdi Hassan while he was ruling over heart’s of millions in India.
    How I can share my feelings on him, I am unable to control my tears while remembering ” Ranjish hi sahi, Dil dukhane ke liye aa” his most popular gazal here in India.
    We have lost a great man.
    We can not comments anything on it.

  18. Kishore KR says:

    I am from Bombay, India. Mehdi Hassan’s mesmerizing voice has been well entrenched in my psyche for over 3 decades now. For me, there has never been another Ghazal singer anywhere close to him in all these years. Always marveled at the way Mehdi Hasan imparted subtlety in such myriad ways as he glided effortlessly thru any Ghazal’s verses. Truly, a legend. RIP Hasansaab!

    Two of my absolute favorites:

    1. Patta patta boota boota haal hamara jaane hai
    (many have sung this Ghazal but only Mehdi Hassan’s rendering gives you a hypnotic effect. Others seem so pedestrian in comparison)

    2. Baat karni mujhe mushkil kabhi aisi to na thi
    (Bahadur Shah Zafar’s forlorn composition is imparted such deep pathos by Mehdi Hassan’s rendering that tears gather automatically)

  19. Gyan says:

    I was at college and going through probably one of the most romantic perios of my life when I first listened to his song ‘Gulon me rang bhare, baad-e-nau-bahaar chale; chale bhi aao ki gulshan ka karobar chale.’
    Though the story had a sad end, there has never been a time since then when I remembered her and this gazal didn’t sound in my ears and vice – versa. Its a jouney that has associated with Mehdi Saheb. Masha-Allah, the smell of that time is still afresh.

  20. ali wadood says:

    Whenever I am not myself I listen to a song of mehdi Hassan or Kishore Kumar, I miss them both, It is

    sad that these great masters are not among us.

  21. Devendra says:

    Mehdi Hasan was perhaps key to my lifelong passion for music. I was 9 or 10 years old when in 1972/73 I had the privilege to witness him perform in my own home. With a small informal audience he was completely at ease and gave full rein to himself, repeating lines sometimes dozens of times, each time subtly different. My father taped the performance and we still have the spools, priceless despite aging. Till today that evening towers above all his other music that I have heard. All the more amazing since the simplicity of the bare accompanyment of a harmonium and tabla seemed to bring out the best in him and make him bolder, as opposed to some of his recordings which feature guitars, organs and even saxaphone!

    Mehdi Hasan’s talent transcended generations and made the ghazal, at one time an exclusive and high-brow art form, approachable to listeners of all ages. He certainly awakened my musical ear – ever since then I have been able to appreciate all types and forms of music. His gift was such that he could move me even when I could not understand some of the more difficult Urdu words.

    Over the years I have heard more and more of his music and am very clear that he was uniqely blessed with a talent that will be hard to match.

    As I said to my wife after a Sonny Rollins concert a few years back, the privilege and honour, the blessing, is ours that giants such as these choose to tread amongst us and enhance our lives.

    Gone but never forgotten.

    • haris says:

      you are absolutely correct about him,he awakened my musical ear too.I grew listening his ghazals, i suggest you too listen his ghazals “BHOOLI BISRI CHAND hui” “ROSHAN JAMAL-E-YAAR” and ” Koo Ba Koo Phail Gai ” you will definetly love them

  22. A BRIGHTEN STAR IS GONE.HIS VOICE GIVES A SENSATION OF LIFE,V EMOTIVE VOICE.WHAT A SONG”NAAM AAEY NA TERA PYAR KI RUSWAI MEIN” . FROM MOVIE “SURIYYA BHOPALI”

  23. Asif says:

    The king of ghazals also sang many many melodious songs for the Urdu films. Some of his masterpieces
    are
    Yeh kagzi phool jaisay chehray, mujhey tum nazar say gira toa rahey ho, jab koi piyar say bulaye ga, kuin hum say khafa ho gaye, yun zindagi ki rah main, jab bhi chahain ik nai soorat bana, duniya kisi kay piyar main, tark-e-ulfat ka sila, tum zid toa kar rahey ho, ik sitam or meri jaan. Shikwa na kar gila na kar, ik husn ki devi say mujhay piyar, tanha thi aur hamesha say tanha hai zindagi … and many more.
    We Pakistanis always loved and enjoyed these song. I am including these for our Indian friends to also listen and enjoy the meldious voice and the poetry of these songs.

    We pray for his departed soul.

  24. Ahmad says:

    I am the only one who has never liked his singing. You listned one song or many more all are the Xerx copy of the first one. RIP Mahdi Saheb.

  25. Feroz Tajuddin says:

    Mehdi Hassan was the true shanshah e gazal and nobody will replace his singing style.He introduced the classical music with urdu ghazal. May Allah bless his soul in eternal peace-Ameen

    MOHABBAT KARNE WALEY KAM NA HONGAY TERI MEHFIL ME LAKIN HAM NA HONGAY

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