The eighth death anniversary of King of Ghazal Mehdi Hassan Khan is being observed today.
Famously known as Shehenshah-e-Ghazal, Mehdi Hassan Khan was born on the 18th of July in the year 1927 in Rajasthan, India, to a family of musicians. In order to keep up with the tradition, the singer began training under his father and mentor, Ustaadh Azeem Khan as well as his uncle Ustaadh Ismail Khan.
Mehdi Hassan started his career in 1957 as a Thumri singer on Radio Pakistan and soon gained widespread fame with his magical voice. He created music which touched the heart of millions, on and across the borders. India’s legendary singer, Lata Mangeshkar, the Goddess of singing, is among the many followers of Mehdi Hassan. Mangeshkar once commented on Mehdi: ‘It seems as if God Himself speaks in his voice.’
Sadly, in 1999 Mehdi was forced to quit singing due to severe lungs disease. He was born on June 18, 1927 in Rajasthan but migrated to Pakistan at the age of 20 in I947. Hassan had faced financial hardship in the early years of migration and even worked as a mechanic to feed his family.
He ventured into films in 1962 and landed his vocals to the song ‘Jis ne mere dil ko dard diya’ for the movie ’Susral’. He got his biggest break in 1964 when he sang ‘Gulon mai rang bharay’ for film ‘Farangi’. He sang and created soundtracks for almost 300 movies, and amongst his classics are, ‘Ranjish he sahi’.
Mehdi Hassan is the recipient of several national awards including Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance, Hilal-e-Imtiaz, and Nishan-e-Imtiaz.
The Government of Nepal decorated him with the Order of Gorkha Dakshina Bahu, one of the highest honors given traditionally by the king in 1983 and the Government of India bestowed upon him the K. L. Saigal Sangeet Shahenshah Award.