The last time Parvez Mehdi and I performed together was in Islamabad where PTV’s talented music producer Khawaja Najamul Hassan was recording his famous programme ‘Meri Pasand’ sequel at PTV World.
We watched each other’s performance as well. Parvez was a very social person, humble in his attire and spoke with a sense of humour. With due deference to all those who claim to be Mehdi Hassan’s pupils, I consider Parvez as the most genuine pupil of his. Why? Because I have seen him spending his lifetime in serving his teacher with diligence and acquiring his teacher’s skills by accompanying him at almost all of his performances. He would carry his teacher’s Sarmundal all the time. By doing so, he developed his teacher’s singing style right from the days when he was a novice. Normally in such eventualities, a singer gets less opportunity to make a name for himself and get recognition on his own. Surprisingly Parvez managed to get out of this imprint when Hassan was at the peak of his career. So by and large music lovers consider him the third best male ghazal singer after Hassan and Ghulam Ali.
I will shed light on some of Parvez’s songs and analyse them to justify this claim. The first one is Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi’s ghazal “Saans Lena Bhi Saza Lagta Hai/Ab Tou Marna Bhi Rawa Lagta Hai” composed by Parvez himself. The mood of this ghazal is that of contentment and the theme of it is life. Singing live with a tabla and reciting “Lagta Hai” and the phrase Manoos Hunin many variations is the forte inherited from Hassan. He plays with words by introducing many variations of musical notes. The phrases thus are re-born with an enchanting impact. Another of Parvez’s gem is Qasmi’s ghazal “Gul Tera Rang Chura Laaei Hain Gulzaron Main” sung live with a tabla and harmonium. The overall impact of both of these ghazals is soothing. Parvez would normally start by establishing the mood of the raag in, which the ghazal is composed. He would prefer Ustad Tari Khan to accompany him on tabla if available. A dohra would usually follow after the alaap. In this regard, his ghazal “Kya Zamana Tha Keh Hum Roz Mila Karte Thay” is referred to. The most popular among these ghazals is Adeem Hashmi’s ghazal “Toot Jaei Na Bharam Hont Hilaaun Kaise”. That gives me an excuse to talk a little about Hashmi.
I have worked extensively with poet Adeem Hashmi in the 1970s at PTV. Therefore I desire to talk about him first. His original name was Fasihuddin. Originally hailing from Faisalabad, he spent a considerable time in the US. I met him last in Lahore with poet Farhat Abbas Shah and dropped him at the coach station boarding for Islamabad on his way to the US. His last book Bohat Nazdeek Aate Ja Rahe Ho was written in the hospitals of Pakistan and America where he was admitted during the last years of his life. Hashmi died in Chicago Hope on November 5, 2001 due to heart failure. Hashmi’s natural flair and style was fresh and different and he had the sense to realise the need of the time and era around him. Even though, most poets of high esteem have been stuck in romantic poetry and that on nature, he chose basic fundamentals of rebellion and complimented that with a personal confrontation as an analogy. He rose to popularity for his ghazal “Faasile Aise Bhi Honge Yeh Kabhi Soch Na Tha/Samne Baitha Tha Mere Aur Who Mera Na Tha” in the 1960s. The moment Parvez rendered this ghazal, it became popular instantly. Its live rendering was immensely appreciated in the programme ‘Meri Pasand’. Musicologist Dr Bukhari observes that Parvez was a lesser rated artist by masses than to the status he actually deserved and one reason among many is the lack of availability of his very early work on the Internet or in music libraries in, which he was at his best.
One of the most popular ghazals sung by Parvez is “Saat Suron Ka Behta Dariya Tere Naam/Har Sur Main Hai Rang Dhanak Ka Tere Naam” by poet Ayub Khawar. This ghazal became popular owing to the beauty of its lyrics, excellent compositioning and melodious rendering by Parvez. In consonance with the spirit behind this couplet, listening to the variations made by Parvez in each phrase of poetry, creates the effect of a green scarf flying in all seasons in a jungle in search of a beloved. A beautiful recording of this ghazal is available in his 1984 performance in London.
I was a student of the University of Birmingham in UK in the early 1970s. I was visiting my brother Arshad Sheikh’s house in Small Heath that Mushtaq Hashmi and I received the news that Parvez was to perform in an adjoining hall.
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