The journey started from a bicycle shop
Mehdi Hasan, known as Shahenshah-e-Ghazal in the world of Ghazal, won the hearts of crores of people with his voice. He created his own identity on the basis of hard work and courage. There was a time when he had to work as a mechanic at a bicycle shop to support his family. Despite difficult circumstances, he did not give up music and later became one of the biggest names in the world of Ghazal.
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I was accompanied by music since childhood.
Mehdi Hasan was born on 18 July 1927 in Jhunjhunu district of Rajasthan. He was born in a family where music was present for generations. His father Ustad Azim Khan and uncle Ustad Ismail Khan were great artists. He got musical environment since childhood and started taking music lessons at the age of just 8 years. He learned the nuances of classical music at an early age. By the time he reached the age of 18, Mehdi Hasan had gained good command over Dhrupad, Thumri and Khayal singing.
Life changed after partition
Just when his career was about to progress, the partition of the country changed his life. After the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, Mehdi Hasan went to Pakistan with his family. Starting at a new place was not easy. The family was going through a financial crisis and it had become difficult to meet daily needs. At such a time, Mehdi Hasan started working as a mechanic at a bicycle shop to take care of the responsibilities of the family, however, he never gave up the practice of music.
Work during the day, study at night
He used to work during the day and practice at night. This Riyaz later became his biggest strength. After struggling for about ten years, he got a chance to sing on Radio Pakistan in the year 1957. Initially he made his mark by singing Thumri, but soon he turned to Ghazal singing. His understanding of classical music and his style of singing by feeling the words made him different from other singers. Within no time, Mehdi Hasan became a big name in the world of Ghazal.
Got recognition in the world including India
After this he sang many memorable songs in Pakistani films also. His identity was not only limited to Pakistan, but people in India and many countries of the world also became crazy about his voice. His sung ghazals ‘Ranjish hi sahi’, ‘Gulon mein rang bhare’, ‘Ab ke hum bichhade to shayed’, ‘Dil-e-nadan tujhe hua kya hai’ and ‘Mohabbat karne wale kam na honge’ are heard widely among the people even today.
Many big artists of India were also admirers of Mehdi Hasan’s voice. Praising his singing, great singer Lata Mangeshkar had said that it seems as if God speaks in Mehdi Hassan Sahab’s throat. Many big singers including Jagjit Singh considered him as their inspiration.
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He received many big honors for his special contribution in the world of music. The Government of Pakistan gave him honors like Pride of Performance, Tamga-e-Imtiaz, Hilal-e-Imtiaz and Nishan-e-Imtiaz. In India, he was honored with the KL Sehgal Award in the year 1979. Nepal government also gave him Gorkha Dakshina Bahu honour.
Mehdi Hasan died on 13 June 2012 in Karachi. Due to illness he said goodbye to the world, but his voice is still alive.
