The emperor of ghazal

With the passing away of Mehdi Hassan, the best ghazal singer of all times, the world has lost a major stalwart of the ghazal world. Who can forget the melodious voice of India-born ghazal legend Mehdi Hassan, and his popular ghazals “Patta patta, boota boota”, “Kab ke Bichhare” and many others. His loss is irreparable. His contribution to subcontinent music was immense and unmatched. Ghazal lovers are forever indebted to him.

The vacuum left by him is never going to be filled. Mehdi Hassan was an ambassador of music all over the world. He leaves behind a legacy, a treasure trove of beautiful soul touching music. His unique style of presenting Urdu couplets and giving a classical touch to soulful melodies made him the emperor of ghazal. His voice had an enormous range which remains thus far unmatched. His mastery over the ragas made him the indisputable master of ghazal in the subcontinent. He entertained one and all, young and old, and he will live forever for his fans. Millions around the world will remember his soft, silken voice. An era in music has ended and, undoubtedly, it will never be the same again for his fans.

Mehdi Hassan will always be remembered with great fondness and pride, all over the world. The singer till the very end yearned for India the country of his birth. But owing to his poor health, he could not cross the border. Hassan was born into a family of traditional musicians at Luna village in India’s Rajasthan state in 1927. His family migrated to Pakistan at the time of Partition in 1947.

Stalwarts like Jagjit Singh and Talat Aziz were his disciples. He received a number of awards and honors, among them the Saigal Award in India. I hope the younger generation will carry on his rich legacy. I send my sincere condolences to his bereaved family members.
Mir Gazanfar Ali Zaki, Jeddah