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Remembering a ‘king of a Ghazal Kingdom’
APP
ISLAMABAD – Mehdi Hasan – a renowned singer who is known as King of Ghazal – was remembered on his 87th birth anniversary. The late singer was born on July 18, 1927 in Luna – a village in Rajasthan – into a family of musicians.
He was honoured with Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance and Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the government. In 1983, he was awarded Gorkha Dakshina Bahu in the court of King Shah Birendra by the Nepal government. He was awarded KL Saigal Sangeet Shehenshah Award by the Indian government.
Mehdi Hasan remained a leading singer of the Pakistani film industry along with Ahmed Rushdi. The highest civilian award – Nishan-e-Imtiaz – was also conferred on him. In 1957, Mehdi Hassan was given the opportunity to sing on the Radio Pakistan, which earned him recognition within the musical fraternity.
He had a passion for Urdu poetry, and therefore, he began to experiment by singing ghazals on a part-time basis. His first song was ‘Jis ne mere dil ko dard diya’ from film Susral in 1962. India’s leading singers including legendary Lata Mangeshkar also paid rich tributes to the late singer.
Mehdi Hassan died on June 13, 2012 in Karachi.
Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk