Mehdi the Magnificent

A beautiful commemoration of a great artiste. The apathy of our cultural khalifas is par for the course. A couple of years ago when Khan saheb was suffering for want of money in his 120 square yard home in Federal B area, Karachi, another maestro from India came to perform at an invitation and donated his entire fees of US dollars ten thousand towards Khan saheb`s medication and shamed the Karachi crowd into raising enough funds for the Ustad to visit Bombay for an operation and subsequent relief from his ailment.That other maestro is Jagjit Singh. God bless him. Mehdi Hasan Khan saheb is much better now but his singing days are over. We in Toronto are privileged to listen to his shagird Afzal Subhani, a cousin of Talat Aziz,who does take us into those halcyon days of sixtys and seventys when Mehdi Hasan was at his peak and Lata is reportedly commented:- ``Shri Mehdi Hasan ke kanth mein Bhagwan bolte hain``, no greater accolade can be fitting for magnificent Khan saheb.

Mr. Shah
This is a very nice article on a wonderful artiste. I had read that Mehdi Hassan was not keeping good health and was in somewhat straitened circumstances. I have been a great admirer of his singing. I came across his voice in the late 70`s while growing up in Bombay. The first song I listened to, sung by him, was ``Ranjish hi Sahi`` penned by Ahmad Faraz I think. Thank you for bringing back memories.

No one comes close to Ustad Mehdi Hassan Khan Sahib in Ghazal, Thurmi (semi classical). He cultivated the art of Ghazal singing that is a dream of all Ghazal singers that come after him, but no one comes close. Khan Sahib belonged to Kalawant Gharana of music (it is believed that he is 15th generation of Kalawant musicians). His relatives from Rajhistan, India, run a music school in NYC, that I often visit. May Allah give Khan Sahib full Shifa.

“Zamanay Bhar Kay Gham, ya Ik tera Gham......”

Thank you Shah Ji for such a nice write-up.

Nice write-up. Before listening mehdi hassan i was a big fan of ghulam ali. About 16 years ago, i got a 2 cassettes pack of Mehdi hassan live performance at Royal Albert hall, London.
I still remember the feeling I experienced when I first listened to Mehdi saheb.I am not well versed with classical music, but I knew it was something very much different from what i was listening till then. It was almost celestial. Even after 16 years, when i have that majestic ``alaap`` of `shola tha jal bujha hun`,wafting towards me i get goosepimples.
Thank you khan saheb for enriching our lives the way you have done..shukriya.

True
Ustad Mehdi Hassan is certainly THE GREATEST of all ghazal singers that have ever walked the earth
i`ve been listening to him on and off for a long time.... but it`s quite recently that i`ve started to understand the immense talent he posseses
i`m no authority on music, but it`s quite amazing how he captures the emotions in his ghazals.... u can notice it in his voice instantly... and this is one unmatched quality
i`ve listened to most greats from the indo-pak music scene..... the likes of asigol, mukesh, rafi, kishore, ahmed rushdi, akhlaq ahmed, amanat ali, ghulam ali, jagjit singh et al. but it`s only with Mehdi Hassan that you don`t actually have to choose tracks.... u can listen to anything he has ever sung

i wish he`s given the due respect

i heard that he once said (or maybe i`m associating the wrong quote with the wrong person) ke:
the only difference between music in india and pakistan is ke jab hum india main hotay hain to hum kalakaar hote hain aur jab pakistan main hote hain to kanjar ho jaate hain

i remember listening to an interesting tape from ustad mehndi hassan with songs sung by rajasthani beggers..i think it was Maand Raag..he had a wide range not restricted to gazal i believe.

Dear writer

I understand, Mehdi Hassan is considered the King of ghazals . People call him, god of the ghazal world.

I myself always tried to listen to his famous ghazals. Some of them I liked , most I didn`t.

Yes, I loved some of his songs, specially,``mujey tum nazar saiy gira tu rahey hu.`` and ,`` jub koii pyaar saiy bulaiy gaa, tum ku aik shakhs yaad aaiy gaa.``

But, for some reasons, I don`t find myself attached to his voice.

Shahji, I admire your admiration for the great Mehdi Hassan

was it an obituary of an insensate and ungrateful nation(if you call it a nation, still trying to find its identity) or was it a lament for a poor Pakistani ghazal singer, who did receive recognition in his life time, unlike mirza ghalib or van gogh and many other artistes like them, yet he was not as smart as Pavarotti, to have been able to build his own empire to live comfortably with his 40- year junior girlfriend or wife and not wait for some charities coming down his ways from the so called philanthropists…

Yet I am happy and thankful to modern technology for preserving his voice and images forever. People like you and me will cherish them for generations to come.

Thank you Abroo sahib for a wonderful homily to the great Ustad Mehdi Hassan--my favourite singer and, without doubt, the peerless ghazal singer amongst males. A true master. His ghazals are magnificent and he has a leisurely style of rendition which makes it a true pleasure to listen. Also as important most of his ghazals are selected from the great poets of Urdu such as Ghalib, Mir, Faiz and so on. (Interestingly I don`t recall many Iqbal`s ghazals being sung but that`s probably because most of his are not romantic but philosophical!)
His rendition of Faiz especially is magnificent.

I was about to write an article myself on Mehdi Hassan but you`ve done a better job than I could!

I lost a tape of his I had - a series of 3 tapes actually--which for me is him at his peak--it was called Mehdi Hassan: Private Mehfil Series vol. 1-3 and was astonishing. If you (or anyone else) has those songs and could email them or provide a link I`d be grateful.

He has too many great ghazals for me to pick but I especially love these:

Zindagi mein tau sab hii pyaar kiyaa karte hain
Ku ba ku phail gaye baat
Muhabbat karne waalay kam na hongay
Sar-e-aaina mera aks hai (I can`t find this recording anymore!)
Gulon mein rang bhare...
Aaye kuchh abr, kuchh sharaab aaye..
Yeh dhuaaN sa kahaan se nikalta hai
Aakay sajaadahnasheen kaisay huwa mere baad
Mujhe tum nazar se giraa tau rahe ho
Donon jahaan mein haar kay (Faiz` -can`t find it either!)

wah wah!
I definitely think Pakistani government should help him out if he is in financial straits.
May Allah give him a speedy recovery!

The only other ghazal singer who is in his league (at his best) is Ghulam Ali when he sings classical ghazals...

Thank you Abroo Shah for taking us on this

nostalgia journey via a tribute to Mehdi Hasan.

I can remember many times that I have sat in a

pensive mood and immersed myself in what I

still think is his finest work (If you can get the right version).

I believe that the words were written by Ahmad Faraz.

The Ghazal was/is ``Ranjish Hi Sahi``.

There are none that can match Mehdi Sahib`s capture

of that ``Ranjish`` in our scattered lives.

Ras

PS: FV, once again could we try starting these articles from the top
of the CHOWK page?

Mehdi Hasan Sahib is, was, and will remain the King of classical ghazal gaiki for all times to come -- his introduction of Kheyal in the form of mercurial kaleidoscope of ascending and descending improvisations in Ghazal are unparalleled in the history Ghazal singing.......

I hope he has recovered from his stroke fully -- I had warned him about his smoking and drinking 9 years ago and every time we met thereafter -- but to no avail -- the amazing thing was that cigarettes had just the opposite effect on his voice -- they made it endearingly more raspy than rusty.....that may have been one of the reasons he was reluctant to part with his cigarettes ....

Thank you Abroo sahib for highlighting Mehdi Hasan sahib career in this beautiful tribute of a column... we definitely should establish a fund and contribute into it to honor a great artist of our times....

Lot of thanks to Shah Shaeb. Wonderful article on Mehdi Hassan Saheb. I started listenig to Mehdi Hassan during college days. Mehdi Saheb is ``Aab ru ye gazal``. He gave gazal a new life. I also like his rajsathani composition ``Kesariya balam padharo maare desh``. His filmi songs were also good like ``Tere bheege badan kee khushboo se``. He crossed the barrier of countires. Haffez (Famous Shayar) rightly said ``Haffez apni boli hai muhabbat ke boli, na urdu na hindi na hindostani).

I am based in NJ, USA. Please let me know if mehdi hassan saheb is visiting USA.

Re: # 9
Hey Naqshabandi

I`ve got a couple of his MP3s if you are still interested. Lemme know how to get them to you :)

RB

does someone has the recording (video) of mehdi hassan sahab`s live show at royal albert hall london????????

Hello, my name is Manek Premchand, and I am strong lover of music from both sides of the border. I liked the piece on Mehdi hassan, but humbly feel it is too difficult to choose the `best ghazal singer ever`, as Mr Abroo Shah has done. Some of Talat Mehmood`s singing is soul-stirring, just as what Begum Akhtar has rendered cannot find an equal. Mehdi saab is wonderful too, absolutely. I have heard him in person here in India too, and not able to get over the magic he weaved. His range was bewildering.

But one must not forget the time the singer was from. Talat was just about winding up his act when Mehdi saab came, into a world now maturing into multi-track recordings, and stereos. If you reacll, Mehdi Hassan`s early influences include Talat`s vocals (he sang Talat`s Husn walon ko na dil do, at a private party, and was showered with some 17000 Pak Rs just for that track--this was in the early 50s!). Similarly Talat admired KL Saigal, with his Aye katib-e-taqdeer mujhe itna bata de (``Jaise noor ki ek baarish si ho rahi thi`` Talat would recall later). In KL saigal`s days, the single carbon mike had to be heated to perform! And the 78 rpm record limited you to some 3 minutes.

My feeling is, these were or are great singers, no doubt about it. Now the question is, if we simply had to choose and name one, then what? I hope you dont mind airing my views, but it would have to be Talat. When you hear him go Ashkon mein jo paaya hai, when you hear him render Sab kuchh luta ke hosh mein aaye to kya kiya, or Faiz Ahmed Faiz`s Kab yaad mein tera saath naheen. You really dont know where to run, it`s too much for the heard and head!

Btw, if you haven`t heard this last one, go get it. Now!