The King of Ghazal

The shining star of Pakistan, the bearer of soft and soothing voice, widely known as “The King of Ghazal”, Ustad Mehdi Hasan Khan Sahib is a valuable asset of Pakistani music.  The singer and composer of numerous musical masterpieces has proved himself to be the best vocalist in South Asian region.  Being honest to his profession, this legend has produced thousands of enchanting songs and ghazals that will be remembered for centuries.

Born in 1927 in Rajhistan (Indo-Pak Subcontinent), he inherited the talent from his forefathers and was groomed by his father Ustad Azeem Khan and other family members.  He sang for radio and in films as a playback singer and ruled the two medias for years.  His national songs are a precious possession of this country.  He has entertained his listeners for more than four decades with his soothing, melodious voice.  It is a very difficult task to sort out the best audios out of his entire presentations.

His work had been highly appreciated by the presidents of Pakistan  which happened to be Army dictators.  He was awarded “Tamgha-e-Imtiaz” by Gen. Ayub Khan, the “Pride of Performance” by Gen. Zia-ul-Haq and “Hilal-e-Imtiaz” by Gen. Pervez Musharraf.  He also achieved the “Saigal Award” in Jalandhar, India and the “Gorkha Dakshina” award in Nepal in recognition of his matchless performance in traditional music.  This is very strange and a sad reality that his passion was never recognized by any civilian government of Pakistan.

Whatever the awards he has been granted, but the fact is that the real pleasure touches an artist’s mind and soul when he/she is being applauded by the audience, the common people.

Death is the ultimate reality of this life.  Mehdi Hasan Khan Sahib, no doubt a grand name and one of symbols of Pakistan, at the age of almost 85 is living his last moments.  A bouquet, a Get-Well-Soon card, a note of thank to admire his dedication, few gentle words and a face-to-face smile can make this end “pleasing” instead of “suffering”.

He lived an honorable life and his farewell should be remarkable as well, I wish!

May Allah (SWT) make his last moments and his return easy and peaceful for him.  May he be blessed with peace and mercy in both worlds.  Ameen!

I am always lost when try to find the best piece out of his collection.  Following are the few of the best of his performances.