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Born on this day in 1927 into a family of teachers and musicians, Mehdi Hassan sang all his life. Both his father and uncle were accomplished vocalists from whom he learned India’s classical dhrupad and khyal music. Growing up in the Rajasthani village of Luna, he fell in love with traditional folk music as well.
When his family moved to the newly partitioned nation of Pakistan in 1947, Hassan supported himself as a mechanic. When he wasn’t fixing bicycles and cars he always made time to practice even when he did not perform in public. In 1952 he appeared on Radio Pakistan, singing classical thumri music and four years later he recorded his first “playback” song for the movies. Hits like “Patta patta, boota boota” won him fans in both India and Pakistan.
His specialty was the ghazal, an ancient poetic form favored by Rumi and other masters of Urdu verse. Known as Shaenshah-e-Ghazal or “King of Ghazal,” Hassan recorded thousands of songs and his voice appeared in over 300 films. Throughout the 1970s he was named Best Playback Singer at Pakistan’s Nigar Awards year after year, and he earned numerous other awards including Pride of Performance from the governments of India and Nepal.
Hassan’s spellbinding songs of love and longing brought ghazal to the world. His work with Faiz Ahmed Faiz, particularly “Gulon main rang bhara” (or “let the blossoms fill with color”) will stand the test of time.
Happy Birthday Mehdi Hassan, King of Ghazal!
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| 18.07.2018-Wednesday-புதன்-Doodle-Mehdi Hassan’s 91st Birthday-JPEG |
18.07.2018-Wednesday-புதன்-Doodle-Mehdi Hassan’s 91st Birthday-JPEG @ Born on this day in 1927 into a family of teachers and musicians, Mehdi Hassan sang all his life. Both his father and uncle were accomplished vocalists from whom he learned India’s classical dhrupad and khyal music. Growing up in the Rajasthani village of Luna, he fell in love with traditional folk music as well.
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His specialty was the ghazal, an ancient poetic form favored by Rumi and other masters of Urdu verse. Known as Shaenshah-e-Ghazal or “King of Ghazal,” Hassan recorded thousands of songs and his voice appeared in over 300 films. Throughout the 1970s he was named Best Playback Singer at Pakistan’s Nigar Awards year after year, and he earned numerous other awards including Pride of Performance from the governments of India and Nepal.
Hassan’s spellbinding songs of love and longing brought ghazal to the world. His work with Faiz Ahmed Faiz, particularly “Gulon main rang bhara” (or “let the blossoms fill with color”) will stand the test of time.
Happy Birthday Mehdi Hassan, King of Ghazal!