Mehdi Hassan was Pakistan’s pride. His melodious voice echoed through the country, carrying with it amazing shairi and meaning. An entire generation grew up listening to Mehdi Hassan songs and they carried his music with them and passed it on to the next generation.

He may not be with his anymore, but his music lives on. His memory is revived every time someone plays one of his many hits. 

This year, for his birthday, Google honoured the musician with a Google Doodle. The picture captures everything that was iconic about the musician, from his harmonium to the shawls he would wear to every performance of his.

Mehdi Hassan was a giant in the Pakistani entertainment industry. In fact, he had gotten to the point where he was given the title of ‘Shehehshah e Ghazal’. His career started, as many others’ did, with Radio Pakistan. He started as a thumri singer. Thumri is a type of classical Indian music, usually more upbeat, and also is derived heavily from tales of Hindu mythology etc.

As he gained more popularity, he expanded into ghazals, and well the rest is history.

In 1964, he sang his famous song ‘Gulon mein rang bharay’ for the film Farangi; this song catapulted Mehdi Hassan into the golden list of Pakistani singers. It is estimated that Mehdi Hassan lent his voice for over 300 films during his career. One quote about the renowned singer that seems to be everyone, online, is one by Lata Mangeshkar. Upon hearing him perform, she apparently said ‘Lagta hai inn ke gallaay mein bhagwan bolta hai’. 

Other than ‘Gulon Mein Rang Bharay’, his other notable songs are ‘Ranjish Hi Sahi’, ‘Jab Koi Pyaar Se Bulaye Ga’ and of course ‘Mujhe Tum Nazar Se Gira Tou Rahay Ho’. 

The artist took a break from singing in the 80s, citing health concerns, however, his health never got better. He suffered through two strokes and a lung disease, eventually leading to his death in 2012.

The songs he sang are never going to be forgotten. They still play ever so often, they’re reinvented, but each time, it’s the memory of Mehdi Hassan that lives on. As we would say in Urdu, ‘unkay geet amar hogaye hai’. 

What’s your favorite Mehdi Hassan ghazal? Let us know in the comments 🙂

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