Mehdi Hasan at an art exhibition – Photo courtesy of Asif Noorani

It was not until Mehdi Hasan: The Man and his Music, the book that I conceived, compiled, edited, partly wrote and almost entirely rewrote, hit the bookstores that I realised the great singer’s popularity hasn’t receded over the years. Though the stroke that paralysed him ten years ago has left him at best wheelchair bound and at worst bedridden, and he has neither performed nor recorded for a decade, he remains a yardstick by which all other ghazal singers are judged. The slim volume, laced with photographs, most of them unpublished, and accompanied with two priceless CDs, has been a bestseller and very soon work may well begin on the second edition.

Mehdi Hasan: The Man and his Music happened when I realised that there was no book on one of the greatest icons of the subcontinent in our times. Some of his admirers in India often sent requests for anything on ‘Mehdi sahib’ which they could read and give a pride of place on their bookshelves.

When I decided to take a plunge, the one major problem was, and still is, that the icon cannot communicate. His answers, if any, are in one or two words. His family members are scattered and difficult to contact, except for a son in Karachi who is generally inaccessible. “But”, as I wrote in the foreword of the book, “I discovered to my surprise and, of course, pleasure that people like composer Robin Ghosh in Dhaka, Raza Ali Abidi in London, Rakhshanda Jalil in Delhi and Raza Rumi in Lahore agreed wholeheartedly to contribute to the book at short notice. Then there were singers like Runa Laila, Jagjit Singh, Abida Parveen, Nayyara Noor and Tina Sani, who spoke enthusiastically about their association with the vocalist from whom they have drawn inspiration.”

EMI Pakistan, which had been forced into hibernation by pirates and are back in action, were invited to become a partner in the project, which they did so happily. They have a great collection in their archives, which they are indexing. I recalled that in 1976, a two-evening concert, featuring the ustad, was held in Lahore. The recordings later released on audio cassettes are in my personal library. The stereophonic recording was superb. I selected six best ghazals, which appear on CD 1, without being abridged or pruned.

The second CD features in addition to his exquisite film songs, a duet with Nazakat and Salamat. Mehdi Hasan is a match to the well known exponents of classical music and scores over them and sounds sweeter. Another surprise number is his superb rendition of a Bulleh Shah kafi. Then there are splendid recitations of a thumri, a Rajasthani folk song and Heer. The tracks on both the CDs are digitised. Before I forget let me add that the second CD begins with a tribute paid by the well known Indian singer Jagjit Singh to the uncrowned king of ghazal gayeki.

Back to the book, its contents in the context of text and photographs offer a wide variety. If there are serious articles on the contributions of the singer to ghazal gayeki and film music, there are brief tributes paid to him by the likes of Dilip Kumar, Noor Jehan, Naushad and Lata. There are also interesting anecdotes like the one when he reassembled his harmonium, which was dropped by someone while being carried to a concert, in a matter of few minutes. “Don’t be surprised. I was an auto mechanic once and had assembled a number of tractor engines. Assembling a harmonium is child’s play to me,” he told his relieved audience.

No less interesting is the short piece by Shaukat Sheikh who recalled how “Gulon mein rang bhare” was originally recorded by HMV to issue as a record but on director Khaleel Qaiser’s insistence the ghazal was included in his movie Farangi. That became Mehdi Hasan’s signature tune. Once when some one requested Faiz to recite the ghazal at a mushaira he quipped “Woh ghazal to ab Mehdi Hasan ki hogai hai. Aap unse sunye.”

I have listed 30 of his finest ghazals and 30 best film songs, as also some ragas on which he has based his popular ghazals. A list of awards, won by the singer, has been included in the book too.

Among the rare photographs published between the covers is the one where he is seen with his first wife. He looks happy but the glint in his eyes when he is seen with other females is naturally not there. He also appears in the company of other celebrities.

With two legitimate and well recorded CDs, the book is quite affordable. It has been priced Rs. 695. An imported book of this nature would have been no less than Rs. 1,500.

Liberty Books, the publishers of the book, are trying to make it available outside Pakistan. Let’s hope that becomes possible soon – Asif Noorani – Source – Dawn.com

Mehdi Hasan

KARACHI, Dec 6: Tribute was paid to Mehdi Hasan at the launch of a book, which deals with his life and music, here on Monday.

Music lovers were, however, disappointed that the veteran vocalist, who has been in poor health, could not attend the function.

Efforts of senior journalist Asif Noorani, who compiled and edited the book titled Mehdi Hasan: the man and his music, were appreciated by all those who spoke at the book launch.

The book carries well-researched articles and anecdotes about the great singer. Two CDs, containing some of the rare ghazals sung by Mehdi Hasan, accompany the book.

The launch was jointly organised by Liberty Books and EMI Pakistan.

Those who spoke at the book launch included Zehra Nigah, Arshad Mahmood, Raza Ali Abidi, Saleem Hussain and Umar Sheikh.

Zehra Nigah, the eminent poet and chief guest, spoke about the need for acknowledging local artistes more often than is usually done. She also praised the efforts made by the author of the book.

Asif Noorani said: “It is disappointing that while five books are available on Lata Mangeshkar, not a single book is available on Mehdi Hasan, for whom she has great admiration as a singer. In our country we praise lavishly those people who are no more; I have the satisfaction of writing a book in Mehdi Hassan sahib’s lifetime”.

The book was termed a valuable contribution to recording of Pakistan’s national heritage and showing the path to young music lovers.

Mehdi Hasan’s music played in the background while guests discussed the merits of Mehdi Hasan’s music and compiler-editor Asif Noorani signed copies of the book – Source – Dawn.com

Mehdi Hassan

Nowhere else in the world one can find any example where literature and music are inalienably strung together, save for Urdu adab. It is because in the subcontinent one of the richest genres of Urdu literature, ghazal is not only something to extract reading pleasure from but also to sing and lend one’s ears to. And this wouldn’t have been achieved if India and Pakistan didn’t have musical geniuses like Madame Noor Jehan, Begum Akhtar and Mehdi Hassan, who used the sing to the fullest.

It is widely considered that the era of the 1950s and 60s was the golden age of radio broadcasting in the Indian sub-continent. It was during this period that a rich and mellifluous voice captured the hearts of all the listeners through broadcasts on Radio Pakistan. The melodic renditions of classical ghazals in a cultivated and cultured manner were its attributes and created a storm amongst the masses, musical connoisseurs and erudite musicians. Almost half a century has gone by and yet it still never fails to captivate. The voice is indeed that of Mehdi Hassan, the unparalleled master of ghazal.

The evolution of the ghazal is a momentous one. Initially written in Persian, it can trace its origins in India during the advent of the Muslim rule in India during the 12th century. Hazrat Amir Khusrau (1253-1324), the eminent poet, scholar, statesman and musicologist is credited with many masterpieces of Persian poetry and can be termed as a major propagator of the ghazal. The pinnacle of the ghazal can be said to have been between the 18th and 19th centuries when Urdu became the preferred language of poetry and culture throughout India, poets such as Sauda, Mir Taqi Mir, Zauq, and Mirza Ghalib penned ghazals which are considered as hallmarks of Urdu poetry. Gradually, during the course of time, ghazals started to be expressed through melody and musicians started to use them as part of their repertoire. Ustad Mauzuddin Khan and Gauhar Jan were the early pioneers who built a reputation in the field and set the initial groundwork. Later, vocalists of the caliber of Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, Mukhtar Begum and Begum Akhtar established themselves as major exponents of ghazal gayaki. However, Mehdi Hassan has added a further dimension to this art form.

Mehdi Hassan was born in 1927 in a village called Luna in Rajasthan, India into a family of traditional musicians. He claims to be the 16th generation of hereditary musicians hailing from the Kalawant clan of musicians. Mehdi Hassan had his musical grooming from his father Ustad Azeem Khan and uncle Ustad Ismail Khan who were both traditional Dhrupad singers. The life story of Mehdi Hassan is a journey of trials and tribulations. After partition the family migrated to Pakistan and suffered severe financial hardships.

To make ends meet Mehdi started working in a bicycle shop and later became a car and diesel tractor mechanic. Despite the hardships, his passion for music didn’t wither and he kept up the routine of practice on a daily basis. His struggle ended when he was given the opportunity to sing on radio in 1952, primarily as a thumri singer, this got him recognition within the musical fraternity. At that time, Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, Begum Akhtar and Mukhtar Begum were considered the stalwarts of ghazal gayaki, Mehdi Hassan also had a passion for Urdu poetry and started to experiment by singing ghazals on a part time basis. He cites radio officers Z.A. Bukhari and Rafiq Anwar as additional influences in his progression as a ghazal singer. They gave him ample opportunities to display his mastery over the ghazal on radio. He sang ghazals of all the renowned Urdu poets and soon his innovative style was soon appreciated by both the masses and discerning audiences.

Mehdi Hassan’s gayaki incorporates the subtle elements of both Dhrupad and Khayal. He carefully embellishes ghazals by using behlawas, murkhis, taans and zamzamas. Further grace is given by touches of Rajasthani folk singing. Another important feature of his style is the importance of correct pronunciation, delivery of words are of utmost importance and he never compromises the true expression of a word regardless of the constraints put forward by the musical composition. The mutual bond between melody and the lyrical content is responsible for making the art of Mehdi Hassan so appealing. In addition he has raised the profile of ghazal gayaki which was previously considered a taboo amongst classical exponents and reformed it into a major melodic genre which sits on an equal footing with thumri, dadra, kajri and tappa. His influence was such that some leading classical vocalists of that era took to ghazal singing.

Mehdi Hassan’s popularity resulted in his becoming one of the most popular playback singers of the Pakistani film industry from the early 1960s to the late 1980s. Many of his film based ghazals have become classics.

One also has to give credit to music directors associated with radio Pakistan and the Pakistan film industry who composed many beautiful melodies for Mehdi Hassan to adorn. Composers such as Ustad Niaz Hussain Shami, Pandit Ghulam Qadir (Mehdi Hassan’s brother), Master Inayat Hussain, Khawaja Khurshid Anwar, Rashid Attrey, Nisar Bazmi and Mohsin Raza are additional contributories to Mehdi Hassan’s success.

The government of Pakistan has awarded Mehdi Hassan the pride of performance as recognition to his services rendered to music, and he was also recently awarded a life achievement award by Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. As with a stature of a person like Mehdi Hassan, he has released many recordings, toured worldwide on an extensive basis and performed in the renowned concert halls around the world. He recently took part in the 50th anniversary of Rajasthan celebrations in India in which the leading artistes of Rajasthani origin participated. He currently devotes most of his time with his family in between Pakistan and the USA.

Despite advancing age, Mehdi Hassan still reigns as the undisputed master of the ghazal. He has left such an indelible mark in the field of ghazal gayaki that almost all the ghazal singers of today are influenced by him. Mehdi Hassan has also been instrumental in training the next generation of ghazal singers. His sons Asif and Kamran are following in their father’s footsteps and trying to carve a career as ghazal singers, other prominent disciples are Parvez Mehdi, Ghulam Abbas, Salamat Ali, Asif Javed and Talat Aziz – Saqib Razaq

Mehdi Hassan

Mehdi Hassan has no equal when it comes to male ghazal singers. Hailing from a family of professional singers, he has put his own mark on the technique of ghazal singing. His voice, though small, is capable of rendering the most delicate melodic patterns in a manner which is authoritatively and unmistakably his. He has recorded hundreds of ghazals and travelled widely, holding concerts all over Europe and the United States.

He was honoured with the Pride of Performance medal in 1985.

Listen!

Baat karni mujhay – Lyrics – Bahadur Shah Zafar – Music – Mehdi Hassan