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 Mehdi
Hasan’s latest album Sada-e-Ishq might just be his last album,
since age has caught up with the legenadry ghazal singer, and he
may not be able to take the strain of recording any more...
There can be
no contention over the fact that it will take centuries for a Mehdi
Hasan to be born again and rule over the hearts of people. His voice
and his inimitable style of singing create a magical ambience, leaving
the audience mesmerised. He has now been enthralling the ghazal
buffs for several decades, and has is unchallenged in his field.
Born in a small
town of Luna, in Rajasthan, Hasan got music as a legacy from his
father and uncle. His father, Ustad Azim Khan was an exponent of
the Indian classical music of his time and was in the services of
the Maharaja of Jaipur. And his uncle, Ismail Khan, also an exponent
of Indian classical music, took the six-year-old Hasan under his
wings and trained him. The singer mastered a range of styles of
vocal music, including Dhrupad, Khayal, Thumri and Dadra at a very
tender age.
Hasan began his professional career as a radio artist singing classical
songs, and later to singing ghazals. His first ghazal was ‘Mera
khayal...’ from the film Shikaar in 1962. This brought him
instant success and popularity, and soon with his stylish ghazal-singing,
he came to known as the ‘Shahenshah-e-Ghazal’. A celebrated
maestro, Hasan’s position in the world of ghazal-gayeki is
next only to Begum Akhtar.
The secret
of Hasan’s success is his velvety voice, coupled with his relaxed
and poised style of rendition, which has an enthralling effect on
the listener. Also the singer is very meticulous in choosing his
ghazals and very particular about expressing the correct intonation
of the diction. His classical music background helps him intersperse
highly specialised ragas in his singing, and yet he sees to it that
his song is simple, so that it can be appreciated by all sections
of music lovers.
Among Hasan’s masterpieces are ghazals like ‘Duniya kisi
ke pyar mein...’ from Jaag Utha Insaan (1966), ‘Mujhe
tum nazar se gira to rahe ho...’ from Doraha (1967), ‘Ik
naye mod pe le aaye hain...’ from Dewar Bhabhi (1967), ‘Yeh
wafaon ka diya aapne...’ from Phir Chand Nikle Ga (1970), ‘Khamosh
hai naazare...’ from Bandagi (1972), ‘Ga mere diwane dil...’
from Daulat Aur Duniya (1972), all of which have refused to age
with time.
Some of his
evergreen songs are ‘Main hoon yahan, tu hai wahan...’
from Gharnata, ‘Zindagi ja, chod de peecha mera...’ from
Jawab Dua, ‘Tum zid to kar rahe ho...’ from Daagh, ‘Yoon
zindagi ki raah mein...’ from Aag and ‘Shikwa na kar,
gila na kar...’ from Zameen.
After almost
50 glorious years of his career, Hasan’s fame is unparallelled
around the globe, and his voice continues to rule the hearts and
minds of his innumerable fans. As it is commonly said, and acknowledged
by his critics and fans, "He breathes life into mere words
with his expressions and feelings."
His latest
album Sada-e-Ishq (The Call of Love), has been released by Music
Today. The album is a treasure trove of melodious ghazals and makes
for a collectors’ item since this happens to be the final score
by the ghazal maestro, who is not keeping well.
Sada-e-Ishq
has Hasan joining hands with poet Farat Shahzad for the second time.
Shahzad is a poet of passion, and his writing comes straight from
his soul, and speaks to the audience at a very personal level. There
is a kind of purity in his writing that is rarely seen these days,
and he is always experimenting with new ideas and techniques. Hasan
and Shahzad share the passion for the art and its pursuit to the
extreme, and through this album spread a fragrance of fresh collection
of eight ghazals and nazms. Altaf-e-Haider has composed the lilting
tunes. This masterful creation holds the promise of everlasting
impact on its audience, and includes ghazals like ‘Tumhare
saath bhi tanha hoon...’, ‘Humse tanhai ke maare..., Pyaar
karne ki is dil ko...’, ‘Khud se bhi door nikal...’,
amongst others.
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