MEHDI HASSAN is not just a legend , he is much more then that he is an icon for the most mesmerizing form of music that has ever evolved in india and is known as gazal .
He is the heart and soul of this art form which to me is more daunting then the italian opera as an emotive musical entity which in some ways is similar in the sense they both tell an event usually encompassing love as an emotion in a highly charged vocal manner
mehdi is very versatile as he can sing lighthearted songs to rival kishore or rafi , but when it comes to gazal, he is easily more competent then habib wali and ustad amanat ali , whether its talat , ghulam ali or jagjit he easily eclipses them with his magnetically moulded voice which can sing without a gasp endlessly just highlighting a slight note.
ITS FOR THIS VERY VALID REASON THAT LATA SAID ABOUT THIS PHENOMENONAL ARTIST THAT
UNKE GALE SE BHAGWAN BOLTE HAIN
AND WHAT A THROAT AND WHAT A VOICE , YOU JUST HAVE TO LISTEN TO ONE GAZAL TO RECOGNISE THAT TRUTH.
gulon me rang bare bade nau bahar chale
Chale bi aao ke gulshan ka karobar chale
The gazal by faiz ahmed faiz was sung in 1963 in a pakistani movie sawal and it made gazal a street song , so even while mehdi is a gazal singer he sang over 900 songs for movies peaking in 1975 and has 45 duets with noor jehan , a record in pakistan,
Despite his success he was very fussy about what he sang and almost every recording is unique and has the stamp of quality .
The man was born in rajistan in a family with musical roots and started singing at a young age he was first noticed by the radio and his first recording is from 1953 for radio pakistan , after that his first film song was in 1956, until the superhit in riaz shahids susraal made him a [1963]public star and despite lacking charisma and style he was worshipped on both sides of the border for his art .
the song was
jis ne mere dil ko dard diya
us shakal ko maine bhulaya nahin
ik khwab sa jo dekha tha kabhi
wo yaad raha is haal me bhi
jo aag jali jalti hi rahi
jo phool khila kumlaya nahin
jisne mere dilko dard diya
kajre se saji pyasi aankhen
har dwar se darshan ko janken
par jisko doond ke me hara
us roop ne darsh dikhaya nahin
jisne mere dil ko dard diya
after this there was no stopping he became the voice for superstar muhammad ali and hits followed hits
from aag in 66
youn zindagi ki raah mai takra gaya koi
sanson se bi kareeb mere aagaye koi
to alia 66
nishan koi na chora ke ghut ke mar jayen
teri talash me jayen to hum kahan jayen
sazaa in 65
ye kagizi phool jaise chehre mazak urate hain admi ka
inhe koi kaash ye bata de mukam oncha he sadgi ka
or saiqa 65
ik sitam aur meri jan abi jan baki hai
dil me ab tak teri ulfat ka nishan baki heai
gazal after gazal and in movies hitting the nail right on the head
whether with ahmed faraz the great urdu poet as in
ranjish hi sahi dil hi dhukane ke liye aa
aa phir se mujhe chor ke jane ke liye aa
from the movie mohabbat
to the angaray gazal
ab ke hum bichre to shayad kabi khwabon me mile
jis tarah sukhe huey phool kitabon me m
dono insan he to kyon phir yo hijaboon me mile
the songs from ansoo , anila , aman, behisht , insan aur admi, salaame mohabbat and bandagi set new standards but the gazals were immortal
zindagi main to sabi pyar kiya karte hain
main to mar kar bi meri jan tujhe chahoon ga
to the gazal by daag
dekh to dil se jan se uth ta he
ye dhuan sa kahanse uthta he
youn uthe aaj us gali se hum
jaise koi jahan se uthta he
but in a light hearted romantic mood he is inimitable too
like in these two romantic gazals which are more love poems but sung in a gazal form
gar tum haseen na hote
hum meherban na hote
sarkar chup na hote
jo kaderdan na hote
apas me mil na jayen
takrar karte karte
ikrar kar na betho
inkar karte karte
ye aas gar na hoti
hum bezuban na hote
gur tum haseen na hote
or my favourite of all , beautifully composed by nisar bazmi and written by qateel shifai
mere dil ke tar bajen bar bar
hua tujh se pyar aaja
rahoon bekrar karon intezar
gaye nain har aaja
ye tera shabab khilta gulab
muje kitne khwab dikhlae
tera kya jawab zere naqab
tu ik aftab chamkaye
hasain mere nain
kate ghum ki rain
mile dil ko chain aaja
mere dil ke tar
bajen bar bar
almost a symphony in itself yet a love poem sung in the best possible manner incessantly without a break the song just flows with the quiet music overshadowed by the immortal voice but its not the songs or style which is under discussion its the paradoxical voice which is eternally youthful from 1950 to 1980 and yes he lacks face value , he has very little visual style and no star charisma at all .yet its the voice which makes him stand out amongst a crowd of great competitors
in the eighties he sang with runa laila , nayyara noor and mehnaz but his best duets are with noor jehan as they compliment each other perfectly , but mehdi is best when solo
hamare dil se mat khelo khilona toot jaye ga
zara si thees ponche gi ye sheesha toot jaye ga
im not going to be deceptive or kind to the rest by saying they are good as well because when you are in mehdi hassans company even the best are reduced to average , its not putting others down but just recognising the truth
well he was lucky again in 70s and 80s his voice matched nadeems persona and the superstar had all his songs dubbed by mehdi hasan to both their advantage and also beneficial for the world of music itself .
the songs of sharafat , aina , bandish and anari are mesmerizing both in style and in content , the composer is robin ghosh the bangladeshi maestro .
but then tragedy struck he fell ill and had to move to washington d.c in u.s a as his children had all immigrated , this virtually put an end to his singing career as it was impossible to record in usa for either PTV or for movies , although his gazals still are played regularly on tv channels but in todays world its pop groups who rule the waves and roxen and shaan , junaid jamshed and annie rule the roost , he was left to die in anonymity in u..s .a , a man who had sung more then a thousand gazals and songs was not honored or remembered at the time of his death
as sung by him
hum se badal gaya wo nigahen to kya hua
zinda hain kitne log mohabbat kiye baghair
