A Deeeper Plunge
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The Legend Of Mehdi Hassan and his tryst with destiny
1100 KM away from Delhi,in a very humble house lives a man who is very ill these days .Nearly 12 years ago paralytic stroke took away life out of his half body. He is dying a very slow death .His relatives hanging between his house and Karachi’s Aga Khan University Hospital have almost broken their backs fighting with mammoth expenses on his treatment. His name is Mehdi Hassan better known as Shahenshah-e-Ghazal.
This piece of writing of mine is dedicated to a legend who has travelled a Prodigious journey from being a tractor mechanic to world’s biggest Ghazal singer. The one who after living a life full of the glitter of popularity is now lost somewhere in the dark streets of life on this planet. How traumatic it is that his illness of 20 years have over shadowed his charismatic 40 year’s of unbelievable success. Along with his two sons he is today a witness to his own helpless life. He has become really weak which is making me and millions & billions sad who have understood and lived different different phases and emotions of life after listening his Ghazals,those who understood and loved their adolescence under the spell of his voice.
Hassan Sahab I met you just casually one day surfing the net about Ghazals.I heard you on a You tube video for 2 minutes and from then and that moment my relationship with you have never ended.From that very first exposure to your Ghazals,thought me what is a Mehdi Hassan to you on that very day I realised the need to read and understand the work of Ahmed faraz. The obsession which started that day took me to the streets of Chandni Chowk on Nai Sarak ,to the shops of Hindi-Urdu dictionary.
It was all in my destiny that’s why on that day I swear to get every possible bit of “Ranjish Hi Sahi” and which took me to it’s hundreds of recordings.
Ranjish hi sahi dil hi dukhaanay kay liyay aa
aa phir say mujhay chhorr kay jaanay kay liyay aa
pehlay say maraasim na sahi phir bhi kabhi to
rasm-o-rahay duniya hi nibhaanay kay liyay aa
kis kis ko bataayengay judaai kaa sabab ham
tu mujh se khafaa hai to zamaanay kay liyay aa
kuchh to meri pindaar-e-mohabbat ka bharam rakh
tu bhi to kabhi mujh ko manaanay kay liyay aa
ek umr say hun lazzat-e-giryaa se bhi mehruum
aye raahat-e-jaan mujh ko rulaanay kay liyay aa
ab tak dil-e-khush_feham ko tujh say hain ummeedain
ye aakhari shammain bhi bujhaanay kay liyay aa
aa phir say mujhay chhorr kay jaanay kay liyay aa
pehlay say maraasim na sahi phir bhi kabhi to
rasm-o-rahay duniya hi nibhaanay kay liyay aa
kis kis ko bataayengay judaai kaa sabab ham
tu mujh se khafaa hai to zamaanay kay liyay aa
kuchh to meri pindaar-e-mohabbat ka bharam rakh
tu bhi to kabhi mujh ko manaanay kay liyay aa
ek umr say hun lazzat-e-giryaa se bhi mehruum
aye raahat-e-jaan mujh ko rulaanay kay liyay aa
ab tak dil-e-khush_feham ko tujh say hain ummeedain
ye aakhari shammain bhi bujhaanay kay liyay aa
I just want to say one thing for you Hassan Sahab in these times of your illness,loneliness,less of money & resources,less of help & and support don’t loose your spirit. ALLAH IS WITH YOU. The love, appreciation and music of the world is with you ,your body might support you or not,but your skill, your talent and your art will always keep you alive. You were incomparable,nonpareil,unrivaled,unequaled,You are…………..and you always will.
Be safe Mehdi Hasan Sahab.
Life of Mehdi Hassan:-
Hassan was born in the village of Luna in Jhunjhunu district in Rajasthan, India in 1927 into a Shia Muslim family of traditional musicians. He claims to be the 16th generation of hereditary musicians hailing from the Kalawant.He received his musical training under his father, Ustad Azeem Khan and his uncle Ustad Ismail Khan who were classical musicians, well-versed in the dhrupad style of singing. They instructed him in classical music and voice production within the framework of classical forms of thumri, dhrupad, khayal and dadra, from the age of eight.Hassan started to perform at a young age and the first concert of dhrupad and kheyal with his elder brother is reported to have been held in Fazilka Bungla near Ferozepur. After the Partition of India, 20-year-old Hassan and his family migrated to Pakistan and suffered severe financial hardships. To make ends meet, Hassan began working in a bicycle shop and later became a car and diesel tractor mechanic.The struggle ended when Mehdi Hassan was given the opportunity to sing on Radio Pakistan in 1952, primarily as a thumri singer, which earned him recognition within the musical fraternity. At the time, Ustaad Barkat Ali Khan, Begum Akhtar and Mukhtar Begum were considered the stalwarts of ghazal gayaki.He also had a passion for Urdu poetry and began 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.
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