Mehdi Hasan’s son seeking help from India

A son of Shahanshah-e-Ghazal Mehdi Hasan, Arif Mehdi has approached the Indian government, seeking aid for the construction of his father’s mausoleum

Mehdi, one of the ghazal legend’s six sons, said it was painful to see that after five years of his demise, the government had shown no interest in constructing a mausoleum for Mehdi Hasan.

Mehdi Hasan’s fifth death anniversary was observed only this month with thousands of fans paying tribute to the ghazal legend.

Mehdi Hassan Khan (18 July 1927 – 13 June 2012) was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer for Lollywood. One of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of ghazal singing, he is famously known as the "King of Ghazal" or the "Shahanshah-e-Ghazal". Known for his "haunting" baritone voice, Mehdi Hassan is credited with bringing ghazal singing to a worldwide audience.

Mehdi Hassan was born on 18 July 1927 in a village called Luna, Rajasthan in Jhunjhunu district in British 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. 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 present DC House (1935) of Undivided Punjab.

In 1947, India became independent and its partition took place, creating a new, Muslim-majority country, Pakistan. The 20-year-old Hassan and his family migrated to Pakistan, carrying little with them by way of material goods. They suffered severe financial hardships in their new country. Mehdi initially started working in Chichawatni, in a bicycle shop Mughal Cycle House. He later became a car and diesel tractor mechanic. Despite the financial hardships, he kept up the routine of his singing practice on a daily basis.

In 1957, Mehdi Hassan started professional singing from Radio Pakistan primarily as a thumri singer. In 1964, his ghazal "Gulon mein rang bharay,baad-e-naubahar chale" written by renowned Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz and composed by Rasheed Attre gave him eternal fame.