Down the Memory Lane

Once the most respected and beloved singer of Urdu Gazal Mehdi Hassan Khan who was born in India and became part of Pakistan after the partition on 1947 but he was always a beloved singer in both countries, He not only contributed to the advancement of Urdu language but also infused soul into the poetry of legendry and ordinary alike. I have seen him when you wish if you could just sit in front of him and listen to his soul jolting poems, but it was not that easy... thanks to the advancement of Media, we were always able to see him perform and of course his albums were in plenty. He struggled hard from his early age for the recognition.  I wonder if he was not found we would have lost a legend in the dark allies of Karachi but thanks to Radio Pakistan who gave him a chance to sing and that lead to where poem lovers not only from India Pakistan but the likes of me who live on the remote Islands treasure his music.


My mentor and Teacher Prof. Jagan Nath Azad who was a authority on Urdu poems had mentioned that we write poems but Mehdi provides it soul to soar the heights of unimagined. Jagan Nath Azad who wrote the National Anthem of Pakistan was born in India but now Pakistan had to move to India because of the communal divide but was very much part of the Pakistani existence and culture, He lived in India but his heart was always in Pakistan.

Today when I heard of Mehdi Hassan Khan losing his memory it forces me to think even legends like Jagan Nath Azad and Mehdi Hassan has very limited time in this world, I have seen him when he was in his 40’s though I was kid but I still remember he had a full head of hair and then slowly with each season it all went downhill and the latest is that he can’t even recognize who Mehdi Hassan is or has sang that beautiful gazal but he sure does enjoy the soulful music of his own. He might not be around for a while but his contribution to Urdu and Urdu lovers will stay as long as our memories.

जीकर आया है फिर ज़माने मैं
सूचून लेख डे न फसाने मैं
याद आता नहीं  के मैं क्या हूँ
बस के बजती शमा हूँ इस फसाने  की