Could a song be sweeter than Pyar bhare do sharmeele nayan…? Perhaps not.
Could a song be more soothing than Gulon meing rang bhare…? Maybe not.
Those gazhals might have been popular even if they were sung by just about any reasonably talented singer. But, in the voice of Mehdi Hassan, they became pure gold. So golden that they would remain on the list of the greatest ghazals ever. What a voice he had — truly peerless.
Last concert
June 13 will mark the second death anniversary of the gifted Pakistani singer. It was in Kozhikode that he sang in a concert for the last time, in 2000. Fittingly, the city would also be the venue for the release of the book on Mehdi (the function will be held at Hotel Alakapuri on Saturday).
The book, Athirukalilllatha Sangeetham, is written by C.K. Hassan Koya, a Jidda-based journalist and ardent Mehdi fan. “I wrote it because I felt there was a need for book on Mehdi in Malayalam,” he says. “I was there for his last concert, and I regret that I could not attend his other shows.”
The book, published by Red Cherry Books (Kozhikode), also features tributes to Mehdi by other singers, including Lata Mangeshkar, in which she famously called him the voice of god, Ghulam Ali, Hariharan, Talat Aziz, and Anup Jalota. Besides a brief account of the life of the singer, the book also contains the translation of some of his most popular ghazals, including Gulon mein rang bhare... and Ranjish hi sahi…
P.K. Ajith Kumar
Book on ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan will be released in Kozhikode today
