Ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan dies at 84

Karachi: India-born Ghazal legend Mehdi Hassan, the melodious voice behind evergreen hits like 'Patta patta, boota boota' and 'Kab ke Bichhare', died on Wednesday following multiple organ failure at the age of 84.

Hassan, who had millions of fans in India and Pakistan, had been admitted to the Agha Khan Hospital in the southern port city of Karachi some days ago. He had been in a serious condition and was on ventilator.

"My father passed away at 12:22 PM after a long battle against different ailments," his son Arif Hassan said. Hundreds of fans gathered at the hospital on learning of his death. Hassan was born into a family of traditional musicians at Luna village in India's Rajasthan state in 1927. His family migrated to Pakistan at the time of Partition in 1947.

Mehdi Hassan

Hassan cut back on his performances in the late 1980s due to illness.

Considered one of the most successful ghazal singers of Pakistan, Mehdi Hasasn was trained in classical music by his father Ustad Azeem Khan and his uncle Ustad Ismail Khan who were both well respected classical musicians.

Hassan tried different styles of music and there was a time in Pakistan's film industry known as Lollywood when a production was considered incomplete without his voice. Due to his remarkable commercial and artistic success he was titled ShahenShah-e-Ghazal (The King of Ghazal singing).

He also played the role of a cultural ambassador and visited India several times.

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• Mehdi Hassan gets visa for treatment in India
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