The 86th birth anniversary of the legendary classical singer, Mehdi Hassan is being observed today all over the country.

Born into a family of traditional musicians on 18 July 1927 in a village called Luna, Rajasthan in Jhunjhunu district, the King of Ghazals was groomed under the guidance of his father Ustad Azeem Khan and uncle Ustad Ismail Khan.

The popular vocalist has given infinite hits to the industry. Rafta Rafta Woh Meri, Zindagi Mein to Sabhi Pyaar, Mujhe Tum Nazar Se Gira to Rahe Ho and various others are the most renowned. He also sung Persian/dari ghazals in Kabul Afghanistan in 1970s.

He earned the prestige of being honored with K. L. Saigal Sangeet Shehenshah Award by the Government of India. Moreover, Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar once compared his songs to the “voice of god.”

Also laurelled with Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance and Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan, the legend left the worldly abode on 13 June 2012, finally getting rid of lengthy period of illness in a private hospital in Karachi.

Certainly the classical artists and singers like Mehdi Hassan must be saluted for they have enriched and added ever blooming colors to our Music and Film Industry. The industry might require ages to find an appropriate replacement of the legend or might never will.