Mehdi Hassan, King of Ghazal

Pakistan’s King of Ghazal, Ustad Mehdi Hassan, has been admitted to a hospital but is expected to be discharged soon as his family is unable to pay the medical bills, Syed Salman Mehdi, a young television and theatre personality of Karachi, says in a message.

The Ustad, who is 82, is suffering from severe lung problems and neurological disorders and needs round-the-clock care. The Pakistan government had provided Rs. 500,000 from the special Pakistan Day fund to his family.

The family has appealed to the Ustad’s admirers to pray for his health.

Mehdi Hassan was born in 1927 in Luna village in Rajasthan State in a family of traditional musicians. He claims to be the 16th generation of hereditary musicians hailing from the Kalawant clan of musicians.

He had his musical training under his father Ustad Azeem Khan and uncle Ustad Ismail Khan who were both traditional Dhrupad singers. After partition he migrated to Pakistan. The life story of Mehdi Hassan is a journey of trials and tribulations.

For detailed biography, please see Wikipedia