The composers Laxmikant-Pyarelal were wary. But Khan Sahib was in Mumbai and he agreed to sing the song on my request. Laxmikantji quietly slipped out of the studio.
It was left to me and Pyarelalji to record the song. …. And now he’s gone!Some days before his death I got to know he was critically ill. We who loved him knew the end was near.
Within one year I’ve lost both my mentors, first Jagjit Singh Saab and now Mehdi Hassan Saab. I first heard Mehdi Saab’s recordings on the radio and then on cassettes in the 1960s recorded from private performances. I was mesmerized by his voice. I remained so for the next 45 years.
The first time I met was in 1977 in Toronto at a friend’s house. I remember seeing him for the first. He was sitting wearing this beautifuly embroidered kurta chewing paan. There was a regal aura about him. He was told by the others that I sing well. He told me to sing something. I was petrified. But I sang for him.
After hearing me he didn’t say anything. The next day at a private mehfil he took me aside and advised me, ‘You should not sing yet. Your voice needs to be trained. ’ He was never anything less than honest. I think that was a turning point for my singing career.
Mehdi Saab could’ve easily made polite noises about my singing and moved on. But no. He cared and continued to care for me and nurtured my voice. He was a strict teacher and he taught me so much…I’ve so many memories…In 1986 I went on a US concert tour with Mehdi Saab.
The tour was a learning experience. I got to observe this great man from such close quarters. We did 24-25 concerts during the weekends. He did most of the singing. It was that time between concerts when I got to observe him.
Every morning he would have his cup of tea in his lungi. He’d then make me sit with him with his harmonium…. I met him in Pakistan in 2005. He couldn’t sit up properly and had to be propped up with pillows. He asked me play some of my recordings with him. He had a smile on his face.
The last time he sang in India was in the year 2000 when he had come for treatment in Kerala. I called him to Mumbai to attend my concert. He made it a point to be there in his wheelchair. He requested me to sing some of his songs.
After the concert he came to dinner to a friend’s house. There were lots of Khan Sahib’s fans there. They insisted that he sing. I intervened on his behalf. I started singing instead. I remember the first song I sang was Khan Sahib’s Dil-e-nadaan tujhe hua kya hai. And then Khan Sahib got into the mood and joined me.
At first he was a bit rusty. Then he warmed up. It was a memorable evening. Even at that time when he was ill there was so much to learn from him. I remember that same evening a female singer whom I won’t name, just couldn’t get the rendition right.
Khan Sahib patiently tried to explain where she was going wrong. He was a very giving, very generous artiste. When I completed 25 years of singing Khan Sahib sent me a video recording of himself praising my singing and encouraging me.
That video is my most prized possession. About a year and a half back I was at a studio, Jagjit Saab was also there. We started singing Woh zara si baat pe. We argued and corrected each other and just went on bonding over Khan Sahib’s song.
Unfortunately Jagjit Saab and Khan Saahib had some personal difference of opinion in 1978. But the mutual respect was always there. Jagjit Saab took off from where Khan Saab left. Khan Sab was a purist. Jagjit Saab expanded the fan base of the Ghazal.
There will never be another Mehdi Hassan. He was a great classical artiste and he was respected by the greatest classical vocalists like Amir Khan Sahib, Vilayat Khan Sahib, Salamat Ali Khan Sahib…Once I was singing in a mehfil in Mumbai a couple of years back.
There was a lot of demand for Mehdi Hassan numbers. I impulsively took out my cellphone and called up Mehdi Saab’s son Arif. I requested Khan Sahib to come on line and then I asked my audience to loudly greet him.
When in Pakistan Khan Sahib heard that roar of approval in Mumbai he broke down. I told him, ‘Khan Saab I can’t even begin to imagine what suffering you’re going through. Lekin ek cheez yaad rakhiyega.
Aapka jo kaam hai who hemesha zinda rahega’…. An era had now ended. There won’t be another Mehdi Hassan nor a Jagjit Singh. Last year I toured the US with concerts whose theme was A Tribute To Mehdi Hassan.
After that concert I recorded an album at my own expense of Khan Sahib’s Ghazals in LA. No Indian company was willing to release it at that time. Now even if they’d be interested it would look like I am cashing in on his death. I’m also writing a book where Mehdi Saab figures prominently. ”
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