imageISLAMABAD: Birth anniversary of the Shanenshah-e-Ghazal Mehdi Hasan was observed Thursday all over the country with tributes paid to his contributuion into the field of ghazal singing.

Mehdi Hassan was born on July 18, 1927 in a village called Luna, into a family of traditional musicians.

He was honoured with Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance and Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the government of Pakistan.

In 1983, he was awarded Gorkha Dakshina Bahu in the court of King Birendra by the Government of Nepal. He was awarded KL Saigal Sangeet Shehenshah Award by the government of India.

He remained a leading singer of the Pakistani film industry along with Ahmed Rushdi.

The highest civilian award of Pakistan, `Nishan-e-Imtiaz', was also conferred on him.

In 1957, Mehdi Hassan was given the opportunity to sing on Radio Pakistan, which earned him recognition within the musical fraternity.

He had a passion for Urdu poetry, and therefore, he began to experiment by singing ghazals on a part-time basis.

His first song was `Jis ne mere dil ko dard diya' from film `Susral' in 1962 and popular ghazal `Insha ji utho ab kooch karo is shaharr me dil ko lagana kia' made him immortal. Legendary Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar complimented him, saying that "Bhagwan talks in his throat."

Mehdi Hassan died on June 13, 2012 in Karachi.

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