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Summary Lata Mangeshkar and Punkaj Udhas have offered condolence to Mehdi Hassans family.
As the music fraternity of the subcontinent battles with shock and grief over the sad demise of Ghazal colossus Mehdi Hassan, Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar and Punkaj Udhas offered their condolence to the King of ghazal, Mehdi Hassan’s family.Sharing fond memories about the singer, Lata said that Mehdi Hasaan had a unique voice. She rued the fact that she couldn’t share a stage with Mehdi Hassan.“Demise of Mehdi Hassan is a great loss to music industry”, said Lata while talking to the media. She said it’s a very unfortunate that “Mehdi sahib is not with us anymore.”Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar always had admiration for Mehdi Hassan. Khan Sahib wanted to come to Mumbai, or have Lata visit Pakistan to record a song together. However, due to various reasons, things didn’t work out.They did sing a duet, but the two singers had recorded their versions separately. Unfortunately, now that Hassan sahib is no more, the Indian melody queen will not be able to share the same stage with the ghazal singer.Singer Pankaj Udhas also spoke to a news channel about his long association with the iconic singer.“I have wonderful memories of Mehdi sahab. It’s a huge loss to the world of ghazals. He was one of a kind, was like an institution in himself,” said Pankaj.The famous ghazal singer went on to speak about his first encounter with Hassan in 1977. Udhas said, “I’d first met him in London in 1977.Till then, he hadn’t been to India after he left the country. I’d got an opportunity to spend time with Hassan sahab for about three weeks. He was looking forward to visit India, and then he came to the country in 1978.”When Pankaj Udhas took to singing ghazals, Mehdi Hassan was overjoyed. Says the singer, “He (Hassan) was very happy to know that I had started singing ghazals.”Speaking about his fondest memory of Mehdi Hassan, Pankaj says, “Just before he fell ill in 1990, before a concert, Hassan sahab’s harmonium broke due to luggage mishandling.He had called me up from the airport and asked whether he could use my harmonium for the concert or not. I was only too happy to offer him my harmonium.”For the grief-stricken singer, this day is a very, very sad one.
