I didn't know about Mehndi Hassan much....must have heard his name somewhere in the musical circle..nothing more than that. Well...I already had Ghulam Ali thanks to my father....and then I had Jagjit Singh and Hariharan....thanks to my elder brother..so already 3 gazal maestroes..I was familier with..and I admired all the 3....so there was no place for a 4th one..!!
But after college...during my initial days of Job in Trivandrum..sourthern part of India...a cassette happened to catch my eyes in a music shoppe...Ghulam Ali & Mehndi Hassan - First time together! I thought why not try this...lets explore who's this guy called Mehndi Hassan.
So that was my first introduction to Mehndi Hassan...and it was a wonderful experience...his voice had a unique calmness..and softness...totally opposite of Ghulam Ali's restless one!
I really took a liking to his beautiful number ' Mai khayal Hoon kisi aur ka'....a complicated and serious gazal 'Ab ke hum bichhde' in a rare raga Bhoopkali...and some Rajasthani Folk as well...and then I bought some more of his stuff...and it was really good.
His style is very relaxed and he takes his time to expand and express the meaning of gazal woven into a raga...displays all the intricacies of the raga. He normally composes the gazals in a single raga...not mixing 2 ragas..tries to maintain the purity of the raga. The calming and soothing effect is awesome...and there are no parallels to it.
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