Ghazal maestro Mehdi Hassan passes away

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: India-born legendary Ghazal singer Mehdi Hassan died today at a private clinic in Sindh's provincial capital Karachi, Pakistan. He was 84. Hassan, who had millions of fans in India and Pakistan, had been admitted to the Agha Khan Hospital in the southern port city of Karachi some days ago. He had been in a serious condition and was on ventilator. "My father passed away at 12:22 PM after a long battle against different ailments," his son Arif Hassan said. Hundreds of fans gathered at the hospital on learning of his death. Hassan was a very popular Ghazal singer in the Indian sub-continent because of his background as a gharana trained classical singer. He cut back on his performances in the late 80s due to illness. The singer last performed in India in 2000. The Rajasthan government had extended support to the ailing singer’s family and had even promised medical treatment in the state. Hassan couldn’t visit India for treatment. However, he wished to meet Lata Mangeshkar, Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan. Hassan leaves behind his nine sons and five daughters. He married twice. Both his wives are dead.