In memorium: Nine years since Pervez Mehdi left us

He was a student of Ustad Mehdi Hasan Khan sahib and yet, was able to find an audience for himself right when his teacher was also at the peak of his career. Well-known folk and ghazal singer, Pervez Mehdi rose to fame with his song Mae nae jana pardes which was aired on Radio Pakistan from Lahore Centre, in the 1970’s and since then the maestro never looked back.  He passed away on 29th August 2005 at the age of 70.

Globally recognised Punjabi pop and play back singer, Daler Mehndi, considers Pervez his spiritual mentor and also took formal training from him.

Ustaad Riaz Ali Khan states that despite being trained under the auspices of Ustad Mehdi Hasan, Pervez developed his own unique style of singing.

“It was a huge achievement for him to train under Khan Sahib and yet, develop his own style of singing,” Riaz told Roznama Express.

“Apart from his professional achievements, one must not forget that he was a great human being and the loyalty with which he served Mehdi Hasan in his personal life cannot be described in words”, said Riaz.

Apart from gaining global following among ghazal listeners, Pervez was also awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 30^th, 2014.

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