Mumbai, Jun 18: Veteran actor Dilip Kumar, who shared a close bond with Pakistani singer Mehdi Hassan, says it was hard for him and his wife Saira Banu to come to terms with the news that the legendary ghazal singer is no more.
The 89-year-old actor said that the India-born maestro, who died in Karachi on June 13, could connect with people from every strata of society through his magical voice.
“It has taken me and Saira some time to come to terms with the fact that Mehdi Hassan Miyan is no more with us in this world.”
“The voice which we loved to hear when he connected with us on the telephone sometimes in recent years when he had to give up traveling due to his critical lung condition has been stilled, but the echoes remain in our subconscious and will continue to do so,” Dilip Kumar wrote in his blog.
“The magic of his voice cannot be described in words... He drew everybody - the common man, the well read, the rich, equally to him when he rendered the ghazals of such profoundly intellectual and philosophical poets as Faiz Ahmed Faiz or Ghalib for instance,” he added.
The veteran actor recalled his last meeting with Hassan, when the latter was unwell, saying that they held hands and recited together.
“He visited us whenever he came to Mumbai and it was always a great occasion for the family... The last time Hasan Miyan visited us he was having high fever and he wanted to lie down. He held my hand and we recited together his favourites and mine. I can still recall his soft voice as if it was just yesterday that he was here.
“I have witnessed his success and the incredible adulation his admirers accorded him in other countries and in Pakistan. He remained ever so humble and unaffected by it all as all great men are,” he said.
The 89-year-old actor said that the India-born maestro, who died in Karachi on June 13, could connect with people from every strata of society through his magical voice.
“It has taken me and Saira some time to come to terms with the fact that Mehdi Hassan Miyan is no more with us in this world.”
“The voice which we loved to hear when he connected with us on the telephone sometimes in recent years when he had to give up traveling due to his critical lung condition has been stilled, but the echoes remain in our subconscious and will continue to do so,” Dilip Kumar wrote in his blog.
“The magic of his voice cannot be described in words... He drew everybody - the common man, the well read, the rich, equally to him when he rendered the ghazals of such profoundly intellectual and philosophical poets as Faiz Ahmed Faiz or Ghalib for instance,” he added.
The veteran actor recalled his last meeting with Hassan, when the latter was unwell, saying that they held hands and recited together.
“He visited us whenever he came to Mumbai and it was always a great occasion for the family... The last time Hasan Miyan visited us he was having high fever and he wanted to lie down. He held my hand and we recited together his favourites and mine. I can still recall his soft voice as if it was just yesterday that he was here.
“I have witnessed his success and the incredible adulation his admirers accorded him in other countries and in Pakistan. He remained ever so humble and unaffected by it all as all great men are,” he said.
