Google honours 'Shahenshah-e-Ghazal' Mehdi Hassan on 91st birthday with Doodle

KARACHI: As midnight struck, Google changed its search page 'doodle' to a visual representation of legendary ghazal singer Mehdi Hassan in honour of the late musician's 91st birthday.

Google pays homage to various notable names around the world through its Google Doodle feature, wherein it changes its logo to incorporate an image of the person it is celebrating or anything that person used to be associated with.

Its change on July 18, however, shows Mehdi Hassan playing the harmonium, with Google written on its bellows, candles lit in the background, and the image, in general, giving off a rich, classical vibe.

Born on July 18, 1927, in a village called Luna in India's Rajasthan, the renowned musician entered the music scene when he performed for the first time on Radio Pakistan in 1957, primarily as a thumri singer.

The Shahenshah-e-Ghazal (King of Ghazal), as he eventually came to be known as, is remembered as one of the most unique and prominent ghazal singers in the genre's history.

After his debut, he started singing ghazals and playback songs for Pakistani movies. "Jis Ne Mere Dil Ko Dard Diya" was his first song for the 1962 film Susral, and his ghazal "Inshaji, Ab Kuch Karo Iss Shar Mein Dil Ko Lagna Kia" became one of the most popular ones.

Lata Mangeshkar, one of India's musical legends, once said of him that "Bhagwan talks in his throat". "Tera Milana," her duet with him and probably the latter's last one, was released in October 2010, as part of the album Sarhadein.

Mehdi Hassan sang for more than 300 movies during his entire musical career. Among his accolades are Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance, and Hilal-e-Imtiaz.

After a long spell of sickness, Hassan passed away in a hospital in Karachi on June 13, 2012.

In the past, the search engine giant has paid tribute to other prominent Pakistani personalities, including Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abdul Sattar Edhi, Nazia Hassan, and Noor Jehan.