The sixth death anniversary of Shahenshah-e-Ghazal Mehdi Hassan Khan is being observed on Wednesday with tributes paid to his contribution in music field.

Hassan was born on July 18, 1927 in a village called Luna, Rajasthan in Jhunjhunu district in India into a family of traditional musicians.

In 1957, he was given the opportunity to sing on Radio Pakistan, primarily as a thumri singer, which earned him recognition within the music industry.

He had a passion for Urdu poetry, and therefore, he began to experiment by singing ghazals on a part-time basis. He cited radio officers Z.A. Bukhari and Rafiq Anwar as additional influences in his progression as a ghazal singer.

He was honored with numerous awards including Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance and Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan.

He remained a leading singer of film industry along with Ahmed Rushdi. One of his songs he will be most remembered for is Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s, ‘Gullon Mein Rang Bhare.’

A host of other numbers like ‘Ik Husn Ki Devi Se Mujhe Pyar Hua Tha’, and ‘Jab Koi Pyaar Se Bulaye Ga, Tum Ko Ek Shakhs Yaad Aye Ga’ are also equally memorable. He sang for over 300 films during his music career.

Hassan died on June 13, 2012 after a protracted illness in a hospital in Karachi.