Early Life
Mehdi Hassan was born on 18 July 1927 in a village called Luna, Rajasthan in jhunjhunu district in India into a family of traditional musicians. He claims to be the 16th generation of hereditary musicians hailing from the Kalawant clan of musicians. Mehdi Hassan had his musical grooming from his father Ustad Azeem Khan and uncle Ustad Ismail Khan who were both traditional Dhrupad singers. Hassan started to perform at a young age and the first concert of dhrupad and kheyal with his elder brother is reported to have been held in Fazilka Bungla, near present DC House (1935) of Undivided Punjab. After the Partition of India, 20-year-old Hassan and his family migrated to Pakistan and suffered severe financial hardships.
Mehdi initially started working in Chichawatni, in a bicycle shop. He later became a car and diesel tractor mechanic. Despite the financial hardships, he kept up the routine of practice on a daily basis.
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