KARACHI, July 3: ‘A tribute to Mehdi Hassan’ brought together many amateur and professional artistes and music connoisseurs from across the country at the open-air theatre of the Arts Council here on Saturday.

The audience at the fund-raising music event, organised by the Mehdi Hassan Foundation with the collaboration of the Arts Council, was treated to various genres of music — ghazal, geet and national song, mostly the ones that have remained popular for decades.

Hosting the programme, in between Dr Omar Adil captivated the guests with his eloquence and knowledge of music till the early hours of Sunday. Prominent among those who attended the programme were Mahnaz, M. Ifrahim, Hanif Raja, Saleem Javed and Nadeem Baig.

The legendary artiste, who began his career as a radio singer and enchanted audiences with his rendition of Urdu poetry, including ghazals, geets and national songs, had cut back on performances about 20 years ago when his health had begun deteriorating.

Since many artistes were lined up, each singer was asked to take the minimum time. Among the young talented artistes, Sarah Raza and Sakhawat Ali entertained the audience with Baat karni mujhe mushkil kabhi aisi to na thi and Nae dinoan ka suragh le kar, respectively.

Shahzad Mehdi, a son of the music maestro, had come from Lahore to perform. With Siraj on Dhol, Aslam Hameed on drum, Ashiq on Tabla, violinists Saeed and Islamuddin, and Asif on keyboard, Shahzad Mehdi delighted the audience with Ik husn ki devi se….

Following their performances, popular singer Saleem Javed recalled that how a Mehdi Hassan song had changed his life a decade ago and said he was going to sing the same number, Zindagi dard ki bahoan mein simat aai hai.

Shortly afterwards, Mehdi Hassan was brought on to the stage in a wheelchair by his son Arif Mehdi and the audience raised in their seats applaud the living legend against the backdrop of an instrumental Ae watan pyare watan. While a few excited listeners reached the stage in a bid to shake hands with the music maestro, the mike was handed over to a host, Hanif Raja, who sung Kabhi mein sochta hun.

Kamran Mehdi began with Gulon mein rang bhare — a ghazal by Faiz Ahmed Faiz that had brought his father to fame in the 1950s. Then he sung Bohat khubsurat hai mera sanam, the song copied in an Indian film by changing the lyrics to Bohat pyar karte hein. It was followed by Kaise kaise log and Khuda kare ke mohabbat mein….

Actor Nadeem, who is a recognised singer also, sang a couple of popular songs sung by Mehdi Hassan and picturised on him in movies.

At the outset of the programme, Dr Omar Adil had said that societies ought to pay back their legendary artistes, who had contributed to their lives for the sake of art.