Pakistan, July 19 -- The 98th birth anniversary of 'Shehenshah-e-Ghazal' Mehdi Hassan was observed on Friday.

Born on July 18, 1927 in Rajasthan, Mehdi Hassan Khan ruled over the hearts of millions of admirers in both Pakistan and India through his more than 25,000 songs and ghazals. He was born in a family of musicians and got basic training from his father Ustad Azeem Khan.

Mehdi Hassan had great interest in Urdu poetry and he composed many ghazals of literary giants of his time, including Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Ahmad Faraz.

The legendary singer first got an opportunity in Radio Pakistan in 1957 as a Thumri singer and he never looked back. His new journey started from here and he sang evergreen ghazals and super-hit playback songs. He i...