Pakistan lost another ghazal maestro Habib Wali Muhammad at the age of 91. Known for his exquisite voice and beautifully sung ghazals, Habib Wali’s demise is another great loss for an already dormant Pakistani music industry.
Habib Wali rose to fame with the famous ghazal of the last Mughal Emporar Bahadur Shah Zafar, “Lagta nahi hai dil mera ujray duyaar main”. He also sang some of the most beautiful ghazals in many iconic films like “Aj Janay ki zid na karo” picturized on Nadeem, “Ashiyan jal gaya”. This ghazal has been one of the most prominent part of Habib’s legendary singing career.
Habib Wali sung some incredibly beautiful and passionate national songs to pay his homage to Pakistan. Two of the most significant national songs that made it to the hearts of every Pakistani include Roshan o rakhshan nayyar o tabaan and Ae nagare watan tu salaamat rahe.
It has been an irrecoverable loss for Pakistani music industry as we have lost some of the greatest music legends over the past few decades. Tragedy is that these music artists have left incredible void in the music industry of Pakistan since no recent music artist is even close to replace the true music legends.
After an early demise of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan when he was at peak of his career, there hasn’t been any music artist that has swept away the audience with quality music. Talking of ghazal and classical music specifically, it is safe to say that Pakistan doesn’t have anything substantial to offer.
Pakistan has enjoyed enormous popularity due to two of its legendary ghazal singers, king of ghazal Mehdi Hassan and Ghulam Ali. These two voices have entertained audience for many years with their beautiful voices and stunning tunes.
They have given words every bit of emotion and expression. In Pakistani female ghazal singers, the precedent set by Iqbal Bano and Farida Khanum hasn’t been continued by the current generation of ghazal singers.
It is terribly sad to see where our music industry stands today. A stagnation is completely evident as there is a huge gap between the listeners and classical and ghazal singers.
But for a generation that has witnessed these true musical legends of Pakistan, will always have something to cherish no matter where our music industry goes.
From Iqbal Bano’s Dasht-e-Tanhayi Main and Mehdi’s Hassan’s “Zindagi Main to Sabhi Pyaar Kia Kartay hain” to Ghulam Ali’s “Hungama hai kyun Barpa” to Wali’s “Aj Jaanay ki Zid na karo”, Pakistan’s music industry will always have something to reminiscence about.
