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LAHORE: The 18th death anniversary of renowned Ghazal singer Pervez Mehdi is being observed today (Sunday).
Born in a suburb of Lahore to a family of professional musicians, he was named Pervez Akhter by his parents. He received initial training in music from his father Bashir Husain Rahi‚ who was a popular singer in his own right.
Later‚ he benefited from the melodic erudition of GA Farooq‚ a prominent non-professional classical vocalist of Lahore from whom he learned a number of classical compositions.
He became so much enamored with the style of his third mentor Mehdi Hasan that he used Mehdi as a suffix with his own name as a mark of respect to his teacher.
Pervez Mehdi emulated the style of his mentor to such an extent that often while broadcasting his music from Radio Pakistan he sounded like a replica of his teacher in the art of ghazal singing.
Pervez was held in high esteem by discerning listeners‚ connoisseurs and professional musicians for his competence in the extremely melodious renditions of thumri-accented ghazals. His contributions to the musical ethos of Lahore had been widely appreciated and acknowledged by music lovers as well as professional musicians.
Before his death on August 29‚ 2005‚ Pervez Mehdi had frequently participated in stage‚ radio and television programs. His death greatly depleted the melodic resources of Pakistan and also deepened the void created by the demise of frontline Pakistani practitioners of the melodic arts.
