When Lata Mangeshar Finally  Sang With Mehdi Hassan

Legendary Pakistani Ghazal singer, Mehdi Hassan and India’s  most  famous  playback singer  Lata mangeshkar’s long-standing dream of working together  finally came true in 2011.Much as the two were  delighted to be singing a duet for the first time after all these years,  this was  their first  amd  last song together.

 Mehdi Hassan was   critically ill. He had completely stopped singing due to his frail health and lived in seclusion in Karachi.Since the legendary singers had always shared  a  mutual  admiration for each other’s work, Mehdi Hassan   wanted to come to Mumbai or have Lataji  visit Pakistan to record the song together. This historic confluence  never happened.

Although  critically ill Hassan’s   dream of singing with India’s Melody Queen  was  fulfilled.Mehdi Hassan first composed and emailed a rough track to Lata mangeshkar. The song Tera Milna Bahut Achcha lage Hai only had its basic harmony in place. Lataji promptly asked her protégé  composer  Mayuresh Pai  to compose the music for the song. After Mayuresh was done with the final composition,Lataji   recorded her parts of the song the song. The song which was initially a solo track written by Farhat Shahzad became  one of its kind as as a duet because of the two legendary singers.

LATA and Khan Sahib’s voice in the duet sounded   so melodious that it is impossible to believe that the song was sung in two different countries. Tera milna Bahut Achcha Lagta Hai is not just a song but a symbol of coming together of two countries.