Ghazal legend Mehdi Hassan passed away following a prolonged battle with ailments this morning in a Karachi hospital.

His death has left a void in the world of music that can never be filled, artistes said today as they mourned the maestro's demise.

"I remember him saying I can see 'sur'. We should celebrate him across India and Pakistan because he was an asset to both the countries. He was legendary. Such people come only once in a while," Pakistani Sufi singer Abida Parveen said.

Singer Talat Aziz, who trained under Hassan, said, "I feel a tremendous personal sense of loss. I was his 'shagird', I spent a lot of time with him. For me he was a star. I don't have words to describe his loss. He was a great asset to the world of Ghazal.

Although he was not singing for quite sometime, he will be missed. There will never be another Mehdi Hassan."

Another Pak singer, Adnan Sami said, "He has been an inspiration to everyone who has anything to do with music. He
created an institution called Mehdi Hassan... I am still absorbing the news. It's difficult to digest that he has passed away."

Indian singing doyen Lata Mangeshkar said, "A singer like him is born once in a millennium. It is my bad luck that I could not sing with him when he was healthy. With his demise the music fraternity has lost a great and legendary singer."

Indian sufi singer Zila Khan said, "I am as sad as I was when my father died. He was a great artiste. His music was supreme."

Singer Chitra Singh, Jagjit Singh's wife said, "It is a great loss. Everyone learnt from his music, technique and style of singing. I had the opportunity to meet him and he was always encouraging. He has been unwell since quite sometime."

"It is a very sad news. I am shocked that he is no more with us. He was not only a great singer but also a very good
human being. I remember in the '80s we did a concert at my place and it was a big hit. I was aware that he was unwell and
I had always hoped that I should never get the sad news.

"But now that has happened, he will always remain alive in our hearts," said veteran musician Pyarelal and one-half of famed composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal.

"It is a great loss. An era of Ghazal singing has come to an end. His Ghazals were not complicated and could be understood even by a layman. His singing was soulful and moving, his command over Urdu made his singing more endearing.

"He was the uncrowned king of Ghazal," Grammy winning musician Vishwa Mohan Bhatt said.