Remembering Rafi
We recall the legendary singer on his 26th death anniversary
Binu Nair
Mohd Rafi
July 31 will never be the same again for Mohd.Rafi's innumerable fans the world over. For on this day in 1980, Rafi saab as he was fondly called, left us for ever, succumbing to a massive heart attack at age 56. And 'Tu kahin aas paas hai dost', from Aas Paas became the last recorded song of the legend.
That fateful day, as Rafi left the recording studio for his home one last time, he gently turned to Laxmikant-Pyarelal and said "Main chaloon?" Few moments later Rafi repeated "To main chalta hoon". This surprised the composers, as Rafi had never bid them farewell in this manner before.
The words proved to be prophetic. Mohd. Rafi left us forever the same evening at 7.30 p.m. leaving behind a golden legacy of immortal songs, for every mood and for every occasion.
In a recent tribute to the legend, Lata Mangeshkar said, "Singers like Rafi aren't born every day."
Nobody can sing like Rafi, said the never-ageing Rekha after recording the immortal Rafi number, 'Din dhal jaye, raat na jaye' from Guide, in her own voice for her upcoming film.
Born in Sultan Singh Kotla, a small town near Amritsar on Dec 24, 1924, Rafi grew up admiring K.L.Saigal, whose singing style freely mingled with Rafi's earlier songs. Realising Rafi's passion, his elder brother Hamid placed the young Rafi under the tutelage of classical singer Ustad Wahid Khan. Mohd.Rafi duly became a radio star at age 13 and his first recording, a duet with Zeenat Begum, was for the Punjabi film Gul Baloch.
Thereafter, Rafi came to Mumbai, armed with a letter from composer Naushad's father. In 1944, Naushad used Rafi's untested but promising vocals in the film Pehle Aap in which he crooned those memorable lines 'Hindustan ke hum hai, Hindustan hamare hai'.
In a short time Mohd.Rafi was to become the voice of Hindustan. National recognition came from the hit number 'Yahan badla wafa ka, bewafai ke siwai kya hai', a composition by Feroz Nizsam.
A young nation's passion and mood to surge ahead found expression in the immortal lyrics of great lyricists like Sahir Ludhianvi, Shakeel Badayuni, Hasrat Jaipuri, Shailendra, Kaifi Azmi, Majrooh, and many others. Music wizards of this golden era like Naushad, O.P.Nayyar, Shankar-Jaikishan, Madan Mohan, Khayyam, Laxmikant-Pyarelal wove magical tunes around mesmerising lyrics. And the vocals that made these immortal were those of the incomparable master of the trade, the inimitable Mohd.Rafi.
Over the next three decades, Rafi's versatile voice resounded through the lips of heroes and other Hindi film characters, whom Rafi could easily impersonate. From Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Shashi and Rishi Kapoor, to Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachhan, Johny Walker and Kishore Kumar – Mohd. Rafi play-backed for all of them.
A tee-totaler and family man to the core, Rafi is the shining example of a singer who lit the way and blazed the trail for numerous aspiring singers, from Mahendra Kapoor to Anwar, Shabir Kumar right down to Sonu Nigam. Music director Uday Majumedar, of Buniyaad fame, says, "Rafi would never cancel a recording even when struck with a sore throat or illness since he rightly believed in not depriving the musicians of their day's earnings."
Rafi would eventually return to the studios with a better throat and re-record the song at a later date. An exhaustive pictorial book on Mohd. Rafi, the legend, is slated to be released on the great singer's 82nd birth anniversary, on Dec 24, this year.
Personalities from the music field like Sonu Nigam, O.P. Nayyar, Pyarelal, Ravi, and others will contribute to this book.
Veer Hanuman
Kumkum Bhagya
