Rafi remembered
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An evening of song was the perfect ode to Mohd Rafi.
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Mohammed Rafi
It is more than two-and-half decades since Mohd Rafi passed away. But even today there are millions who love to listen to his songs.
The legendary playback singer was born on December 24, 1924 at Kotla Sultan Singh, Amritsar. His elder brother, Mohd Hamid, was the first to take notice of the divine gift in Rafi's voice.
At the age of seven, Rafi learnt Hindustani Classical music under the renowned Ustaad Bade Gulam Ali Khan and Vahida Khan.
During his lifetime, Mohd Rafi sang more than 26,000 songs. He died young on July 31, 1980. Rafi has been an icon for many and Sunil Parida, a veteran singer from Orissa, who had made a name for himself in Mumbai music circles, is a diehard fan.
He was instrumental in organising the annual tribute to Rafi on his birthday till 1999. After a rather long interregnum Parida was back with Tujkho pukare mere geet a musical tribute to Rafi. Presented by Charushila, the programme was styled as an evening of "romance," "pathos" and "melody."
And indeed it was, as Parida himself, and sometimes with female singers like Monali, Sushmita, Moushumi belted out evergreen Rafi numbers like Yeh dil tum bin kahin lagta nahin, Janam Janam ka saath hai, Woh hai zara khafah khafah, Wada karle saajna, Tera naam ka diwana, Dhafliwale, Teri bindiya re and many others for over two-and-half hours.
It was a heady feeling for the listeners. Episodes from Rafi's life, his years with Naushad, his lean years, his versatility and above all his humaneness were interspersed with the music and made for a great tribute to the late maestro.
B.M.
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