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Marathon tribute

A tribute to the legendary singer, Mohammed Rafi, whom many consider as ‘voice of the millennium’, couldn’t be bestowed in a more brilliant and exhaustive way.

Remembering the late Mohammed Rafi on his 20th death anniversary, Tagore Das Mallya, whom veteran south Indian singer P.B. Sreenivos said was the ‘Reincarnation of Rafi saab’, presented a marathon 12-hour singing extravaganza in Manipal’s golden jubilee hall. Popularly knows as Tagore, the singer took the Manipal audience on an unforgettable trip of nostalgia in the concert what he called ‘Subah-o-shaam; Rafi ke Naam’.

Tagore who has been singing Rafi saab’s songs for the last 35 years had an early beginning as a musician. Learning to play tabla and harmonium at the age of six, he started singing by the time he was 12. After initial hiccups, he started his own orchestra “Ek Shaam Rafi Ke Naam’ in India as well as abroad, nearly 5,000 times to date.

Meeting Rafi saab twice and receiving blessings from the man himself is etched in Tagore’s mind who considers him as “undoubtedly one of the best”. Why the 12-hour marathon?

“I had sung Rafi saab’s songs continuously for nine hours earlier. And a tribute to a legend on his 20th anniversary has to be fitting,” he says.

Tagore who also sings in Kannada and Konkani has a huge fan following in India as well as abroad.

He gave his most memorable performance to an over-packed audience in Town Hall, Mangalore in 1981, the year Rafi saab died.

The frenzied fans overwhelmed by Tagore’s performance had demanded a “once more”. “People are my biggest energy and an artist’s appetite is the claps he gets,” says Tagore, on asked how he will retain the energy throughout.

The concert started with the song “Yeh reshmi zulfein”.

From the very beginning the audience was highly excited and weren’t miserly while showering claps and whistles on Tagore’s performance, especially with songs like “Chaudavin ka chand” and “Lal chadi maidaan kadi”.

It was quite a sight to watch some old and middle-aged folks shaking their heads in excitement and singing along with tunes of “Aaj kal tere mere pyaar ke charche har zubaan par” remembering their young days.

“Tagore is a pukka replica of Mohammed Rafi. His greatness is in melodiously singing for hours without a stop and without referring to any notes. He sings hundreds of songs from the heart and by-heart. Each one of his concert is a walk down the memory lane. My entire family is a fan of Rafi Saab as well as Tagore,” said Geeta Shenoy, a resident of Manipal.

“It’s not just Tagore, but also his outstanding team which delivers brilliantly every time,” added Deepika, a student.

“I’m one of the biggest fans of Tagore and I hardly ever miss his show. I’ve come to sit throughout this feast,” said a very excited Karunakar Shenoy who had come all the way from Mangalore.

Tagore even though had a couple of offers from the film industry to sing, couldn’t grab the opportunities for various reasons, but is keenly looking forward to offers in the future. After all, Rafi saab himself after listening to Tagore had blessed him with the words, “You’ll make it big one day”. But as a modest Tagore says, “The love and affection I get from my fans itself is big enough for me”.

G. VISHNU

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