The Saint in the Modern Times
This article is by Mr. Anmol Singh.
The world is a difficult place to live with hypocritical attitudes, materialistic people, hatred, etc. Saints belonging to any culture and belief are indeed above all this. Saints are individuals of a very extra ordinary destiny send by the Almighty to this world to convey the message of peace and love and to balance hatred and materialistic attitudes among the mankind. Saints do exist in all walks of life. It’s not the just an individual who wears a specific dress code is a saint. Saints do exist among us as common men. The perception of saint changes from time to time based on our way of life. Rafi Saab is one such unique personality who can be considered the saint in modern times.
Most Music Composers in the 1950s & 60s like Usha Khanna, R D Burman & LP started their career with Rafi Saab. Possibly most filmmakers always insisted them to use Rafi Saab. It is applicable the other way round also when Music Composers where given liberty of choosing singers majority always opted for Rafi Saab. There are a couple of reasons to these criteria; firstly Rafi Saab is approachable to any music composer irrespective of their market value. Secondly by using Rafi Saab for their initial assignments guarantees negligible rate of failure. In our daily life we do set priorities and do all sorts of materialistic things to achieve our career goals. But saints do not believe in such theories, they do serve people unconditionally. Perhaps the same can be said about Rafi Saab as well. Usha Khanna used Rafi Saab in her first assignment for all the songs in “Dil Deke Dekhoâ€. The same holds true for R D Burman in “Chotte Nawab†and LP in “Parasmaniâ€. The most astonishing fact is they do not use any other male singer apart from Rafi Saab for all the songs. Perhaps one wrong move would result in end of the road. Later on many success full music composers may have diversified with time and developed their own set of singers, but again when it came to master performance there was none other then Rafi Saab to render. The best example could be R D Burman’s unforgettable score in “Hum Kissi Kam Nahiâ€. Similar criteria holds true for Dada Burman also for his compositions in “Guideâ€, where he expresses totally fulfillment for his work through Rafi Saab’s performance. There are many such examples.
Coming to actors again Rafi Saab plays a important role. Shammi Kapoor was a failure initially termed by the media “Shammi Apes Rajâ€. When Shammi Kapoor comes in a different style in “Tum Sa Nahin Dekhaâ€, Rafi plays a vital role here and gives credit to others stating “Unke Vajye Se Mujhe Kaam Milaaâ€. We as individuals blow up to any extent to highlight our own achievements. But Saints are very modest by nature and do not believe in praising them selves. With Rafi, Shammi Kapoor had a second chance to make a come back. There is another example from the film “Unche Log†where Feroz Khan gets a face lift through the song “Jaag Dile Diwaanaâ€. This holds true from many other actors as well. Without Rafi a second chance is difficult, because many singers are particular on picturization of their songs in the films. Therefore Rafi Saab is indeed the best bet for any new comer. Manoj Kumar has been a thorough Mahendra Kapoor and Mukesh supporter in many of the films produced by him. But when it came to his first film “Shaheed†as a Producer & Director, it is Rafi because again the probability of failure is negligible. This film helped Manoj Kumar in building his patriotic “Bharat†image on screen. There after he never used Rafi Saab for a decade or so, but came back to Rafi Saab to render songs for his film “Shirdi Wale Sai Baba†and “Krantiâ€. The same theory is applicable for other actor turned producers like Rakesh Roshan in “Aap Ke Diwane†and Subash Ghai for “Kalicharanâ€. Both producers as newcomers don’t take risk by avoiding use of Rafi Saab as one of the main lead singers.
Human relationships are very complex to maintained and handle. Going ahead with the above theory many music composers or filmmakers got established using Rafi Saab initially but parted ways there after. Later on came to Rafi Saab when they experienced downfall to make another come back. As human beings we tend to take undue advantage of such situations or thinking of our own benefit first or helping by putting conditions; etc. But again saints are always above all such complexities. So is Rafi Saab as well. When R D Burman came back to Rafi in the late 70 Rafi Saab was very much same as he was during the success of “Teesri Manzil†in the late 60s. Early 70s being a tough phase of Rafi Saab; still could provide many hits without working under many big banners. This is another saintly quality of Rafi Saab. Saints do not complain or blame others for their setbacks. They mold & adjust themselves with the changing scenarios and make way for themselves accordingly. No wonder Rafi Saab made a grant come back in the mid 70s proving the music world that he is the voice of all times.
In this world we all have our own set of goals. In the journey of success we don’t really bother whether our master (employer) or contemporaries need our support in tough times of changing scenarios of business. We change our employers & friend circles as for our own materialistic gains. When the same employers & friends ditch us we want the entire world to be at our sympathy. Yes we, as human beings are all very selfish. But saints are not affected by greed or glamour. So is Rafi Saab, whether a filmmaker is in a sound financial position or not he always provided ‘A’ grade performance without being concerned about the out come till his last breath. The same can be said for the dispute on royalty issue. Only saints feel the pain of others. No wonder Rafi Saab sided with the filmmakers. In return of gratitude all filmmakers and music composers in mid 60s sided with Rafi Saab and managed all the hit duets without any use of Lata Mangeshkar.
During the lean phase in the early 70s with exception of Chetan Anand and Nasir Hussian banner Rafi Saab sang for mostly small time filmmakers and music composers. Despite the media writing about his setback Rafi Saab did not try to maintain a false pride or try seeking a false publicity, which most actors do during their tough face. Again Saints have the ability to accept the reality of life, they live happy under all circumstances and think of the good of every one. So did Rafi Saab, he never made any statement against any of his contemporaries during his lean years.
India is the land from where many saints like Ram, Kabir, Gautam Buddha, Mahavir, Guru Nanak, etc originated. Later on their followers influenced many religions, which have spread across the globe. Of course it would be incorrect to place Rafi Saab among such great souls. Rafi Saab doesn’t influence a religion but certainly brings together large number of fans that are humble and kind hearted by nature. In other words if one seeks to have a good company of individuals or friends the secret lies in becoming a Rafi Fan. Above all India is lucky to have a singer like Rafi Saab; on the contrary Rafi Saab could have never prospered in any other country. Therefore Rafi Saab and India are made for each other. This has been very well highlighted by Naushad Saab in one of the programs on the Doordarshan, “Hindustan Ki Atma Amar Hai, Hindustan Ka Sangeet Amar Haiâ€. India’s soul is immortal; India’s music is immortal.
Saints are great students always ready to learn some thing new. Saints do not criticize or hurt any individual’s self esteem however small one would be. So is Rafi Saab. If a music composer is a new comer, Rafi Saab was always a student for them. Classic examples are Shanker Jaikisan for the song from Barsaat, “Mai Zindage Mein Har Dam Rota Hi Raha Hunâ€, were Rafi Saab tells to the duo, ‘you are the composers I will sing the song the way you want’. This was SJ’s first encounter with Rafi Saab, their partnership created history in the music world for next two decades. Another example is Usha Khanna for the recording of the song for the film “Dil Deke Dekhoâ€, were Usha was hesitant to suggest some thing to an established singer like Rafi Saab. But Rafi Saab read Usha mind and told her, ‘Usha tumne humse gana nahi sikhna, humne tumse ganaa sikhna hai’. The same would hold true for new singers also. There are many such examples with many new music composers.
Despite being modest and kind saints face of lot of criticism. There is a saying the tree which bears most fruits receives maximum stones. It can be said for Rafi Saab also. During his entire career span Rafi Saab also indeed went through a lot of pain meeting every possible requirement to perfection. If one goes back to history majority saints whether Jesus Christ or Sant Kabir or a Saint from any religion went through a lot of pain & criticism. But despite all this Saints still think well of people who hate them. A classic example would be the rift with music composer O P Nayyar. Perhaps it would be considered being too harsh on part of O P Nayyar to part ways with Rafi Saab for reporting late once for a recording considering their long association. But finally it was Rafi Saab who initiated the patch up with O P Nayyar. Only saints have such a heart to digest hatred and step down for the good.
India is a land of various cultures and diversities. Rafi Saab is the voice of all cultures singing in all types of songs 12 different languages. Indeed saints serve people of all cultures irrespective of their caste or creed. So did Rafi Saab, by bringing all cultures together through a single voice and under one roof. Rafi Saab being a devoted Muslim, whether he sings a Bhajan or a devotional song or a Gurbani or a song for Durga Puja or English devotional or any other language it provides the same piece of mind and satisfaction.
Despite all the achievements the Indian media is always negative compared to other countries. One can understand what state of mind Rafi Saab must have gone through in the 70s with such a negative media. President APJ Abdul Kalam in one of his speeches has stated, “Why is the media here so negative? Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why? We are the second largest producer of wheat in the world. We are the second largest producers in rice. We are the first in milk production. We are number one in Remote sensing satellites. Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed with the bad news and failures and disasters.†The entire speech can be read through the following link. http://ckunte.com/archives/2002/06/19/dr-apj-abdul-kalam. Therefore one should not be surprised in a country like India if Rafi Saab’s ability is under estimated. But such type of ignorance does not affect saints like Rafi Saab. The greatest award is that Rafi Saab is remembered and recognized by his fans till date across the globe and will continue to be so for many years to come.
We all have to leave this world one fine day, but Rafi Saab’s untimely premature dismissal was indeed a very Sad Day and a great loss for the film industry; India as a country and the entire audience which appreciated quality work. Rafi Saabs death brings an end to many filmmakers like Man Mohan Desai, Chetan Anand, J Om Prakash, Nasir Hussian, etc who enjoyed success through his songs in the 60s and 70s. Music composers most affected were LP who never won a film fare award after 1980 because they had lost their ‘Parasmani’ called Mohd. Rafi forever who converted their each and every piece of composition into Gold. But despite the falling standards of melody LP maintained their position till the mid 90s. Perhaps R D Burman was not as lucky as LP. R D Burman did enjoy some success in the early 80s but could not repeat the magic of 70s with Kishore and Gulzar again. By mid & late 80s he reached the dead end. RDB indeed tried hard to make a come back. Possibly if Rafi Saab could have lived may be RDB could have made a come back explored his untapped potential. Without Rafi Saab many quality music composers, lyricist, filmmakers faded forever. Many small time composers like Sapan Jagmohan, Shamji Ghanshamji, Soni Omi, Ganesh, etc who enjoyed success in the 70s through Rafi Saab never revived again after his dismissal. Music indeed witnessed the worst phase during mid eighties. During Rafi Saab’s death as stated by lyrist Majrooh Sultanpuri that it would be difficult to compose songs since Rafi Saab simplified singing to a great extend. In other words Rafi Saab could sing any type of song.
26 years have passed like a few seconds; the world around us has changed. But the divine aura, which Rafi Saab generates even today, is very much the same. New souls come to this world every day. They are influenced by his divine aura and become a Rafian. Yes indeed Rafi Saab is the Saint in Modern Times.
Rafi indeed is an out of world experience. His voice has so many different parameters that each of them separately can make a singer great.
At the same time i dont agree with some remarks on Kishore and SPB here. Anything SPB says about others shows his ultimate humility. To me SPB is as much a “miracle” as Rafi is. In fact in south (except Kerala) the definition of a singer starts and ends with SPB. In each of the three distinct language regions ( TN,Karnataka, AP) he is looked upon as “ours”. Factually speaking he holds “7” national awards whereas most singers would dream of getting at least one in their lifetime– and yes he is natural singer not formally trained.
Rafi Saab is the reference of comparison when it comes to analyzing any singer as such, excluding all the mimikry and other comical things. Since he had a saintly nature he sang what ever came this way, whether easy or difficult, he gave his best.
That is what makes him perfect.
Many classical or ghazal or qwaali or devotional singers may find it difficult to digest the reality that one voice can contain every thing. But that’s what makes Rafi Saab unique and different from every one.
no singer is perfect. every singer has certain limitations. some are expert in ghazals only, some can sing only classical and so on. as i said, no one is made perfect, so rafi saab was not perfect either. but he is probably the only singer in this subcontinent if not in the whole world, who is the closest to perfection. he could sing all types, you name it! even lata (declared as india’s no. 1 singer ever) can’t sing all types. i truley believe only rafi saab deserve the praise that lata is getting. lata is no way near to rafi.
some kishore blind fans dare to compare their guru with rafi. some of them are even renowned singers like kumar sanu, abhijit, babul supriyo and etc etc. and trust me whenever you discuss with them about indian singing or abour rafi-kishore matter, they bring kishore’s other activities like writing, directing, acting. i want to tell those great idiots that we are talking about singing and rafi’s singing was enough. he didnt need other stuffs to do.
rafi’s singing >>>……>>>>……>>>…kishore’s singing+acting+writing+directing+…whatever(not interested a bit)
south indian peopel dont even think kishore as a singer. he is a joker. they think sp bala is close to rafi and some even rate bala higher, well that’s out of emotion, cause even bala says no one is half way near to rafi.
so its crystal clear that almighty so far has not made anyone who can beat rafi. but i am not saying that rafi is ultimate. all depends on almighty. may be today right now a child is born who after 20 years will show that he is next rafi or even better, who knows! all depends of almighty. but at least, its clear that so far rafi is the ultimate destination of singing. one may reach manna dey or sp bala’s standard, not rafi.
recently some 30 singers and musicians voted rafi and lata the greatest singers ever and “maan re tu kahe” from chitralekha sung by rafi the best song ever in indian history. but they forget “dekhi zamaneki yaari” [the most touchable song], “o duniya ke rakhwale” [the most difficult song], “chahunga mai tujhe”, “app ke pehlu”, “teri ankho ke”, “mere mehboob”, “tumhari zulf ke”, “pookarta chala hu”, “kabhi khud pe”…and so on and on and on. if you make top 50 or 100, 95% or more songs will be those sung by rafi.
people may like his singing or not, i am not bothered. truth might hurt them. i am with truth. and truth is clear.
Just to highlight another Saintly quality about Rafi Saab.
Rafi Saab was true perfectionist. Most perfectionsts are very roughtless human beings in comes to work & results. These can be said about most of the music composers like Naushad, O P Nayyar, Madan Mohan or S D Burman. These people never compromised on their principles to provide hanky panky music in their entire span.
Same can be said about professionals from other fields as well. But coming back to Rafi Saab, dispite being a true perfectionist he was very humble natured person. It is a very rare to find both perfection & humbleness existing within the same individual. Rafi Saab had it in him and no wonder many small time music composers prospered during his existence.
Hi Guys!
Listen to Saint Rafi giving his views on “Zindagi Kya Hai” with the emotion and passion in his voice only he could give in any situation:
Clicl http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fCWWL5k_g0
Dear irony80,
I think we should not compare Mohd rafi with anyone,also a drubk out person will not compare Mohd Rafi with any singer because he knows that Mohd Rafi is the best.
WHOEVER SAYS THAT RAFI IS WORSE THAN KISHORE OR OTHERS MUST BE A DRUNK OUT PERSON.
Most Saints do not believe in getting involved into worldly things like exotic parties or showman ship except for small get togethers among family members or friends. Same can be said for Rafi Saab as well.
Dear unknow1,
Possibly your point is quiet valid. In India Hero worship is quiet common and this is due to corrupt Governence and yesmanship over the last few decades. The result of which true worth is never recognized. As Rafi Fans we have highlight how extra ordinary Rafi Saab was.
The Bharat Ratan to Lata has been criticized openly by Pandit Jasraj in one of the news channels. Perhaps his criticism may have resulted in Government hounouring Ustab Bismillah Khan also with a Bharat Ratna.
Rafi Saabs co-relation with India refers to many ascepts, possibly we have discussed in detail. India is a country with many languages where Rafi Saab excels in all areas of singing. Earlier we discussed various music composers coming various cultures bring a treasury of melody with them to Bombay. Rafi Saab meets every possible requirment of such great geneouses.
With my perosnal experience I observed it is impossible at many occasions to be kind for a common people like us. By Saints remain cool irrespective of how ever bad the situation they are subjected to. This is only possible by the blessings of the Almighty. Rafi Saab was one of them. One in Billion have such destiny.
RAFI IS THE INSTITUTION NOT ONLY OF SINGING BUT ALSO OF HUMANITY. REST ARE STUDENTS
Sir Anmol Singh thanks for what u doing for our great Mohd Rafi,if i agree or not that but Mohd Rafi made for India where people belive in Human being not in the religions and mohd Rafi is the bigest example of true India.
I suppose unknown has a point there
Khalid
I suppose unknoe is right one way or another
Khalid Rashid
UK
Sir Anmol Singh sorry say that is not true that Mohd Rafi and India are made for each other but you can say about Lata ji maybe because she had Bharat Ratna award,Sir I have no words to thanks you i am sorry 2 not agree with that.
Co relating India with Rafi, there are a few reasons. As long we live in India we criticize our country; blame the system; people etc. When we travel abroad and don’t enjoy the same freedom and liberty, we understand India better. Some thing which I personally experienced when I travelled to Europe.
Going back to history one can observe that India has been attacked and looted several times by invaders, but India has never invaded any other country. Indeed India can also be conidered is a saint country. The same holds true for Rafi Saab also. Therefore India and Rafi are made for each other.
Dear Anmol Singh Sir
You have written a very true article on Mohd Rafi Saab. Yes he truely was a saint in the modern times as you have said and everything that you have put in the article is very true to the great human being Rafi saab was.
Many Thanks and keep up the excellent work that you are doing.
Also thasnks to Mohan Flora Ji’s contribution too.
Khalid Rashid
UK
Dear shambu,
O P Nayer didn’t used Mohd Rafi voice for two years and O P Nayer said it was bigest mistake he did because Mohd Rafi himself asked O P Nayer Have I(mohd Rafi) did any mistake?.also don’t forget when RD back to Mohd Rafi he never said that I will not sing 4 u.also don’t forget that O P Nayer said he is because of Mohd Rafi.because of that Naushand Ali said maybe there will be other singer like Mohd Rafi but never be like Mohd Rafi.it can be 18 and 20 but there will no 19 mean Mohd Rafi,i hope u understant what does 19 mean?as i said before that Mohd Rafi is No1 after one is two and before no1 it zero.
Dear Anmol and Shambu,
I have a note about Raafisaab I picked up and wrote down sometime back-I don’t know from which source. It says,” The name “Rafi” still conjures up a myriad of images and emotions within the connoisseur of Hindi Film Music. His name evokes memories of a time when melody,lyrical content,discipline,riyaaz and throw of voice were sacrosanct.Mohammed Rafi’s legacy since his demise in 1980 is extraordinary.As an artiste he was the most accomplished amongst his peers, striding the world of popular film music with a regal air.As a person, he humbly accepted his exalted status as a blessing from God.”
Dear Shambu,
First of all thanks for compliments. Being too harsh many occasions damages relationship beyond repair. There are cases where individuals at one time being best friends parted ways forever. Very few have a capability to practice forgiveness in such situations. In normal cases it is difficult, but people with Saintly quality what Rafi Saab had can pratice forgiveness. Plus O P Nayyar could have also initiated the patch up, but didn’t do so.
nice and very true article anmol bhai,
When rafi was late on recording with Op Nayer,at the entry of MohdRafi he said packup, could u imagine how Rafisaab was feeling at that moment,but still when he asked for reason,he said the reality, that he was with SJ which make Op Nayer to stop the recording with MohdRafi.If I or we were in place of MOhd Rafi we could get another reason which is not real to make the situtaion cool,but as u said he was is a saint.
Nice article again Anmol !
Kya Kahen? Dil ki baat karte ho.
As a regular browser of the site, my comments are low for sometime as I am on a tour with the family. However, at a stop at a Gas station I have been able to get a connection to the laptop and am thrilled to get our site.
In the Punjab, just like in every other part of India or Pakistan, languages change into dialects and so forth! We sometimes recognize the district a person belongs to by the way of his speaking. However, again, some accents/pronounciations of some words change if, even though bilingual or trilingual, you stay in another state or environment. Same was the case with Rafisaab. Even though his first language was Punjabi, Urdu and later on Hindi, Marathi etc. and his staying away from Punjab, did have some effect on his pronunciation of certain words as is with anyone who stays away from ones place of birth. But he always remembered where he came from and tried his best give his best and he did succeed.His pronunciation of the Sikh Shabads were as near as perfect and songs from Punjabi classic films are a class by themselves!
Dear Unknown,
Thanks for the compliments. Indeed an individual has to be a good human being to be a good singer and so are his fans as well.
Dear Mehtab,
Thanks for the compliments. The point regarding Rafi Saab’s pronunciation of Punjabi words is concorn is correct. I speak Punjabi myself therefore I have also noted the same point in many Punjabi songs sung by Rafi Saab. This can be observed in songs sung in the 1950s & 60s. Example “Pakdi Sambhal Jataa”, in this song there is a line “Tere Sir Utte Sonni Eztaan Di Pag Oye”. Here Rafi Saab pronunces the word “Sonni” as “Soni”. Initially my impression was that Pakistani muslims / Punjabi Muslims may have a different way of pronunciation. Later when I interacted with Pakistani Muslims in UK, Germany & Spain, it was not so. They very much have the same pronunciation like us, perhaps far more refined and controlled.
Possibly Rafi Saab may have corrected the pronunciation later. I have not heard many Punjabi songs of 70s sung by Rafi Saab. One song from the film “Santo Banto”, “Aaja Sonnie Aaja Heerie” which I heard many years ago possible has the correct pronunciation of the word “Sonnie”.
well done Anmol and all my loving Rafians,
After reading this article tears came out as somehow we are all associated with this Saint and Farishta Rafi sahab. This writing clearly echoes our sentiments truly.
No one can give us so much joy in this film n music industry like Rafi Sahab.
Rafi Sahab we are indebted to u not only in this life but also in the next was quoted by LP,Manmohan desai ji and so many film personalities. Ur fans also have the same feeling across the globe.
Long live Good Music Long live Rafi Sahab.
P.Narayanan Bangalore 09886779557
Dear Salim,
Not only Indian are luck to have Mohd Rafi,All music lover are luck 2 have a singer like Mohd Rafi,he was/is 4 all
DEAR ANMOL SINGHJI
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR FANTASTIC & LOGICAL ARTICLE ON OUR BELOVED RAFI SAHAB .
YOU ARE VERY CORRECT TO SAY – INDIA IS LUCKY TO HAVE A SINGER LIKE RAFI SAHAB .
THANKS & BEST REGARDS/A.T.M. SALIM.
we can get Gold at Gold Market but no way 2 get Mohd rafi voice again.
thanks again and again Sir Anmol Singh ji really u r Anmol,I have no word 2 say because i don’t know Is Mohd Rafi was a great human or a great singer?!!!!!!!!!!!!!when u know more about mohd rafi we love him more and more if it is not magic so what is that?
also I liked Lata ji but when i read about her,now i don’t like her as i did before i read about her,She got Bharat Ratna award and mohd Rafi has got God award,if we go 2 Mohd rafi when Mohd Rafi died he was at the top ans still at the top but where is Lata ji now,I think that is called God Award or gift 2 great human and a singer.
Dear Mr. Anmol Singh ji & the Managers of ,
All of you are doing a great job for the whole society of the world. This is really a lovely article again. Rafi Sahib was/is definitely a saint of the modern times. His contribution is immortal and can never be forgotten or imitated. Thank you Anmol Sir.
I want to share a few memorable events of Rafi Sahib, as told to me by Mr. Inderjit Hasanpuri (a noted Punjabi lyricist and Film Maker and Director of popular Punjabi movies like ‘Teri Meri Ikk Jindrri’, ‘Daaj’, ‘Sukhi Parivar’ etc.). Mr. Hasanpuri described these saintly moods of Rafi sahib to me at Ludhiana in 1986 but these were published in the leading daily Punjabi Newspaper ‘AJIT’ on 31st July, 1990. Mr. Hasanpuri told that while preparing plans to make “my film ‘Teri Meri Ikk Jindarri’, my financial condition was not so good, but I wanted to make my dreams into reality only with the songs of the Great Mohd. Rafi, as I had been his admirer. I met Mr. Zahir Ahmed, the assistant of Rafi Sahib but the response of Mr. Zahir was not so good. But I was firm to meet Rafi sahib. I talked to (Punjabi) Music Director Mr. S. Mohinder and he got an appointment with Rafi sahib for me. I met Rafi Sahib with Mr. S. Mohinder. When he came to know that I write Punjabi lyrics, he got very happy and said that he is grateful to the Punjab, Punjabi & Punjabiat and he can even sacrifice his life for the Punjabi lyricist. When I asked him that what amount would he take from me per song, he replied that “Tuhada ditta hoya ikk rupya vee mere lai ikk lakh de barabar hovega.” (your one rupee will be like one lakh ruppees to me). I was filled with joy and encouragement. Its result was that that film remained all time hit in the Punjabi film world. Rafi sahib sang my 30 songs in various Punjabi films. He always helped and encouraged me a lot. Once, during a rehearsel of my song, I corrected the Punjabi pronunciation of the word ‘hanni’ (which means ‘companion’ or ‘saathi’) & Rafi sahib was pronuncing it as ‘hani’ (which means a ‘loss’). When I told Rafi sahib about it hesitatingly, he became so happy and thanked me & said that previously nobody corrected my such type of error in Punjabi pronunciation. I am really grateful to Rafi sahib.”
I want to request the respected fans of Rafi sahib that they should share those events with the whole world, which are directly related to Mohd. Rafi, the great, so that the next generation may be aware about this saint.
I am going to interact with my sweet-sweet Rafian Fellows after a gap of more than one month as my personal computer was out of order. See you again next time.
Mehtab-Ud-Din (+91-9815703226 at Chandigarh or e-mail : mehtabmasih@yahoo.co.in)