By Mr Anirudha Rao; provided by Devdatta Bijoor

Mohd Rafi

The cruel hands of destiny were indeed so very cruel to have snatched away amidst us the World’s most loved, respected, admired and sweet velvet voiced personality in the sheer form of Mohammed Rafi Sahab thirty one years ago on this fateful day. Thousands have come and vanished in thin air but alas the void created by this immortal genius is most difficult to fill in just seems probably impossible to re-create the greatness and class left behind by Rafi Sahab. (more…)

By Ramesh Narain Kurpad – Rafiaarenkay at gmail.com / rameshkurpad at gmail.com

Mohd Rafi

At the outset – I would like to warn all you friends that this is me – unleashed – unplugged – uninhibited going berserk just talking to you all about a great human being who lived – loved –sang  and  breathed divine music and passed away. My jottings as I would like to call them will not have a set pattern but would be reverential expressions loosely strewn at random.

He left a world full of humans – following him and his singing as an institution and in time to come has almost become a cult. (more…)

By Shrirang Nawathe

Mohd Rafi with Dilip Kumar

A song is an outcome of Team work, but, a memorable melodious song is an outcome of Dedicated Teamwork. A small difference makes the dividing line. It was a Golden Era of Hindi Film Music in sixties when Music Directors, Singers, Lyricists made an everlasting impact due to their sincere devotion to the profession. Another dimension to make these songs worth listening was their mutual understanding and adjustments for a common objective. Practically they were tuned to equal wavelengths. We thus had  distinguished groups like RK Studios who had a team of  SJ/Shailendra/HasratJaipuri, Navketan Films had  Majrooh Sultanpuri/SDB,Nasir Husaain used to have RD Burman from Teesri Mamzil onwards. There was a trio following the same tradition and their team was like a TRIVENI SANGAM of Shakeel/Naushad/Rafi who could deliver the best products. Film Industry is indebted by their contribution. (more…)

By Mr D P Bijoor. I am forwarding a small incident which is very interesting and may be informative to the innumerable admirers & fans of Rafi Sahab. The said incident was available to me through a very old book/magazine written in the memory of our beloved King of Melody & Dearest Mohammed Rafi Sahab titled “Rafinama”.

Mohd Rafi and Lalita Deulkar

Mohammed Rafi has sung the Holy “Mangalashtake” (wedding rhymes) in Marathi in the wedding of Sudhir Phadke & Lalita Deulkar in the year 1949.

Our beloved King of Melody Mohammed Rafi Sahab has sung almost 11 duets with Lalita Deulkar. Lalita Deulkar became Lalita Sudhir Phadke after marriage. Prior to becoming a playback singer she was an actress and had started her career in the year 1938 with Bombay Talkies film “Vachan” where she had played the role of a friend of Devika Rani. (more…)

By: H.A.K. Walijah

Among so many female singers, Geeta Dutt name is unique and rings a different sensation. The evergreen songs like “babu ji dheere chalna“, “jaa jaa bewafaa“, “yeh lo main haari piya“, “aaeeye meherban“, “mera naam chin chin chu”,  “ae dil mujhe bata de”,  “na jao saiyan chuda ke bahiyan”, ‘tadbeer se bigdi hui taqdeer banaa le”, “jaane kya tune kahi”,  “waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam” and many more such gem like songs paved directly into the hearts of music lovers and made her name immortal in the Annals of Hindi Film Music.

By Nagesh Sidhanti.
A humble tribute to composer Madan Mohanji on his 87th birth anniversary by an ardent Rafi fan

Mohd Rafi with Madan Mohan

Of all pursuits, love is the most profound, be it sensuous or sublime.

This legendary love story of ill-fated couple, an epitome of pure love, ‘Heer-Ranjha’ was written by Sufi poet Waris Shah. Little did he know that about 200 years later, his seminal work’s intimate aspects would receive its rightful interpretation in the form of a surreptitious musical dialogue, arranged by three of the greatest legends, one, an exceptional composer and the other two, genius singers of their era.

Kaifi’s lines are lyrically simple but never frugal in this unique duet from Heer Ranjha, which is rendered in low notes, complimenting essentially a covert love story.   The lyricist who is known for his earthly imagery, has penned the lines with a dash of mystical aura the story deserves. Although not spoken in the same breath as some of his distinguished contemporaries, Kaifi Azmi yet again proves a point that beneath the layers of sophistication & hyperbole, lie a treasure trove of emotions, which could flourish in the realm of a deeper understanding of LOVE and LIFE. (more…)

An unpublished interview of Naushad Sahib by Mehtab-Ud-Din

I had an interview of Naushad Sahib, the Great Music Composer of the Bollywood. I wanted to publish it in my book about all time Great our Mohd. Rafi Sahib. But my dream couldn’t be a reality only due to some unavoidable circumstances in my family. But, now I want to share my feelings about our Rafi Sahib & Naushad Sahib after 10½ years, as I am still not able to publish such a book. I hope, the fans of Rafi Sahib and the readers of Mohd Rafi.com ’ll surely forgive me for the delay in presenting the precious information.

Naushad Sahib with Mehtab-Ud-Din

It was an occasion of the annual Mohd. Rafi Award Function of Yaadgar-e-Rafi Society, Chandigarh (Regd.).  The day was 12^th November, 2000.  Naushad Sahib, the foremost music composer of the Bollywood & the Chief Guest for the Award Function had come in Chandigarh on 11^th Nov.  Then, I was working as News-Editor in a Punjabi Daily ‘Desh Sewak’ (Chandigarh) & I managed to meet Naushad Sahib especially alongwith Mr. Sardul Singh Abravan, my colleague and the Cultural Representative of the vernacular daily.  We reached the Room No. 319, 3^rd Floor, U. T. Guest House, Sector-6; where Naushad Sahib was officially staying. (more…)

By Nitish Sinha

Mohd Rafi with Madan Mohan

“Mohd Rafi was not classically trained……”
“He had only working knowledge of music……..”
“Manna De, Ghantasala and Yesudas had better knowledge of Classical Music….”
“Classical stalwarts never had any word of praise for Mohd Rafi…….”
Lots of such type of ill baked  comments here and there compelled me to write this article.

First of all, let me say one thing :’Mohammed Rafi was the only singer among all his colleagues who had learned the music under guru-shishya parampara under one of the most respected Gharana of Hindustani classical music.’ It is another matter that Mohammed Rafi had chosen the playback singing career instead of going for a career in Hindustani Classical Music.It was his perfect training in classical music and constant Riyaz that make him a perfect singer within the field of playback singing what he chose. (more…)

By Ronny Noor, an English professor at the University of Texas, Brownsville

Mohd Rafi

I never saw you in person, nor did you ever lay eyes on me. But, to tell you the truth, I have known you all my life, since the day your mellifluous voice greeted my first breath on earth in the florid blush of a summer morning, drifting from radios, gramophones, and loudspeakers. Your melody traveled hundreds of miles through the air to the heart of Bengal to fill my days, months, and years, wrapping me to hum with you like a veritable confession, “I am so lost without you in this world.” The merit of those words became apparent in my darkest moment when you came to my rescue with:

In the gloomy hours of the night
Do not lose your heart
The daybreak will surely follow
Look forward to the crack of dawn (more…)

By Souvik Chatterji

Mohd Rafi with Shammi Kapoor, Hasrat, Jaikishan

Renowned poet and lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri was born on 15^th April, 1922 as Iqbal Hussain. In 1940, Hasrat Jaipuri came from Jaipur to Mumbai. Prithiviraj Kapoor heard him in a mushaira and recommended him to Raj Kapoor when he was making the film Barsaat.

The epic combination of Hasrat Jaipuri and Shankar Jaikishan started from Barsaat. The first 2 songs written by him became super hit namely “jiya beqarar hai” and “chor gaye balam”. The pen of Hasrat Jaipuri glorified RK Films and other bollywood films for the next 30 years. (more…)