This article is by Anmol Singh.

This is an expression of feelings of a fan about an artist. There are many Rafi fans all over the world that may have the fortune to see him sing live or meet him personally. Perhaps there are many fans that never had the opportunity or the privilege to see him or listen to him sing live or meet in person. I am one of them, who had the desire to meet Rafi Saab for several years; knowing that Rafi Saab is no more with us.

It was the year 1983 that made me a fan of Rafi Saab. After the appreciation of his voice my desire to meet Rafi in person grew. The first thought that came to my mind was that I just missed Rafi Saab by 3 years. Possibly if I could have come to this world a few years earlier, I could have certainly met Rafi Saab. Whichever magazine I came across containing an article on Rafi, I would read it with out fail. Whichever song I heard him sing whether Classical, Sad, Happy, Romantic, Devotional, Fun, etc. it provided me a new dimension of his voice. Every Music composer has a very peculiar style of composition. Rafi’s voice could meet the challenge of any dimension for any Music Composer. In other words Rafi’s voice was a solution provider to any style of singing.

As my interest in Rafi’s voice grew a desire of having a poster of Rafi Saab in my room developed accordingly. In the mid 80s there were many posters available of famous Bollywood & Hollywood actors, but one can’t imagine a poster of Rafi Saab at that time. Almost after a year of search finally God gave me an opportunity. In 1985 I use travel from my place to Santacruz by bus for my coaching classes in the evening. The bus use to pass through one of the photo studios at S V Road, where I could get a short glimpse of Rafi Saab framed color photograph for a moment. I decided to go to the photo Studio and ask for a copy. Initially the studio proprietor refused, but later he agreed to give me one copy. I purchased a photo frame along with Rafi Saab photograph. Experiencing one such case the proprietor later removed Rafi Saabs photograph from display. Possibly he thought there could be many more like me to follow.

Two years later I went to Pune to pursue Engineering. I took Rafi Saab’s photograph along with most of his songs. Pursuing engineering was going through a lot of stress and mental pressure during exams. Many of my colleagues were addicted to smoking or drinking in order release stress and tension. In my case it was to listen to Rafi songs for some time. This helped me to reduce stress and recharged me to put me back to work. Fortunately it helped me to such an extend, that I did not develop any bad habit as such. In other words my attitude was always positive through out my tenure. His voice literally acted as a moral support to me during my Engineering. Apart from stress one had to experience many setbacks and failures also, which could put us in deep depression. It happened in my case also. As the song “Poch Kar Ashk Apni Aankhon Se, Muskuraao To Koi Baat Bane” hits my ears, it generates the confidence to fight back. It is like God was speaking through Rafi Saab voice. Perhaps all were not fortunate, quiet a few left engineering in between. I wish they were also Rafi fans too.

During my Engineering tenure I watched a Science fiction Hollywood film “Back to the Future – The Time Machine”. The movie is in 3 parts directed by Steven Spielberg. In this film a machine has been shown which can take an individual from the present to the past or present to the future, that’s why the name – The Time Machine. Though it is an imagination of the filmmaker, but considering my desire to meet Rafi Saab personally, the first thing that came to my mind was, I wished if such a machine existing in reality. Possibly I could have gone back into the golden era and met Rafi Saab and return back to the present age.

There is another experience, which I would like to share. This was in 1986; I was once having fever 101° F temperature and was feeling quiet restless & irritated. I decided listen to Rafi Saabs songs, thinking that it would at least divert my attention. After listening to songs “O Duniya Ke Rakhwale”, “Mann Tadpat Hari Darshan Ko Aaj”, “Madhuban Mein Radhika”, “O Door Ke Musafir”, “Meri Kahani Bhulane Waale” & “Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki” my mind felt so relaxed that my temperature came down to 99 ° F. One could perhaps call it a false claim, but it is a reality. So one can understand the healing touch Rafi Saab’s voice can provide. Looking from scientific point of view, music is used in practice to cure illness & disease. It is known as Music Therapy. A mode of treatment, which may not be very famous in India, but is very popular in the Western countries.

These were my experiences and thoughts as a teenager. Perhaps things have changed with time. Today I am in my mid thirties working in a Multi National company. My teenage innocence has become a past glory and exists only in my memories now, but still my appreciation for Rafi Saab is very much the same as before. Perhaps, I do not think any more of meeting Rafi Saab personally, but listening to his songs even today, there is just only one thought that comes out from my heart.

Tu Kahin Aas Paas Hai Dost

This blog was published on Friday, August 25th, 2006 at 12:22 am and Last modified on Friday, August 25th, 2006 at 8:25 am and is filed under Meri Awaaz Suno. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.