By Yasmin Banu, Abu Dhabi / 31 July 2013
This is my published ‘letters to the editor’ article in Khaleej Times

It was during the holy month of Ramadan on 31st July 1980, one of the greatest voice that Indian film Industry produced breathed its last.

Today, after 33 years the voice is haunting us as we reminiscent Mohammed Rafi on his death anniversary. In a nation of billion plus people, music plays an integral part of our daily lives from the FMs to the multitude shops there is always music buzzing to our ears.

Not a day passes in our lives where Rafi voice is unheard amongst us. With the changing phases of music industry and discernment of the listeners yet the younger generation is spell bound by the voice of this great singer. He started his career in an era where composers and lyricists challenged each other’s work — whether it is composer Madan Mohan and lyricist Raja Mehdi Ali Khan or Shankar Jaikishan and Hasrat Jaipuri, Shailendra or Naushad and Shakeel Badayuni or SD Burman and Sahir Ludhianvi.

Rafi complimented their works through his unparalleled rendition befitting both the composers and lyricists. After listening to his works for years, it is obvious he competed himself as his voice modulation synchronised the legends of that time – whether it is Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar and Dev Anand.

Today, this singer is not remembered for his mellifluous voice but also as humble human being who contributed to the society through his charity and notable deeds. Rafi was affirmative when he sang ‘Tum Mujhe Bulha Na Paoge’ and millions of fans acknowledge it with humility.

The Original write up is as follows :

It was during the holy month of Ramadan on 31st July 1980, one of the greatest voice that Indian film Industry produced breathed its last

Today, after 33 years the voice is haunting us as we reminiscent Mohammed Rafi Sahab on his death anniversary. In a nation of billion plus film, music plays an integral part of our daily lives from the FMs to the multitude shops there is always music buzzing to our ears. Not a day passes in our lives where Rafi Sahab voice unheard amongst us. With the changing phases of music industry and discernment of the listeners yet the younger generation is spell bound by the voice of this great singer.

He started his career in an era where composers and lyricists challenged each other’s work whether it is composer Madan Mohan and Lyricist Raja Mehdi Ali Khan or Shankar Jaikishan and Hasrat Jaipuri / Shailendra or Naushad and Shakeel Badayuni or SD Burman and Sahir Ludhianvi. He complimented their works through his unparalleled rendition befitting both the composers and lyricists.

After listening to his works for years, it is obvious he competed himself as his voice modulation synchronized the legends of that time – whether it is Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar and Dev Anand. When we listen to the songs of Pyaasa, it is still astonishing how he was able to reflect the pathos of a disillusioned poet (Guru Dutt) in ‘Yeh Duniya agar Milbi Jaaye to Kiya Hain and oil massage street vendor (Johnny Lever) in ‘Sar Jo Tera chakaraiya with élan.

When the Indian government declared national holiday on his death it clearly reflected the love and respect he earned from his fans. Today, this singer is not remembered for his mellifluous voice but also as humble human being who contributed to the society through his charity and notable deeds.

Rafi Sahab was affirmative when he sang ‘Tum Mujhe Bulha Na Paoge’ and millions of fans acknowledge it with humility.

This blog was published on Wednesday, July 31st, 2013 at 10:32 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.