Mohammad Rafi – The Real God of Our Time
This article is written by Mr. Vinod Viplav.
Mohammad Rafi transformed thousands of ordinary songs into unforgettable & immortal with the touch of his charismatic voice. After the departure of this great legend, incalculable numbers of new singers came to light and many of his contemporary singers claimed to be best, but all disappeared in the dark. On other hand the magical effect of the songs of Rafi Sahab on the hearts of millions of music lovers is becoming deeper day by day.
It is said that time heals each and every wound, but there is a wound which is still uncured after passing of years, in fact this wound is becoming more and more painful day by day. This wound is nothing but the sad departure of Mohammad Rafi from this mortal world.
For many devotees, the passing of Mohammad Rafi was not less painful than the passing of any dearer family member. There are numerous music lovers who considered the death of Rafi Sahab more tragic than the death of any nearest family member or dearest friend. One can forget the passing of his family member in ten, twenty or thirty years, but the grief of the separation from Mohammad Rafi is becoming deeper and deeper with the passage of time. It is appropriate to say that Mohammad Rafi is the one and the only one icon of India for whom there is unspeakable amount of love and affection in the hearts of millions. There are many music lovers who sink in the ocean of their own tears when Rafi Sahab comes in their memory.
The reason is simple. Actually Mohammad Rafi is not just a singer for Rafi lovers, but he is a true friend in the time of pain and pleasure, he is the greatest guide who shows the right path in the darkness of the life and he is the reliever of pain and distress. Any person, no matter who he is and in which condition he is, can take the shelter of the songs of Rafi Sahab for the comfort of his aggrieved heart. The songs of Mohammad Rafi are like a cool shadow of a giant banyan tree where a sufferer of the “burning sun†of distress, poverty, harness of society, neglect, infidelity, cheating, despair and mental trauma gets much needed comfort. His voice gives great solace and mental peace like the lap of a caring mother, helping hands of an affectionate lover, supporting shoulder of a father and valuable lesson of an experienced teacher.
There are a number of Rafi’s songs, which express the pain of the person who has insulated, snubbed and ill-treated in this selfish society and egocentric world. It is the power of Rafi Sahab to convey the suffering of a person who is yearning for ones love. There are many songs of Rafi Sahab which redefined the Hindi film music. Those singers who claim to be the best or superb are really unable to imitate the voice of Rafi Sahab. Mohammad Rafi has made a number of songs immortal with the power of his impressive voice that comes directly from the deep of the heart.
The importance of Mohammad Rafi, the epitome of music, is not only because of he sung all kinds of thousands of songs and his songs expresses the various aspects of life but also because of he is the greatest symbol of human values, patriotism, secularism and communal harmony in the age of social, ethnic and religious conservations. In the time of moral, social and emotional devaluation, his songs are still motivating us for human relations, morality and humanity. A number of years have passed after the departure of Mohammad Rafi, but the magic of his melodious voice continue to revitalize, energies and refresh millions of his fans and music lovers. This happens not only in India but each and every corner of the world. Mohammad Rafi is continue to live alive in the hearts of thousands of Rafi lovers and will be alive hundreds of forthcoming years.
In the age of short-lived popularity, it is amazing to see that there is a world of thousands of music lovers where after bread, clothing and shelter, voice of Mohammad Rafi is the basic necessity of life without which life is impossible. With the passing of time magic of enchanting and delightful voice of Mohammad Rafi become more and more fascinating.
Mohammad Rafi is not only a great singer and great human being; Mohammad Rafi became a good for music lovers. There is no shortage of such people who worship him in same manner as any human being worship God. Is there is any human being who is worshipped like a god. There are a number of persons like Umesh Makhija of Ahmedabad who have made temples of Rafi Sahab in their small home. I am totally agreed with these Rafi lovers. Why should we not worship Mohammad Rafi like a God? What God is supposed to give us? Nothing more than the peace of the mind. In the some way, songs of Mohammad Rafi provide us not only the peace of the mind but also ease our suffering and pain. There is such magic in his voice that after touching our ears, alleviate our all pain, despair, depression, frustration and mental tauma. There is no medicine in the ultramodern hospitals of this world which can take away the pain of the heart and mind within second. Only one thing can do this charisma and that is the voice of Mohammad Rafi. That is why we worship him.
You can hear the full version of the tribute to Rafi Sahab on the following links:
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5vpeT6qwQU
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Note: I want to request all readers to ignore grammatical mistakes because I am not a prolific English writer. I am a Hindi writer. Those who disagree with my point of view are invited to share views.
About writer:
Vinod Viplav is a journalist working in a National News Agency at New Delhi. He has written the first Biography of Mohammad Rafi – Meri Awaz Suno (Hindi). He has a good collection of video files of Rafi Sahab and with the help of these files he has made a one hour video about the Life and the Music of Mohammad Rafi. This video is available in CD. Vinod Viplav can be contacted on his email – vinodviplav@gmail.com and on his mobile no.- 09868793203.
To read more about the biography you can visit following link on mohdrafi.com.
Second Edition of the biography of Mohammad Rafi – Meri Awaz Suno has been published
Biography of legendary singer Mohammad Rafi – Meri Awaz Suno
I totally agree that most wounds heal with time but the wound caused by the loss of the great mohd rafisahab just gets worse as no one has ever been able to or will ever be able to replace him.
Great work sir! very simply said the feelings of all RAFI’S fan
that he is the reliever of pain and distress…………..
Recently we went to eat at an Indian resturant that was playing old Hindi songs. When the song ” Husne wale tera jawab nahee” was played, my friend who is an American and who never understands a word of Hindi remarked ” What a lovely song and what a soothing voice. That is our great Mohd Rafi, who can bring so much joy to peple who do not even understand the language.
Asif