By Achal Rangaswamy

Mohd Rafi

Allah e Allah kar pyaare bhai Allah e Allah sang the fakir who kept appearing in the movie Pavitra Paapi, a film marked by the appearance of the father-son duo of the great Balraj Sahni and the debutant Parikshit Sahni.  Every time there was a crucial scene in the film it would end with the fakir walking by singing to himself, oblivious of the worldly happenings.

Was this by any chance, the portrayal of the fakir who used to walk the streets of Kotla Sultan Singh as the young Pheeko would follow him  all over the village almost till the border, marveling the voice of the mendicant as he sang Khedande din char ek malk, khedande din char. It may have been, it may not have been. But whenever I think of the song from the film Pavitra Paapi , the image of this young boy running after the fakir comes to my mind. (more…)

By Souvik Chatterji

Mohd Rafi

Remembering Mohammad Rafi on his death anniversary and the challenge of continuing the Rafiana.

The entire world remembers great Mohammad Rafi on his death anniversary, on 31^st July, 2012. It has been more than 30 years after his death that he still remains alive in the minds of numerous music lovers all across the world. (more…)

By Chandan (KS Ramachandran)

Mohd Rafi

Many singers past, present and even future (I can vouch this with certainty) cannot match the singing prowess of Mohammad Rafi Saab, when it comes to playback singing. He is certainly the ultimate to meet the total expectations of the various parameters of playback singing, be it voice, range, feel, depth, nuances, diction, clarity, emotions, mood or what have you!

Many music directors have exploited and taken full advantage of his extremely unreachable heights of his singing qualities and Rafi Saab in turn, has delivered more than what any music director would have expected. Such were his singing abilities and qualities. (more…)

By Gajaanan Sonaawane Kalyan, Mumbai

Mohd Rafi Sahab

32 songs sung by Great Rafisahab for less famous heroes on 32nd Death Anniversary. (more…)

By Achal Rangaswamy

Mohd Rafi Sahab and Rakesh Khanna

A slim, almost impoverished looking young man, albeit with a twinkle in his eye and a charming smile, wooed his lesser known heroine in a low-budget film. The film would go on to be sent to various film festivals, become known as the first film in which Bhupendra sang a solo, but most people would not remember it as the first film in which the winner of a major talent hunt would be playing the hero.

Jatin Khanna, now rechristened as Rajesh Khanna wooed Chand Usmani, who would later go on to play either sister to heroes in B grade films or maybe the mujre wali in B- grade films. But the song that was chosen for this occasion was hauntingly beautiful.  The hero urges the lady to stay on, by singing “ aur kuchh der thaher aur kuchh der na ja….”. The song was rendered flawlessly. (more…)

By Binu Nair

Barsi of Mohd Rafi Sahab

On the eve of Mohd Rafi Saaheb’s 32nd jayanti the month of July will see innumerable Rafi Musicals around the world. The President of Live Musicians Association Ashok Hande based in Mumbai has said that all auditoriums get booked months in advance in July and December for Rafi Saaheb shows. (more…)

By Onika Setia

Mohd Rafi

हिंदी    साहित्य   का   कला    के साथ   बहुत   गहरा रिश्ता  है  या यह कहो की दोनों एक   दुसरे के   पूरक हैं .कला   चाहे   जो भी हो ;नृत्य,गायन, अभिनय, लेखन . हिंदी   साहित्य   इनकी आत्मा बन कर   इसमें समाहित   है.  और   हिदी साहित्य    का मूल आधार  है नव रस .

अर्थात  प्रेम-(   संयोग /वियोग)  ,शांत ,रोद्र ,करुण,   भक्ति ,   वीभत्स ,   हास्य, वीर   ,  वात्सल्य   .  हर    कला    इन नवरसों के बीना अधूरी है .मनुष्य  अपनी   भाव अभिव्यक्ति  कला के माध्यम   से करता है  और कला   का स्थान मनुष्य के दिल में है ,आत्मा में   है ,और अपने भावो को व्यक्त करने हेतु उसे   कला का सहारा लेना पड़ता है ,कला   मनुष्य के जीवन    के   साथ साथ  चलती  है  मनुष्य का पूरा वजूद कला के बीना अधुरा  है ,और एक कला ही है   जो मनुष्य को मनुष्य बने रहने के प्रेरणा देती है. (more…)

By Aparna Sridhar

Mohd Rafi

I have wanted to write about this for ages. There is a video of Mohammed Rafi singing O Duniya Ke Rakhwale that I have watched countless number of times and still am not tired of it. In fact I have watched several videos of Rafi singing live, and continue to watch, being a die-hard fan of Rafi. It was a live show on Doordarshan with a complete live orchestra, with Naushad conducting it. It was the most wonderful and enriching 15 minutes of my life. We all know what a lovely, emotion-packed and moving song O Duniya Ke Rakhwale is. And to watch Rafi sing it live is a great experience. (more…)