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A Desire to Meet Rafi Saab

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

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7 Blog Comments to “A Desire to Meet Rafi Saab”

  1. shammi says:

    Dear Anmolji, thanks for expressing your feelings and thoughts about Mohd Rafisaheb with all of us. I am unfortunately in the same boat as you and never got to see Mohd Rafi in concert or meet him personally. I too was young when the great man passed away and even after over thirty years that longing and desire to see him in the flesh and be able to tell him about the impact his music has had on me has never gone away. It truly is a heartache that no one other than a die hard Mohd Rafi fan can understand. As for enjoying his beautiful music the appreciation of that just increases all the time because as years go by and you hear other artists you can really appreciate the versatility and great talent of Mohd Rafi as there is no one who compares to him.

  2. Sagar says:

    Dear Anmol Sir,
    I am really moved by the article , very nice and warm personal experience you have shared with us.

    Waiting for some more DHAMAKA EXPERIENCE of Rafi Sahab.

    Regards

    Sagar

  3. rafimylife says:

    Anmol
    thanx a lot sir.
    like you I wish why i was born in 1982 only.
    or from another angle why rafi saab didnt wait till I could meet him.
    Actually u know when Allaah was counting his farishta one was missing and he remembered that He Had temporarily gifted Rafi saab to us earthly people. he called his Pyaara Farishta back and Rafi saab at once headed for his original rasidence, destination. thats how it all happened.
    also my mom is so fortunate that she watched Rafi saab performing live and openly tell her that I envy her for that. My name is faiz and email id is .
    I am available to all Rafi devitees and look forwrd to interact with you.

  4. venkat_brahma says:

    Anmol, If I had a chaufeur-driven Time Machine, I would have immediately gone to the recording studios of late 50’s and early 60’s in Mumbai (no, Bombay). I would have seen/heard Rafi Saab first rehearsing for all those age-less masterpieces and then recording them! I would have given my life to see him recording, ‘Aaj Udta Hua Ek Panchhi’ (I am just listening to this), ‘Hum Aur Tum Yeh Sama’, etc. At the end of the recordings, I would have seen and enjoyed the awe, gratitude and happiness on the faces of Ravi (in the first case) and Usha Khanna (in the second case).

  5. Anmol Singh says:

    Hi Mohan,

    Thanks for the compliments. Sonu Nigam is a full fleged singer. Any Rafi fan would like to love to sing Rafi songs. Singing any Rafi song indeed gives a healing touch. That’s is the magic of Rafi’s voice.

  6. mohanflora says:

    Hi Anmol,
    You have expressed your thoughts and feelings for Rafi in a very touching manner. Rafi truly lives on! and will keep living on if there are fans like you and there are millions like you, I have no doubt. Thank you for sharing your feelings. Hoping for more articles from you in the future.

    Sonu Nigam, on a tour of US now, has this to say in an interview(Aug.23,2006}:
    You were hardly four when you first sang in public�

    I was then singing some of Mohammad Rafi’s best songs such as Kya Hua Tera Wada. I am singing my own songs today, but there are times I want to recreate the magic of a few Rafi hits
    How did you come to choose the name for this show?

    The show is called Simply Sonu for very good reasons. I am going to be like a child before the audience, giving in to their requests. If they want Veer-Zaara (Do Pal), I am ready for them. If they want Suraj Hua Maddham from Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Ghum, I am ready for it. And I am even ready if they want me to sing any song, especially the songs of my idol, Mohammad Rafi. I want my shows to be fully interactive.

  7. unknow1 says:

    Tu Kahin Aas Paas Hai MOhd Rafi

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