By: Dr. Vinod Chandrashekhar Dixit
We are celebrating the 101st birth anniversary of the legendary Mohammed Rafi, one of India’s greatest playback singers. Rafi’s voice is iconic, and his songs continue to evoke emotions and nostalgia in people across generations. He was known for his incredible versatility, singing over 26,000 songs in multiple languages, including Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, and many others. Rafi’s journey began in a small village in Punjab, where he was inspired by a fakir’s hymn at the age of 10. He went on to become one of the most sought-after singers in Bollywood, lending his voice to over a thousand films. Some of his most memorable songs include “Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho”, “Baharon Phool Barsao”, and “Aaj Mausam Bada Beimaan Hai”.
He was a famous playback singer, born on 24 December 1924 in Punjab. Even at a young age, he was more fond of music than studies. He started learning music from the famous Hindustani singer Chhote Ghulam Ali Khan. Later, he became the disciple of Firoze Nizam. When Firoze was appointed as a music director at Lahore Radio Station, Rafi got an opportunity to sing on the radio. It was a turning point in his life. The magic of his beautiful voice still resonates in the hearts and minds of his fans. He had fine clarity in his voice and an in-depth understanding of melodies and music. His voice has been referred to as “the most exquisitely pleasant voice with a divine grace and splendor”.
He had once mentioned that in his childhood, songs sung by fakirs passing through the streets had had a profound effect on him — and that’s probably exactly the effect his own voice has had on generations of music enthusiasts, and even the actors, singers, and musicians he worked with. He was a nice human being and was very dedicated to his work. He was a complete singing package and could sing any composition effortlessly and flawlessly as he knew how to blend emotions and melody perfectly by giving the right treatment to each song, which resulted in thousands of soulful songs. Rafi became the favorite singer of other composers too, notably O.P. Nayyar, Shankar Jaikishan, and Sachin Dev Burman. Rafi became the voice of Dev Anand with soul-stirring songs composed by S.D. Burman. He was notable for his voice, versatility, and range; his songs varied from fast peppy numbers to patriotic songs, sad numbers to highly romantic songs, qawwalis to ghazals, and bhajans to classical songs.
He was uniquely and singularly responsible for the very existence of the finest artistic grandeur, splendor, and original creativity that embodied the golden era of music and melodies of Hindi cinema. He encouraged and helped other artists all the time by all means, including financially. It was he who suggested that Kishore Kumar conduct stage shows when he was in economic difficulties.
Lata Mangeshkar once said of Rafi: “He was a man of God. There were no airs about him. He would neither eat paan, nor chew betel nuts, nor drink alcohol. There has neither been a voice like him nor will there be one in a hundred years.”
He was very punctual and faithful to his profession. He encouraged and welcomed newcomers. His famous songs are ‘Oh duniya ke rakhwale’ (Baiju Bavra), ‘Ghunghroo ki tarah’ (Khrar), ‘Kya hua tera vaada’ (Hum Kise Se Kum Nahin), ‘Yahan badla wahan kya hai’ (Jugnu), etc. He performed in around thirty-eight musical concerts abroad. Rafi had the distinction of being the first playback singer of all time to be featured in the pioneering list of the Guinness Book of World Records, for having sung the highest number of songs, which is a total of 26,000 songs, in Hindi and other languages. He was nominated for the Filmfare Award 21 times, winning six times. He won the National Award for ‘Kya hua tera vaada’ from the film Hum Kise Se Kum Naheen.
India’s first PM Jawaharlal Nehru honored him on Independence Day in 1948 for his song on Mahatma Gandhi, ‘Suno suno ae duniya waalon Bapu ki amar kahani’. Mohammed Rafi was like an angel. Today, Rafi is not with us, but his melodies continue to reign over the music world. His songs today are just as popular as they were during his lifetime.
Author is Free-Lance Journalist, Writer & Cartoonist
