.. Today is the death anniversary of Muhammad Rafi - voted unanimously as the greatest singer in Indian Film music of 20th century.
With classical training and God gifted voice which has pitch and surs that surpassed all his rivals and the ones who came after him he is the king in HIndian film music. Inthis presnt state of copy cating of westerm music and diversion og our eastern music which has such soothness its amazing that Rafis’s songs are on air 24 hrs a day from many radio stations in the world..
I had this article and want to share with u on this occasion..
PADMA SHREE MOHAMMED RAFI
SABHI SE JUDA JISKI ANDAZ HAI
JAMI TA FALAK JISKI PARVAZ HAI
WAHI JISPE SANGEET KO NAAZ HAI
MOHD. RAFI KI WO AAWAZ HAI
Mohd. Rafi was born on the 24th of December, 1924 in kotla sultanpur, a small
town in Punjab (now part of the Punjab province of Pakistan).
Interested from childhood in music, he obtained formal training in classical
music from Ustad Khan Abdul Wahid Sahab.
K.L. Saigal once said to him “Rafi the magic of your voice will be
recognized by this whole world”. Rafi’s recollection of that meeting
in his own words “When Saigal was tapping me on my head I felt that the
lord himself was giving me the keys to his kingdom”.
His first break into the world of films came in 1940 when he sang for the
punjabi film ‘Gulbaloch’. The music director was Shyam Sunder and the song
was “Suniye Hiriye ni, teri yaad ne bahut sataya..”. This song went on to
become a hit. It was under Shyam Sunder again that he sang for his first
hindi film in 1944. The film was ‘Gaon ki gori’.
His debut as a singer for Dilip Kumar came in Shaket Hussein’s film
‘Jugnu’. The song was “Yaad dilane ko ek ishaq ki duniya chod gaye..”,
but it was another song from the same film sung with Noor Jehan that
became a hit “Yahan badla wafa ka bewafai ke siva kya hai..”. The
popularity of this song put Rafi’s singing career on a firm footing.
To add to the list, this was also the film in which Rafi had a small
acting part.
His great moment arrived in 1947 when he was asked to sing Rajinder
Krishan’s song depicting the life of Mahatma Gandhi. “Suno Suno
ae duniya walo bapuji ki amar kahani..”.
That same year, he was also invited by Jawaharlal Nehru to sing at his
house and next year on the anniversary of the independence day he
received a silver medal from Nehru.
In 1965 he was awarded the title of Padma Shree by the Indian Government.
It was said in the world of Bombay’s film industry that no one had
ever heard of a music director saying that a particular song was not
Rafi’s type. From classical tunes, gazals, quawalis to the wild Shammi
Kapoor songs, Rafi’s range was fantastic.
Almost all music directors used Rafi’s voice to give life and a
magical quality to their tunes. Rafi used to be concerned about the
actors for whom the songs were recorded and went to great lengths to
change his style to suit the actor and the scene. Johnny walker recalled
the days when Rafi spent time with him trying to match his singing with
the actor’s style, accent and pronunciation.
Shanker Jaikishen the unquestioned masters of hindi film music used
the talents of Rafi for a host of their films. The song “Baharo
phool barsao, mera meheboob aaya hai…” went on to win an award.
However it was his association with Naushad that produced some of his
greatest songs. Rafi who was a devout muslim refrained from
smoking and drinking alcohol. His neat appearance, mild manners,
timely arrival at recording studios endeared him to Naushad. This
association flowered at its peak in the music for ‘Baiju Bawra’.
On hearing about his death Naushad said “For those who say that I helped
Rafi in his career, I would say that I only showed him a way. It was
his voice that enriched my music. The void left by his death cannot be
filled. Yes that is impossible.”
Raj kapoor’s reaction on hearing the news about Rafi’s death “In the world
of music, the uncrowned king of singing has left us”.
KIS KAAM KI YE DUNIYA
JO JINDAGI SE KEHLE RE
HUM KO BHI SAATH LE LE
HUM RAHE GAYE AKELE