It has been 33 years since Mohammad Rafi has passed
away, but he still reigns over the hearts of people across the world. Perhaps,
a voice as magical as that of the extremely simple and humble Rafi Sahab has
never been born nor would it ever be. He used to rightly say, there is nothing
in my voice that I can call mine; it is all a blessing bestowed upon me by God!
In India which has been a poor country for many years,
films and their songs have always been the primary medium of entertainment. And
especially the old film songs from the 50s and 60s have veritably been embedded
in the hearts of the people. And in that era, the playback of nine out of 10
songs for nine out of 10 male protagonists had been sung by Rafi Sahab only. Firstly,
his sweet voice and to top it, his expressive rendition! Truly, his voice
transported his listeners from this world into a world of heavenly bliss. There
are hundreds of thousands of people who revere Rafi Sahab as God in India. Many
have even made his temples in their homes. It is solely due to his magical
voice, that today, even after 33 years of his death, musical nights are held throughout
the year in every nook and corner of India in his memory. The singer may be
anyone, the songs are inevitably Rafi Sahab’s. I don’t think the nation has
showered love in such magnitude on anyone else. Even today, his voice shares
the happiness and sorrows of millions of people.
Remembering the master of such a mesmerising voice
brings peace and contentment to my heart. Truly Rafi Sahab, the lyrics of one
of the songs you sang aptly express this truth in a few words...
Tum mujhe
yoon bhula na paoge
Jab kabhi bhi
sunoge geet mere
Sangh sangh
tum bhi gungunaoge
I salute you Rafi Sahab…!
- Deep Trivedi
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