After the stupendous success of RAFI HOLIDAY held at Hyderabad on November 27th & 28, 2010 we are now receiving a barrage of appreciation from various Rafi Bhakts, those who personally attended this mega event and also from those who could not attend the same. Even during the two days at Dhola-Ri-Dhani and upto the time of their departure, almost all the Rafi Bhakts who came to Hyderabad from other centres have showered us with extraordinary praises. In most of their appreciation, they have not just complimented the excellent arrangements of stay, food, reception and organizing the event itself, but had emphasized more particularly on the exemplary behaviour of the Hyderabad-team which provided so much warmth to all our friends from other centres. Today, most of our members in Hyderabad are sought after by these Rafi Bhakts and they have all become the source of inspiration to many more. Hats off to your show of solidarity, of unstinted showmanship, of being a perfect host. While each of us has toiled a lot for the success of the event, some of us stole the hearts of all with their readiness to be of help and their commitment. Some names therefore, need to be mentioned for the record.
S K ELIAS : Showed his class with his exceptional singing on both days, right from the word go. Was a toast of the Rafi Bhakts who stood mesmerized with his range of vocal chords and his modest and humble nature. His down to earth approach earned him respect and many many friends and he will be talked about whenever the name of Rafi Foundation, Hyderabad Chapter is taken anywhere in the country. He has arrived with a bang. Elias spoke his heart out at the closing ceremony and thus became a darling of the crowd.
CLN Chakravarthy : This young man was ready on call for any eventuality, from making a CD of some rare gems of songs to getting the banners printed to decorating the auditorium to look after the distribution of Caps, Gifts etc. and for any work of any sort whenever required. Today morning, Faiz Ahmed wanted his mobile number and had wanted to speak to him just before they left for Kolkata. That was the impact of CLN Chakravarthy on the Rafi Bhakts. His speech at the closing ceremony drew all round applause. Exemplary presentation of yourself Chakravarthy, we have many many miles to go together in the Rafi Foundation.
K V SHARMA : Was one of the very active persons in the reception committee, and volunteered on his own to pick up friends at odd hours from railway stations. Also offered to scout for the gift items and spent considerable time in getting these organized. With Chakravarthy, was very thorough in distribution of the gift articles to all the participants. His biggest contribution was something which he did without even being prompted - that of making all those lovely badges for the participants. Very painstakingly done, very meticulously organized. Each of the Rafi Bhakt proudly sported the badge through the two-day event. A big salute to K V Sharma for such a marvelous idea and clinical execution.
S SRINIVASAN : First with a handsome monetary contribution of Rs.10,000/- and following this up with Railway Station duty to receive and transport the Chennai team so early in the morning in the company of R Padmanabhan, Srinivasan took up the mantle of being a host with all seriousness and came up trumps in the job. Imagine they had to be at the Sec'bad Railway station as early as 5.30 a.m. on the morning of 27th and it was all foggy and misty and very chilly too. Yet, Srinivasan was on his feet fully ready to be part of the RAFI HOLIDAY from that moment onwards as he did not go back even to pick up his own family and came straight to the venue with our Chennai friends. Srinivasan also did not look out for opportunities to present his songs and simply waited his turn to be called out and he finally got to sing on the second day only. I was very impressed with his singing too and in one of his songs, there were cheers and applauses all around. Great work done Srinivasan, we are proud to have members like you.
Sanjay Deshpande : Sanjay was instrumental in bringing in small but many sponsors and because of his constant focus on this aspect, we could manage our funds position. We thank Sanjay for his dedicated efforts and also all those sponsors who stood by Rafi Foundation, Hyderabad Chapter for this grand event.
Sachin Deshpande : Sachin Deshpande, barely 21 years old now, is himself no less a Rafi Bhakt. Being in a family which traditionally has been a Rafi-centric one, Sachin was therefore groomed to be a fan and a follower of Rafi Sahab. Soon after last year's Rafi Holiday at Bangalore, where the Hyderabad team lost out due to one simple mistake, Sachin had announced that he will conduct the next Antakshri and Quiz when Rafi Holiday is held at Hyderabad. Just today on another forum, the ultimate winner - H V Gurumurthy who is a veteran on hfm - went on to sing praises on the quality and depth of the questions presented by Sachin Deshpande. In his words and those of others, Sachin has done a tremendous job and while the Antakshri and Quiz may have taken a very lengthy time and was a little haphazard, we are sure that he will improve and improvize from here onwards. He must have received all the confidence now and with encouragement from all the elders, the young boy can become a genius in his Quiz presentations. All the best to him too.
The Sivarams : Today morning, Sivaram had called me up. Unperturbed with what is happening elsewhere, Sivaram is now focussed on a new activity. He would like to prepare a directory of all the Rafi Bhakts who had attended the Rafi Holiday at Hyderabad which would contain the email ids, mobile numbers, addresses and occupation details etc. Commendable idea and if he can complete this task, it would be a feather in the cap of Rafi Foundation, Hyderabad.
Sivaram himself became a toast of the Rafi Holiday and was duly rewarded with a prized momento by Jagat Tarkas from Chennai who had intended to honour exceptional finds in the Rafi Holiday. Together with his daughter Shanti, Sivaram thus was honoured for his behaviour, his commitment to music and his zeal to be happy and keep every one around happy.
Shanti was one of the many who were completely floored by the Rafi Holiday experience. She could not hide her happiness and had informed me several times during the second day how much she enjoyed. If the Rafi Holiday can bring cheer and smile to Shanti, then its objectives are achieved. One year after the last year's Rafi Holiday, Shanti is now an embodiment of total confidence in presenting her choicest of songs. The regulars of Rafi Holiday all testified to this.
R PADMANABHAN : R Padmanabhan, took upon himself to order for the prizes for the surprise round, the prizes for Antakshri and Quiz and also to shoulder his responsibilities in the Reception Committee. He was at the Railway Station to receive the Chennai Team alongwith our S Srinivasan and after making arrangements for their trip to the venue, he went back to collect these prizes and come back again. Even at the venue, R Padmanabhan was always on his feet attending to the minutest of details whenever required and mingled with the crowd to be handy to our friends from outside in case of any necessity. He joined me and N R Padmanabhan once again yesterday to see off our Bangalore friends who were leaving from Kachiguda station.
Friends, as organizers we should not be found praising ourselves. Yet, if I fail to mention the name of our President - N R Padmanabhan - I would be doing injustice to the cause of Rafi Foundation, Hyderabad. N R Padmanabhan was by my side 24 x 7, for the past three or four months. You will all recall that I was out of action since October and upto almost the first week of November after I had to attend to my dental check ups and then the sudden demise of my mother in law. It was N R Padmanabhan (NRP) who took up the mantle to speak off and on with the Dhola-ri-Dhani authorities and finalize our package. He must have been on the phone with them on alternate days and has visited their Office at Secunderabad several times. He also went to Dhola-ri-Dhani on a few occasions all by himself to attend to several loose ends. Whether finalizing the videographer or attending to his Reception Committee duties and liaising with Rafi Bhakts from other centres, NRP was always there. It is his farsightedness that has helped me also on several aspects. Many a times we both may have also disagreed on finer points but we discussed on almost a minute-to-minute basis and never did even a single sore point come in the way of marching towards the success of Rafi Holiday. His priorities have always been clear and charted out very well and he is a source of inspiration and a guiding spirit to me in most of my activities related to Rafi Holiday.
Every member who attended the Rafi Holiday has contributed monetarily too. Each of such member deserves the fullest appreciation. There are members who could not attend the Rafi Holiday and yet they have contributed for the cause of this mega event. New entrants into our fold have unfazingly contributed large sums and some of our recent friends too have given their share. A L Sreesha has contributed Rs.5,000 and was asking me the other day if he needs to contribute more. I restrained him at that point. D G N Sarma (many would ask who he is) joined us only at our last musical session and had already chipped in Rs.10,000/-. Lt. Col. TSS Prasad spoke to me on 26th November and joined us during the Rafi Holiday on 28th Nov and paid Rs.1,000/- just for the one day. These contributions beside the other contributions of large amounts of Rs.10,000/- each from A S Murty, N R Padmanabhan, R Padmanabhan, S Srinivasan, Satyendra and Samina Bano and the sponsorship amounts generated by Sanjay Deshpande have all helped in a big way in achieving our objectives and presenting the RAFI HOLIDAY in its splendour.
If there are shortcomings in the organizing the Rafi Holiday, I take all those on my name and I would give all the credit for all the success to each and every member of Rafi Foundation, Hyderabad Chapter and very ably led by N R Padmanabhan.
Three cheers, therefore, to each one of you.
A S MURTY
The Rafi Holiday lingers on.......
