MUSICAL SESSIONS

Sunday, the 25th May 2008 will perhaps be written in GOLDEN LETTERS for ABADRAFI.

We all met at the residence of Chandar and were witness to one of the finest days of musical sessions for a full six hours ( a half hour or so Lunch break forgiven). As told earlier, I came alongwith Mir Hasan Ali, Sanjay Deshpande, Sachin Deshpande and Mrs. Sanjay Deshpande. Padmanabhan came with M.V. Surender and Mrs. Jyothi Surender. N.R.Padmanabhan and wife came on their own. Sanjay Kulkarni, Mrs. Kshama Kulkarni and Mr. and Mrs. Dhirendranath Varma came in one lot. Raghavendra Rao came on his own. A 17 member musically minded persons assembled at the sprawling house of Chandar and what a distance it was. None seem to have minded it though.

The day simply belonged to the ladies. Mrs. Kshama Kulkarni and Mrs. Radha stole the show, sweeping us all off the ground. What a mesmerizing renditions by the two great musically gifted ladies. I remain spell bounded even now. I felt as though listening to the good old "radio" and listened mostly with closed eyes, immersed in the melody and spirit of the heavens. I hope I am not sounding too childish, but this is my feeling. Song after song, the singers brought the best in them. Chandar as usual was very adept singing with the Karaoke tunes. Dhirendranath Vermaji played the harmonium when Mrs. Kshama was not singing (she played the 'sur' herself when she sang). Sanjay Kulkarni was at his best on the tabla. Surenderji brought out the essence of KL Saigal. Mrs. Jyothi sang her heart out with Geeta Dutt numbers. Mrs. Dhirendranath Varma (I did not gather her first name) laid out a very finely composed classical song. We lost count of the songs. Padmanabhan, myself, N.R. Padmanabhan, Raghavendra Rao also sang few of our choicest songs. At one point of time, when Mrs. Jyothi was singing "Mera Naam CHUN CHUN CHUN", Mrs. Deshpande could not control herself and was trying to bring Sanjay Deshpande to dance with her. Every one present in the hall was deeply involved and each one of us enjoyed to the core.

Chandar and Mrs. Radha played the perfect host. Mrs. Radha served us a fine lunch. They were in no hurry even at around 5.00 p.m. and would have loved to see us all stay back a few more hours, but then since we all had come from far off distances and had to get back, we finally would up at that hour.

The impact of the "musical day" was so high that the very next day, I got an offer from one of us to have the "next such musical session" at their residence. A.V. Srinivasan called me up to enquire about the programme and I gave him almost the same briefing as above. He left for Chennai and would be back by the end of the month. He was keen to know if our next sitting is on 1st June (Sunday), but I told him that we will have at a little later date. Subramaniam also called me up yesterday to enquire about our session. When told that I respect him as an elder brother, Subramaniam asked me to think of him as a younger lot only and hence I am not using the usual "Ji" that I normally would attach to all elders. He is young at heart and would be with us from the next session onwards.

So friends, what I have narrated above is not an article. It is a presentation of my own feelings of such a good time that we all had spent last Sunday. I would like others to write similarly about how they felt being a part of the musical session. I am sure such writings will be a collector's item.

I must simply say thanks to all those who were present on that day and we did miss A.V.Srinivasan, S.Ramakrishna, Sunder Rajan, Samarjit Acharjee and Subramaniam.

Yesterday, a young boy (another Rafi-bhakt) was in touch with me and when told about out group sessions etc., he wanted to join us all from next time. Hopefully he will. He is Imran Mirza and I will be meeting him personally in a day or two and get all the details. I will forward his details etc. to Chandar who is painstakingly compiling the data of all our members (Sachin Deshpande will be completing the "Excel" sheet in a day or two and will forward to you Chandar).

Rest on the following Sunday i.e. 1st June, for we will surely be meeting on the next i.e. on 8th June 2008. Place and time will be decided shortly and I will keep you all posted.

राफी साहब और मेरे विचार

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We had our group's singing session at the house of A V Srinivasan from 4.00 p.m. onwards and right upto almost 9.00 p.m. As usual, Mr. Subramaniam came on the dot of 4.00 p.m. Soon, I and Sanjay Kulkarni joined them and a little later Chandar and his wife (Mrs. Radha) too came. Padmanabhan and his wife Mrs. Meenakshi and also Raghavendra Rao made up for the full gathering. Chandar does not waste any time in organising events, I must say. No sooner had they reached Srinivasan's place, he was onto to assembling the music system and the karaoke cassettes that he brought along. Once organised, the real "show" begun. Singer after singer began belting out choicest of Rafi Sahab's melodies. If there was a delay on anyone's part (while trying to choose a song or two from the books), other singers were ready. The ladies too crooned with the loveliest of melodies. Mrs Radha sang both solos as also duets with Chandar and one with Padmanabhan too. Mrs. Meenakshi sang from her repertoire - the light classical songs. Sanjay Kulkarni who came into our group for the first time too sang. We missed a few like Sunder Rajan (out of town on that day), Samarjit Acharjee (out of town), Ramakrishna (got stuck up at a family function far away) and Hasan Ali (attending to a ceremony) and Sanjay Deshpande (on training at Chennai). These members will be available in our next session. Chandar recorded all the songs and also took photographs (which he has already mailed to all). We discussed our next sitting at Chandar's place for the 25th May (Sunday), but no finality arrived. Srinivasan made excellent arrangements of snacks and soft drinks and also perfect reception in picking up Raghavendra Rao who could not find his way. He also gave elaborate directions to Chandar over the phone (Chandar is not a old hand for Hyderabad). I had no problem as Srinivasan had guided Sanjay Kulkarni so well that we landed at the former's doorstep without much ado.

On the whole a great evening enjoyed by all. We all are eagerly waiting for the next session and soon will decide on it. So until then, goodbye.

P/S :: Chandar has sent mails twice to all of us to provide him with a brief profile and most have already sent. Others too may please send the same to him. We must all have the email ids and phone numbers of one another .

दि८ मई २००८। दोस्तों, कई दिनों के बाद में आज फिर यहाँ पर उपस्थित हुआ हूँ। दरअसल पिछले १० या १२ दिनों से में काफ़ी व्यस्त रहा था। अबाद्रफी के सदस्यों के एक महफिल दो हफ्ते पहले सुंदर राजन ने आयोजित की थी जिसमे तकरीबन ८ लोगों ने शिरकत की। काफ़ी जलसा हुआ उस दिन और कोई ५० गाने गाए गए। चंदर और उनकी श्रीमतीजी एवं उनके सुपुत्र, सुब्रमण्यम, रामकृष्णा, सुंदरराजन, संजय देशपांडे और उनके सुपुत्र, पद्मनाभन व उनकी श्रीमती मीनाक्षिजी यह सभी संगीत प्रेमी वहां पर मेरे अलावा मौजूद थे। हमने यह निश्चय किया की आने वाले दिनों में हम ऐसी महफिलें और भी सजायेंगे और इन्हे और रोमांचक बनायेंगे। जो लोग उस दिन न आ सके, उन्होंने भी अगली बैठक में शामिल होने का भरोसा दिलाया। ११ मई २००८ के दिन हमने फिर ऐसी ही एक महफिल का आग्वाहन किया है और उम्मीद येही है की इस बार सभी सदस्य उपस्थित हो सकेंगे।

इस बीच एक और वेबसाइट रफी साहब के नाम पर। व्व्व। रफिफौन्देशन.कॉम जिसका कारोबार अब मुझे ही सोंपा गया है, बड़े ही ज़ोर शोर से रफी साहब के गुन गाने से बाज़ नही आ रहा। ओरकुट में भी मुझे कई रफी साहब के दीवानों से परिचय का लाभ मिला।

हमारे अगले कार्यक्रम के बाद ही फिर मिलेंगे। धन्यवाद।
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दि: १६ अप्रिल २००८

पिछले हफ्ते रफी साहब के नाम को लेकर कई शहरों में काफी कुछ देखने सुनने को मिला। मुम्बई में १२ तारीख को एक बहुचर्चित महफिल सजाई गई जिसमे कई दिग्गजों ने हिस्सा लिया। इसका पूरा ब्योरा शायद जल्द ही वेबसाइट पर आ जाए। अगले दिन यानी १३ अप्रिल को दिल्ली के रफी परवानों की बैठक हुयी और वहां की रफी फाउंडेशन के सदस्यों ने जमकर मौज मस्ती करते हुए रफी साहब के कई जाने माने गाने प्रस्तुत किए। उल्लेखनीय नामों मी एक ऐसा नाम उभर कर आया जो की नया था। ज़रीफ़ भाई ने मुझे तुरंत ही फ़ोन कर कार्यक्रम का वर्णन करते हुए बताया की "आरिफ' भाई ने बोहुत ही सुर में गया। जोरावर भाई, आशीष भाई और अन्य रफी दीवानों ने भी महफिल में खूब रंग जमाया। गुलाम मुजतबा साहब ने लाहौर से हमें कई फोटो भेजे जब वहां पर भी ऐसी ही एक महफिल का आयोजन किया गया था। ख़बर यह भी आई की केरल के कालीकुत शहर में ३१ जुली २००८ को बड़े पैमाने पर रंगारंग प्रोग्राम होगा। बंगलोर में भी अगस्त महीने में शायद १७ तारीख को एक भव्य प्रोग्राम करने वहां के रफी-दीवानों ने म्हणत शुरू कर दी है। अब बारी है हैदराबाद की, जिसके बारे में मैं रविवार के बाद कुछ कह सकूंगा।


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अप्रिल ४, २००८ :
दोस्तों, लो में फिर से हाजिर हो गया हूँ। पिछले हफ्ते मैंने कुछ पंक्तियाँ लिखीं थी और बीते हुए दिनों में काफ़ी कुछ देखने सुनने को मिला। रविवार के दिन मेरी मुलाक़ात हिन्दी में छोटे छोटे लेख लिखने वाले श्री सागर नाहर जी से हुयी। वे बिल्कुल ही सहज स्वाभाव के इंसान हैं और उनकी रूचि पुराने गानों मी मुझसे कई गुना ज़्यादा है। उनके पास कुछ समय व्यतीत करने के पश्चात् लगा की ऐसे हजारों गीत भी है जिन्हें मैंने कभी सुना तक नही। एक गीत जो उन्होंने मुझे न सिर्फ़ सुनवाया, बल्कि रेकॉर्ड तक करके दिया, वोह दिलीप कुमार साहब और लता मंगेशकर ने गाया है। गीत बोहुत ही सुरीला है और मैंने उसे अपने चंद दोस्तों को भी भेज दिया है। सागर जी के अलावा, मेरी और तीन रफी-भक्तों से फ़ोन पर बात हुयी। संजय देशपांडे, जो की मेरे पहले से ही मित्र हैं, रफी साहब के करोड़ों दीवानों में से एक है। इन्हे रफी साहब के गाए हुए तकरीबन सारे गाने मालूम है। संजय कुलकर्णी और एन आनंद भी पुराने हिन्दी फिल्मी गीतों के शौकीन हैं। अबादरफी के बारे मे मैंने इन्हे भी पूरी जानकारी दे दी है। एक और नया वेबसाइट व्व्व.रफिफौन्ड़ेशन.कॉम भी शुरू हो गया है जिसे हमारे मित्र गण बिनुजी, शिरीशजी, और ज़रीफ़ भाई चला रहे हैं। १२ अप्रिल २००८ को मुम्बई मे रफी साहब के नाम पर और एक संगीत से सजा कार्यक्रम होने वाला है और मेरी तरफ़ से और अबादरफी की ओर से इस रंगीन शाम को पहले से ही बधाई।

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२५ मार्च २००८:
काफ़ी सालों से में इस कोशिश में था के रफी साहब के लिए में क्या कर सकता हूँ। अनगिनित असफलताओं के बाद में इस योग्य बन पाया हूँ की इस ब्लॉग के माध्यम से में अपने विचार आपके अर्पित कर सकूं। मेरा हमेशा से यही मानना है के जो कुछ भी मुझे करना है वह इसी जनम में ही करना है। अगर मैंने समय नष्ट किया तो इसका पापी मेरे सिवा कोई दूसरा नही होगा। इसी तर्क के मद्दे-नज़र मैंने लिखना शूरो किया। पहल किया मैंने व्व्व.मोह्द्रफी.कॉम पर और मेरे लेख वहाँ पर छपने लगे। होसला बढ़ते ही मैंने यह ब्लॉग बनाया और मेरे द्वारा लिखे कई लेख मैंने यह पर छापे। यार दूस्तों ने प्रशंसा की पर फिर भी मन को ज्वाला भुजने को तैयार ना थी। हर रोज़ इंटरनेट पर में कम से कम पाँच घंटे बिताता हूँ और इस दौरान कोशिश यही करता हूँ की अपनी तरफ़ से में रफी साहब को एक नया तोहफा भेंट कर सकूं। कई कमियां और खामियां अभी भी नज़र में आ ही जाती हैं, पर मुझे इनसे एक नयी स्फूर्ति मिलने लगती है और नए विचार मन में आने लगते हैं। रफी साहब ने मुझ जैसे करोड़ों परवानों को ज़िंदगी भर की खुशियाँ अपने अनमोल गीतों से प्रदान की हैं और हम अपनी ओर से जितने भी उनके गुण गायें, कम ही होगा। पर इस बात को लेकर हमें बेतहाशा नही होना चाहिए। मुझे इस बात पर अत्यन्त ही गर्व है कि रफी साहब ना सिर्फ्त मेरे युग के सबसे बड़े महापुरुष थे, परन्तु वे परम देशभक्त भी थे। हम देशवासियों को उनके सपनों को साकार करने में हर सम्भव योगदान देना चाहिए।
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आगे अगले सप्ताह.....

रफी साहब का अपना निवास-स्थान


जी हाँ, आप चाहें तो वाकई में इस स्थान को रफी साहब का निवास स्थान बना सकतें हैं ! हर रोज़ आप इस द्वार पर आयें और अपने लेखों से इन पन्नों को सुशोभित करें ! चन्द दिनों में ही आपको महसूस होगा कि सुचमुच ही रफी साहब हम सब के बीच में ही निवास कर रहे हैं।
आप अपने लेख मुझे मेरे ईमेल : रफिमुर्ति@जीमेल.कॉम पर भेज सकतें हैं और मुझे यकीनन बोहत ही खुशी होगी इन्हे यहाँ पर सजाने में।
धन्यवाद

GREAT PERSONALITY

GREAT PERSONALITY AND GREAT RESPECT




BY SHASHANK CHICKERMANE


A great man is one who has a great following. Several names of great human beings come up in our mind and the sheer following that they command is a true testimony to their greatness.

Hindi film world and music has produced hundreds of such great men and women, who have been or are still household names and the country is proud of them all. And one such tall and towering personality is known by the name MOHAMMED RAFI SAHAB. Such is the aura attached to this great name that his name will rank first and foremost as long as music is discussed by all lovers of Hindi film music.


However, all ‘great’ people depart earlier than expected and Rafi Sahab suddenly bid adieu to the shock of millions of grief stricken and shell-shocked followers throughout the world. 31st July 1980. A black day indeed. It was on this day that we lost a great legend and a great playback singer Mohd Rafi Sahab.

However, we as a civilized society also continue to shower our respects to all our noble and great personalities by celebrating their birth anniversaries and mourn their death anniversaries. Although 27 years have elapsed since Rafi Sahab’s departure, fans throughout the length and breadth of the country as also overseas celebrate his birth anniversary and death anniversary paying floral tributes. At many centres, programmes are held in auditoriums by various groups remembering the beauty of Rafi Sahab’s songs. If at a centre the ‘evening’ is titled as “RAFI KI YADEIN”, it is aptly called “EK SHAM RAFI KE NAAM”.

I came across this wonderful news item that was published in the “Rajasthan Patrika” reporting news of the birthday celebration of Rafi Sahab at the Patliputra International Trade Fair organized by a school “The Miller”. They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Look for yourself at the photograph below -


In one of the school named “The Miller” one trade fair was organized in this school maiden called Patliputra International Trade Fair, they organized Mohdrafi’s anniversary. The school children and the teachers along with the authorities were seen feeding cake to the late singer mohdrafi’s photo and it was greatness to this legends respect from the school children.



Just by a fleeting glance at the picture I had a feeling that we should report such activities on the website for the benefit of all Rafians. And we should do similar activities in other cities too. I have earlier informed A S Murtyji and Shirish Kulkarniji about a procession in my native place – Dharwad - every year on the birth and death anniversary of Rafi Sahab with his photo sprinkled with flowers. What a great respect from the people of Dharwad. I wanted to express this with great respect that Mohd. Rafi Sahab is there with us and will be there forever till this world ends.

I request all the Rafians to report similar activities from their towns or cities so that we are benefitted with this kind of information and the Rafi Foundation should chronicle them for the forthcoming issues of their magazine.

HIS MAJESTY'S VOICE

HIS MAJESTY’S VOICE

By A S MURTY (asmurty2@rediffmail.com, rafimurty@gmail.com)

POSTED ON www.eternalrafi.com & www.rafi.co.in

Among the many boisterous fast songs sung by Mohd. Rafi Sahab, one song stands out as kingly as any can be. That song is the title song from the film RAAJKUMAR – Jaane Wale Zara Hoshiyar Yahan Ke Hum Hain Raajkumar. The song is picturised on the return of the prince to his kingdom from studies abroad and is so wonderfully picturised that one feels totally immersed in the sequence of events. Shammi Kapoor, the prince is atop a fully bedecked royal elephant, what with an entire band of trumpeteering band and scores of royal guards and aides in attendance. The setting is perfect for a royal entourage – the costumes, the glittering ornaments, the perfect lyrics and the fast paced music. The icing on the cake is once again the magical and shahanshahi rendering by Rafi Sahab. “Hoshiyaar, Hoshiyaar” echoes through the vast surroundings and through the entire route that the princely journey takes the viewers along. There is this ‘couldn’t care less’ attitude and a subtle message for the world that when a prince is taking a walk, the lesser beings beware. And lest anyone undermine the ‘king in the making’, he yells “Yahan Ke Hum Hain Raajkumar”. The subjects are reminded that the royalty affords him the centre-stage and that he has armies in front and at the back.

The first stanza proclaims that their ‘prince’ has toured the world and knows the “American” and “European” misdemeanors well enough. And dares anyone to come forward to test and be conquered. “Saari Duniya mein apni jaykaar” the prince emphatically declares. The second ‘antara’ gives the message that youthfulness and romanticism is with HIM alone and that HIS life story is fully colourful. The flow of masti and enjoyment is found in all the syllables and notations. The mood is of exuberance and celebration. One would notice that the frequent shouts of “OYE OYE” is there in all the three stanzas, but reaches a crescendo in the final stanza, where instead of these, the prince shouts it differently and in a reverberating fashion. The throwing of words in such ‘THHAT” and “DHOOM” cannot be found in any other song in such majestic manner. The prince has arrived and a future ‘KING’ is identified. LONG LIVE THE KING. LONG LIVE HIS MAJESTIC VOICE. That is Mohammed Rafi Sahab who cannot be replaced with anyone else when it comes to proclaiming one’s kingdom. The territory is well defined and he is the master of his subjects. And a king who is revered by his subjects, loved by the royalty and his royal army.

The song is therefore among the number one spot by all standards when it comes to boisterous and royal attitude. Take the other hits from the films of Shammi Kapoor – for instance the Junglee “Yahoo” (full throated yelling at the very best) and An Evening in Paris number – Aasman Se Aya Farishta (again the opening lines roaring from the sky above). They and many other songs are so highly placed songs that no singer would even dare to come near them, leave alone rendering them in such high voltage. But, this royale song from Rajkumar has the combination of all the high pitch and fast paced notes and the princely air around it that it cuts the winner’s tape easily, relegating many from such clan to be only ‘good competitors’.

I have often felt deeply distressed after Rafi Sahab’s departure in 1980 and could never relish the songs that came afterwards sans his voice. We have everything in life - a family, a source of income, children, friends - yet somewhere something was always missing. And that missing link is the unfathomable and the golden voice of Rafi Sahab. Often my thoughts brought me to a popular Urdu couplet : “TERE BAGAIR KISI CHEEZ KI KAMI TOH NAHIN, TERE BAGAIR TABIYAT UDAAS RAHTI HAI”. But then just as soon as these thoughts come and I listen to a few songs from Rafi Sahab’s collection that I have, the cheer returns back. I am sure most RAFIANS go through such phases each day in their lives. And between these thoughts, the princely feeling of being from such a royal descendancy creeps in yelling – YAHAN KE HUM HAI RAJKUMAR. Surely, we the RAFIANS have inherited the heritage of a kingdom, which is not the privilege of many more, and we are proud of the same.

RAFI FOUNDATION - HYDERABAD CHAPTER

THE RAFI FOUNDATION AT HYDERABAD

BY A.S. MURTY
(asmurty2@rediffmail.com)

Posted on www.mohdrafi.com and www.eternalrafi.com
and also available on my other blog:http://rafimurty.rediffiland.com/


Since the time the Rafi Foundation got going at Mumbai, followed by its Delhi Chapter’s birth, we at Hyderabad were mulling over the idea of forming the Hyderabad Chapter. Likeminded persons got to know one another through the pages of http://www.mohdrafi.com/ and also names of probable contacts were forwarded to us from Mumbai and Bangalore. It was by chance that I got to know first Mr. P. Narayanan from Bangalore on the website.

I had all along known only the songs of Rafi Sahab and was influenced since my own childhood by the uniqueness of this legendary singer. While I liked any good composition with good lyrics rendered in a class of its own by any singer, Rafi Sahab scored over the rest by his clarity, diction, softness and full of zeal and emotion in his songs. Such was the impact of his rendition that I had never the difficulty in understanding the mood of the song. Rafi Sahab conveyed it all through his voice. One need not see the movie from which a song was rendered. There it was for the entire world to relish the efforts put in by the producers, the directors, the story writers, the lyricists, the music directors and above all the actors. The entire picture is before our eyes – only the singer had to be Rafi Sahab.

It was through Mr. Narayanan Ji that I first got to know of the Rafi Foundation and its proposed activities. I was immediately drafted into this. I had no hesitation to announce my association with the Rafi Foundation. Slowly as we went about reading the various articles on the website and interacting with other “RAFIANS”, we got to know and understand more of our own tribe. Several notable names crop up in my mind – Mr. H.V. Gurumurthyji, Mr. B. Venkatadriji, Mr. Mohan Floraji, Mr. P. Haldarji, Mr. Hussein Sheikhji, Mr. Binu Nairji, etc. etc. It would take another twenty to twenty-five names if I were to name all the very active RAFIANS on the website. Mr. Narayanan introduced me to Mr. S. Ramakrishnaji, also from Hyderabad and we had a long conversation. Instantly we hit it off as I found to my pleasant surprise that Mr. Ramakrishna was not only an ardent fan of Rafi Sahab, but also a very vocal one. He is endowed with the best of musical knowledge. I started discussing these and other articles with my other two known RAFIAN friends Mr. R. Padmanabhan and Mr. A.V. Srinivasan who are my colleagues too. Then we learnt that another good friend of ours, Mr. N.R. Padmanabhan, too was a die-hard fan of Rafi Sahab. This was too good to be true. In my own backyard, I suddenly found an avalanche of Rafi Sahab’s fans – all with equal or more knowledge of Hindi film world, Rafi Sahab’s songs, etc. The first thing that we five did was to subscribe to the SARGAM magazine published by the Rafi Foundation from Mumbai. It was during the publication of the magazine’s first issue last year that we came in contact with Mr. Shirish Kulkarni. Again, the very first phone conversation that I had with Mr. Shirish Kulkarni, I knew that we had discovered a new friend who is equally devoted to the one name that we all adore – Mohammed Rafi Sahab.

We continued our socializing on the website and also through regular emails and phone calls between Hyderabad on one side and Bangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, New Delhi and other places on the other. I personally have made the best of friends in the recent times and all with a common agenda – that of propagating the works of Rafi Sahab. Though on the wrong side of the 50s, we decided not to let go of this wonderful phase in our lives and we began organizing our own meetings in Hyderabad. If on one Sunday all my other Hyderabadi “RAFIANS” would come to my house, we would all assemble at Mr. Ramakrishna’s house the next Sunday. We would spend a few hours singing songs of Rafi Sahab and also discussing how to expand our horizon. Again our friends Mr. Narayanan and Mr. Shirish Kulkarni gave us several “leads” of “Rafians” and we were on the phone the next moment contacting them, often with success. Most of the other “Rafians” may not be very active, but it does not dwarf their commitment to the common agenda that we have ahead of us.


And then came one of the best moments in our path so far, in the form of visit to Hyderabad by Mr. Shirish Kulkarni alongwith his friend from Mumbai Mr. Joseph D’Souza on a personal visit. They had however kept one full day for us before they left for a remote area on their personal work for the next two days. 25th January, 2008 was a day we will remember for all time to come. That day we had decided to assemble in the hotel room occupied by Mr. Shirish and Mr. Joseph. We rang up to other friends and we were also joined in by Mr. Mir Hasan Ali and Mr. Raghavendra Rao. It would be a record of sorts if I state here that we were all huddled up in that room on that day from 2.00 p.m. to 11.00 p.m. and all through we were singing Rafi Sahab’s songs and discussing the Rafi Foundation, the Bharat Ratna Award and other “RAFIANS” known to us. No one bothered about food, we were only interested in Rafi Sahab’s songs and his style of singing. Just an occasional cup of tea every few hours would suffice. No one bothered that each one of us had to go very long distances to reach our homes. Only one topic was central in our minds – RAFI SAHAB. Our families too did not ‘disturb’ us enquiring when we will return home. They all knew only Rafi Sahab will let us go and at an appropriate time. During the time we spent at the hotel room, Mr. Narayanan from Bangalore, Mr. Shashank Chickermane from Mumbai, Mr. Zareef Ahmed from New Delhi and others spoke to each of us. Names that were not known to one another only a few months back seemed so familiar and from within the family. This is the magic of Rafi Sahab. Bonds were created for eternity from the one and only – THE ETERNAL RAFI SAHAB.

And just as Rafi Sahab would have said “Ek Akela Thhak Jayega, Milkar Haath Baddhana, Saathi Haath Baddhana, Saathi Haath Baddhana”, we all took the solemn oath of working together to form the HYDERABAD CHAPTER of the RAFI FOUNDATION. A suitable name for this organization would be discussed shortly.
I and Mr. Ramakrishna have been contacting many more RAFIANS here in Hyderabad and the strength is swelling. Mr. Samarjeet Acharjee (just 27 years of age) is the latest entry into our fold (he has been a RAFIAN all his life and has even posted an article on http://www.eternalrafi.com/). There are several other plans in our mind and the following months will unfold them all.


TOHFA WOH MILA MUJHE, JISPAR DUNIYA KO NAAZ HAI
SAARE JAHAN SE KHOOBSORAT, RAFI TERA ANDAAZ HAI

Khush Rao Ahale Chaman...

Khush Raho Ahle Chaman...



By Administrator, on 21-01-2008 12:48

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Published in : About Rafi Sahab, Media Talks



The following article was published in Filmi Kaliyaan in October 1980 edition, it has some rare photographs from Rafi sahab's last journey to the heavens above. Can't thank Samarjit Acharjee (from Hyderabad) enough for providing the scanned copy of the article and Aseer bhai for taking so much pain to transliterate (convert from devnagri script to english script) the entire article which is in Hindi. Read the article with a pinch of salt, because it may not be factually correct, we have not modified its content and hence any error in the reported facts or incidence is soul responsibility of the original author for the Fimli Kaliyan Magazine, and by publishing the same we do not endorse any of the discrepancies in the article.



Playback Singing ke Sehenshah


Mohammed Rafi ki mrityu 31st july ko raat ke 10 bajkar 25 min par Bombay hospital me hui. Ussse pahle jab unke dil me dard utha tha to unhe Mahim par National Hospital laya gaya. Jab unka dil puuri tarah se block ho gaya to unhe pace making ke liye Bombay hospital le aaya gaya jahan doctor ki koshish unhe bacha na saka.

Mrityu ke samay unke 3 ladke, ek ladki aur damad London me the. Unki patni, ek anya ladki aur damad aur kuchh anya rishtedar mrityu ke samay unke bistar ke paas maojud the.

Jaise hi 10 bajkar 25 min ke baad unki mrityu ka samachar aaya to badi badi filmi hastiyan hospital ke or daud pade. Jahan se unka shab unke nibassthan bandra laya gaya aur subah Mohammed Rafi ke bandra niwas par hazaron log jama ho chuke the. Jinme raj kapoor, dharmendra, vinod mehra, randhir kapoor saira banu; gayikaon me lata mangeshkar, asha bhosle, usha mangeshkar, kishore kumar, sulakshana pandit aur sangeet karon me naushad , kalian ji anand ji, laxmikant pyareal ullekhniya hain.

Lata mangeshkar, asha bhosle aur usha mangeshkar ne unke shab malayein chadhakar unhe antim samman diya. Saira banu ke saath unki maa nasima ne bhi mohammed rafi ke shab par mala chadhai. Mohammed Rafi ke niwas par jo filmi hastiyan nazar aa rahe theunme Bombay ka sheriff dilip kumar aur manoj kumar ka naam ullekhniya hai.

Yojna ke anusar unki shab yatra London se unki 3 bete, ek beti aur damad ke aane ke baad shuru hona tha- lekin woh chuki shukrabar ko pahuch nahi sakte aur ramzaan ka shukrbaar shubh samjha jata hai isliye agle agle roz tak unka intezaar karne ka soch chhod diya gaya. Unka janaza jiske saath rishtedaron aur filmi hastiyan ke atirikt hazaron logon ki bhi bhid this pahle unhe unke niwas se bandra ki jama masjid tak le aaya gaya. Jahan shukrabar dopahar ke namaaz ke baad namaz a janaza ada ki gayi. Barish ke bawajud masjid par hazaron logon ki bhid thi. Wahan se janaza do baje nikala gaya aur unka safar juhu ke kabristanki taraf shuru hua. Kabristan se masjid koyi 6 kilometer hai. Mohammed rafi ka shab truck me rakha hua tha jiske saath saath hazaron log chal rahe the. Aakhir unki shab yatara 4 baje wahan pahuchi. Ek baar to bhid itni badh gayi ke police ko halka lathhi charge karna pada. Bahut sare log pedon par aur chaton par khade hue the taaki wahan se mohammed rafi ka antim darshan achchi taah se kar paye. Bhid us waqt niyantran ke baha hui jab filmi hastiyan kabristan me aana shuru kiya. Kabrstan me maujood hastiyon me jasraj, dilip kumar, raj kapoor, sunil dutt, rajendra kumar, sanjib kumar, , amitabh bachchan, binod khanna, randhir kapoor, amjad khan, kader khan, rakesh oshan; music directo naushad, salil chowdhury, sudhir phadke, rabindra jain, kalian ji –anand ji, rajesh roshan, laxmikant pyarelal, S mohinder, gulshan bahl, sardul kwarta; gayak mahendra kapoor, nitin mukesh; geetkaar rajendra krishan, qamar jalalbadi, anjaan, hasrat jaipuri, bharat vyas; nirmata OP ralan, yash chopra, ramanand sagar, subhas desai, manohan desai, prakash mehra, nasir hussain, SM rahi aur ved rahi nazar aa rahe the.

Mohammed Rafi ke mrityu ke baad lata mangesgkar ne kaha ki kundan lal sehgal ki mrtiyu ke baad Mohammed Rafi ne unki jagah bhar diya tha, woh ghazal, geet, qawali,bhajan,lokgeet har prakar ke geet ga sakte the.

Yeh this hai , KL sahgal ki jagah Mohammed Rafi jaise gayak ne bhar diya. Kyunki jab kundan lal sahgal ki mrityu hui thi to Mohammed Rafi jaisa gayak tha jo har prakar ki geet ga sakta tha lekin Mohammed rafi ki mrityu ke saath lagta hai ki filmon se sangeet ka yug hi samapt ho gaya hai. Aaj ek bhi gayak aisa nazar nahi aata jo unki jagah le sake.

Unpar kundan lal sahgal zikr aaya hai to mujhe ek ghatna yaad aa gayi. Lahore me George the 6th ke tajposhi ke khushiyan manayi ja rahi thi, us awsar par wahan eke k sangeet samaroh ayojit kiya gaya tha, jiska incharge pyarelal sood the. Us samaroh me kundan lal sahgal aanewale the. Mohammed rafi ke bhai ne pyarelal sood ko kaha tha ki unka bhai Mohammed Rafi bahut achcha gata hai use bhi us samaroh me gane ka maoka diya jaye. Pyarelal sood ne ne kaha main wada nahi karta lekin tum use lekar aa jana.

Mohammed Rafi itni si baat se hi khush the ki chalo mahaan gayak sahgal ko dekhne ka awsar milega. Pahle geet sunkar sahgal ne kaha, ladka achcha gar aha hai,gaane do. Dusra geet sunkar sahgal ne kaha fir milenge aur unka fir milne ka wada bhi jaldi hi pura ho gaya. Uske baad woh film shahjahan me mile jisme Rafi aur sahgal ne saath gaya tha.

Mohammed rafi ko bachpan se hi gane ka sauk tha.lekin unhe gane ka shauk kaise hua tha ye bhi dilchasp kahani hai aur jiska zikr ab tak Hindustan ke kisi newspaper me nahi hua. Ya aap sarv pratham filmi kaliyan me padhenge. Yeh baat mohammed Rafi ne bahat pahle ek interview me bataya tha.

Yahan hum aapko ye bhi bata de ke unka janm 24 dec 1924 ko Amritsar ke kotla sultan singh me hua tha. Jis muhalle me wo rahte the wahan ek faqir bhikh mangne aaya karta tha aur gaa kar bhikh manga karta tha. Mohammed Rafi uskiawaz sunkar hi ghar se bahar aa jate the. Ab tak wo faqirwahan bhikh mangta tha, woh unke saath rahte the. Bas wohi se unhe gane ka shauk hua.

Us faqir ki sangat me hiunhe gane ka shauk hua. Nahi to unke pariwr me gane ki koi riyayat nahi thi. Mohammed Rafi ki pratibhak ko prtosahan me unke bhai hamid ka bahut bada haath raha, jinhone unhe ustad wahid khan aur ustad jawahar lal matto se milwaya. Mohammed Rafi ne unki shagirdi ki. Badi lagan se sangeet ka addhyan kiya.

Yeh us jamane ki baat hai, jab mook filme bana karti thi, lekin! Jab rafi kishor avastha mein hi the to filmone bolna bhi suru kar diya. Aalamara san 31 me bani aur usme pahla geet dablu am khan ne gaya gaya tha, dey dey khuda ke naam par. Mohammed rafi ko film ke liye gane ka pahla avsar Punjabi film ‘gul baloch’ me mila. Gana tha, sohniye ni hiriye ni.

Un dino rafi apne bhai ko lekar sangeet karyakramo me jate rahte the. Jaaladhar ke ek mele me wah muhammad rafi ko le gaye jo kundan lal sahgal ka sahar tha. Us sehar ke log us mele me mohammed rafi ki awaz par mugdh ho gaye. Vahin abhineta Nazir jo swarnalata lata wali laila majnu ke hero the ne unhe suna aur rafi ki awaz se itne prabhawit huye ki unhe bambai ane ka nimantran de diya. Yun sangeetkar naushad ka kahna hai ki mohammed rafi unke naam luckhnow se unke rishtedaar ki chitthi lekar aaye the. Vah yeh baat san 31-32 ki batate hain. Ho sakta hai rafi ke bhai hashim ne naushad ke sambandhi ka patra prapta kar liya ho, lekin 31-32 mein 24 ke paida huye rafi ki umr kya hogi. Ho sakta hai naushad sahib ko san theek se yaad na raha ho. Kyonki un dino talki shuru hi hui thi aur 31-32 me naushad sahib ka koi khash mukaam nahi tha. Haan san 41 ke lagbhag unhone rafi ko ‘pahle aap’ me gane ka avsar diya tha. Yah film kardar ne banayi thi. Kardar ko lahore se bhagkar bambai aana pada tha, kyonki unhone wohaan bahaar akhtar ko lekar ek film banayi thi. Bahar akhtar ke ghar walon ne kardar par ladki bhagane ka ilzam lagaya tha aur woh film ke negative jalakar bambai aa gaye the. Bahar akhtar aur sardar akhtar do bahnein thi, jinme bahar kardar ki patni bani aur sardar ne mehboob khan se vivah kiya tha.

’Pahle Aap’ se pahle rafi ne film ’laila majnu’ me koras gaya tha. Us film ke sangeetkar the pandit govind ram. Us korus me mohammed rafi saadharan gaayak the aur mukhya gaayak the mastan. Om shivpuri ke bhai. Ab kudrat ka khel dekhiye, jab ke. Aasif ne ’laila majnu’ par love and god shusu ki to usmein bhi ek korus rakha gaya aur us koras me mohammed rafi mukhya gaayak the aur mastan saadharan gaayak. Shuru-shuru me mohammed rafi ko saadharan gaayak ke roop me bhi gana pada. Bombay talkies ki film majdoor ke korus me mohammed rafi ne gaaya tha. Iska rahasyodghatan sangeetkar chitragupt ne kiya tha. Kyonki majdoor ke us geet me woh mohamemd rafi ke saath the.

Mohammed rafi ko pahli baar lokpriyata mili film ‘jugnu’ se. Is film me unhone ’woh apni yaad dilane ko rumaal purana chhod gaye.’ Wale geet me dilip kumar ke saath abhinay bhi kiya tha. Yehaan badla wafa ka bewafai ke siwa kya hai aur muhabbat karke bhi dekha muhabbat me bhi dhokha hai, geet ke saath unki prasiddhi pure desh me phail gayi thi.

Yehaan yah batana bhi ullekhniye hoga kee jis film mein Mohammed rafi ne pahli baar sehgal ke saath gaya tha, usi film mein naushad ke liye sehgal ne bhi pahli baar gaya tha. Uske baad naushad ke sangeet nirdeshan mein rafi lagaatar gate rahe. Yehaan mujhe film ’shaheed’ yaad ati hai. Is film mein mohammed rafi ne ek geet gaya thaa, watan ki raah mein watan ke naujawaan shaheed ho.

Jab dilip kumar ki bahen ne woh geet suna tha to woh hichkiyaan le kar rone lagee thi.

Mohammed rafi apne geeton me apni bhavnayein bhar dete they.

Yehaan mujhe film ‘baiju bawra’ yaad aati hai. Us film ka ek geet tha, ‘oh dunia ke rakhwale sun dard bhare mere nale’, is geet me praan dalne ke liye mohammed rafi ne apne prano ki parwaah nahi ki thi.

Shaayad aaj bahut kam log jante hain kee yeh geet gaate huye mohammed rafi ke gale se khoon aa gaya tha, us ek udahran se yah pata chalta hai kee woh kisi bhi geet ko gane ke liye kitni mehnat karte the. Jo bhi gate they, uski ‘perfection’ ke liye jaan ki baazi laga dete they.

Aisi he ek ghatna mughale aazam ke gete ki recording par hui thi. Aye muhabbat zindabad mein unhone apni aawaz ko jitna uncha uthaya hai kya koi utha sakta hai, lekin us aawaz ko itna uncha uthate-uthate woh swayam behosh ho gaye they.

Aaj kla ke prati aisa samarpan kya kisi gaayak mein hai?

Kya dunia ke itihaash me koi aisa gaayak milega. Jisne apne 35 varsha ke filmi jeevan me 26000 geet gaye hon. Woh hindi fimlo ka ek house hold naam ban gaye the. woh bhaarat ke sangeetmay jeevan ka ek atoot hissa ban chuke the. jo 26000 geet unhone gaye hain. Woh shaadi-vyaah, maut, such-dukh, har avsar par logon ko mohammed rafi ki yaad dilate rahenge. Shaadi me ladki ki vidayi ke samay babul ki duaayein leti ja, ja tujhko sukhu sansar mile, sunkar kiska dil nahi bhar aayega. Jeevan ka aisa koi bhi avsar nahi jiske liye mohammed rafi ka record na ho. Koi bhi aisi bhavna baaki nahi bachi jisse unhone apni aawaz se abhivyakt na kiya ho.

Sabse badi vidambana to yah hai kee aaj hindi filmon me ek bhi aisa gaayak nahin hai jo mohammed rafi ki jagah le sake aur aaj har darshak ek hi sawaal puchhta hai kee mohammed rafi ke baad kaun? Ek zamane me mahendra kapoor ne unki jagah lene ki koshish ki thi, lekin mohammed rafi se milti-julti aawaz hone ke baavjood use na sahir ke geet aur na hi ravi ka sangeet aur na lata ka saath hi mohammed rafi bana paya aur na hi anwar hi mohammed rafi ban sakta hai. Kyonki mohammed rafi se milti-julti aawaz se hi koi mohammed rafi nahi ban sakta, uske liye saadhna ki jaroorat hai. Kya koi gaayak itni mehnat kar sakta hai kee woh dunia ke rakhwale, gaate-gaate woh apne mohammed rafi ki tarah apne gale ka khoob bhi baha de. Kya koi aawaz ko upar uthane ke liye mohammed rafi ki tarah behosh hua hai.

Kya aaz koi aisa gaayak hai jo mohammed rafi ki tarah sada aur paak jeevan jee sake. Filmi dunia mein rah kar bhi vivadon se door rah sake. Jab woh is dunia se gaye to unka daaman paak thaa. Unke charitra par ek bhi daag aur dhabba nahi tha.

Yah mohammed rafi ki saadhna hi thi kee woh jeevan bhar lokpriya rahe. Nahi to talat mahmood jitney achhe gaayak they. Unhe ghazalon ka badshah kaha jata hai, lekin unki lokpriyata unke jeevan mein hi khatm ho gayi, kyonki woh mohammed rafi ki tarah har prakar ke gaane nahi gaa sakte the. mukhesh bhi mrityu se pahle ek baar gumnami ke daur me chale gaye the. raha kishore kumar to uska shor bhi mohammed rafi ki jagah nahi le sakta. Us kai baar khud apne liye mohammed rafi ki aawaz udhaar leni padi.

Ab to aisa lagta hai, sehgal aur mohammed rafi jaise gaayakon ka daur ab nahi aa sakta.


Dilip Kumar

Mohammed rafi aadmiyon me ek heera the, jinki vinamrata aatma-prabhavit vaiyavhaar ne unhe desh videsh me lokpriya bana diya tha.

Naushad

Main yah dawa nahi karunga kee maine mohammed rafi ke career mein uski sahayata ki, balki mohammad rafi ne meri aise bahut se geet gaakar meri khyati ko padhava diya jo sirf wahi ga sakte the.

Lata Mangeshkar
sangeet ka ek yug ke. Al. Sehgal ki mrityu ke baad samapt hua aur ek mohammed rafi ki mrityu ke saath samapt ho gaya. Yah mera saubhagya hai kee mujhe 33 varsha tak unka saath mila. Gaayak aate rahenge, jate rahenge lekin mohammed rafi ko humesha yaad kiya jayega.

Talat Mahmood
mohammed rafi ramzan ke dino me khuda ko pyare huye, woh bhi satrahvein rojey ko, jisse yah siddha hota hai ki woh insano ko hi nahi khuda ko bhi pyare they.

Manna Dey
jis taraf mohammed rafi geeton ko apni bhaavnaon se bhar dete they, uska koi muqabla nahi.

Mahendra Kapoor
jab mere pita ki prityu hui thi to maine mehsoosh kiya tha kee rafi saahab hi mere pita hain, kamsekam sangeet mein. Lekin ab unki mrityu ke saath main apne aapko anaath mahsoosh kar raha hoon.

R. Kaushik
woh mahaan gaayak hi nahi mahaan insaan bhi the. Unhone kabhi jindagi me kisi ko ’na’ nahi ki. Main aise bahut sare chhote nirmataon aur sangeetkaron ko janta hoon, jinke geet woh naam maatra ki rashi lekar gaa dete they, balki kai baar muft bhi.

Manoj Kumar
mohammed rafi ki mrityu par yah baarish dekhkar mujhe lag raha hai, ki yah baarish nahi devi saraswati ke aansoon hain.