Did you become a Rafisaab fan before, or after the legend passed away? Options

[sri]

My fanatical interest in hindi film music did not go unrewarded. In 1978 I had occasion to visit a recording studio where Rafi sahab was recording a new song and was introduced to him. He shook hands with me and spoke a few lines enquiring about me. Probaly the MOST MEMORABLE DAY of my life !


sri

Hi Srikantji and welcome to HF,


Thank you very much for that lovely post, can you please provide more details of that song being recorded and the others present in the studio, eg MD, lyricist, venue etc.



Thanks
Iqbal

Hi Iqbal

Here it is .... since you asked.

It was the summer of 1978 ... just before I was to take on my first job ( i had actually come to Bombay .. from Calcutta, for a job interview ) ... and one of my good friends who knew Rafi Saheb very closely took me to this recording at Mehboob Studios. We waited there for Rafi saheb to arrive. When he did, in a large imported car, a group of people went up to welcome him and bring him in. He was such a cheerful and polite person ... kept smiling at everyone. My friend took me up to Rafi Saheb. They hugged and then I was introduced to the great man as one of his big fans. He shook my hand, gave me a gorgeous smile and enquired very kindly about me.

By then it was time for the recording. It was an unnamed movie ( at that time ) and the Music Director was Ghanshyam ( who had been assistant to the great Madan Mohan ). Ghanshyam was already known for at least one good song ( 'Apni khushi se apna hi dil todna pada' sung by Lata for the film 'Kunwara Badan' 1973 ). No idea who was the lyricist for the recording i attended .... but it is likely to have been Rajinder Krishan, i think. Anyway, he was not around for the recording.

The recording started.... and I was lost in the glorious voice - pretty good tune it was too. Two recordings were made ... the second with some minor variations. No retakes ( unfortunately for me ). Such was the depth of Rafi saheb's preparation. We could hear the actual recording through some good speakers kept in the room where we waited .. just outside the recording room. When Rafi saheb emerged, I was in a trance ..... a bunch of people waiting there 'literally 'gheraoed' (surrounded) him and lavishly heaped praises on him ... wah wah Rafii saheb , kya gaaya aapne etc etc. I guess most filmi people would have lapped it all up. But not this man. He blushed, looked very uncomfortable and looked almost too shy to be hearing all this !! And this was after having attained almost 30 years of nationwide fame and popularity. I was totally amazed. I had heard good things about him ... but never expected to actually witness such humility with my own eyes. It was both a lesson for me and an eye opener about the true greatness of this man with such a fantastic voice. Truly a great person ... rare and precious.

The song rang in my ears for many many days ... i had written down the words and kept them carefully somewhere ( not to be found now ) ... and i recorded the tune in my own voice on my cheap tape recorder ( tape got spoilt ) - so that i could remember it later. Unfortunately, the film was canned .... the song never got released. I tried through my friend to trace the song ... but unsuccessfully. That little treasure has disappeared without a trace.

My only hope is that it may someday emerge from the dark recesses of my memory ( where I am sure it resides ) and will come back to me in a flash n some lucky day ! Till then, I only wonder ..... how many such songs must this man have recorded - which we are unable to hear and appreciate because the films may have been canned ?

The song may not there today. But that day is permanently etched in my memory. That visit to meet and hear Rafi Saheb ... along with a subsequent visit to Lata Mangeshkar's house.. were probably 2 good reasons why I accepted the job in Bombay ( when I was actually keen to stay in Calcutta ! )

That surely was a loong story. Hope i do not bore all you people.

sri

[myawan]

Thanks for sharing with us SRI! It was a good read.

[princeali]

My fanatical interest in hindi film music did not go unrewarded. In 1978 I had occasion to visit a recording studio where Rafi sahab was recording a new song and was introduced to him. He shook hands with me and spoke a few lines enquiring about me. Probaly the MOST MEMORABLE DAY of my life !


sri

Hi Srikantji and welcome to HF,


Thank you very much for that lovely post, can you please provide more details of that song being recorded and the others present in the studio, eg MD, lyricist, venue etc.



Thanks
Iqbal

Hi Iqbal

Here it is .... since you asked.

It was the summer of 1978 ... just before I was to take on my first job ( i had actually come to Bombay .. from Calcutta, for a job interview ) ... and one of my good friends who knew Rafi Saheb very closely took me to this recording at Mehboob Studios. We waited there for Rafi saheb to arrive. When he did, in a large imported car, a group of people went up to welcome him and bring him in. He was such a cheerful and polite person ... kept smiling at everyone. My friend took me up to Rafi Saheb. They hugged and then I was introduced to the great man as one of his big fans. He shook my hand, gave me a gorgeous smile and enquired very kindly about me.

By then it was time for the recording. It was an unnamed movie ( at that time ) and the Music Director was Ghanshyam ( who had been assistant to the great Madan Mohan ). Ghanshyam was already known for at least one good song ( 'Apni khushi se apna hi dil todna pada' sung by Lata for the film 'Kunwara Badan' 1973 ). No idea who was the lyricist for the recording i attended .... but it is likely to have been Rajinder Krishan, i think. Anyway, he was not around for the recording.

The recording started.... and I was lost in the glorious voice - pretty good tune it was too. Two recordings were made ... the second with some minor variations. No retakes ( unfortunately for me ). Such was the depth of Rafi saheb's preparation. We could hear the actual recording through some good speakers kept in the room where we waited .. just outside the recording room. When Rafi saheb emerged, I was in a trance ..... a bunch of people waiting there 'literally 'gheraoed' (surrounded) him and lavishly heaped praises on him ... wah wah Rafii saheb , kya gaaya aapne etc etc. I guess most filmi people would have lapped it all up. But not this man. He blushed, looked very uncomfortable and looked almost too shy to be hearing all this !! And this was after having attained almost 30 years of nationwide fame and popularity. I was totally amazed. I had heard good things about him ... but never expected to actually witness such humility with my own eyes. It was both a lesson for me and an eye opener about the true greatness of this man with such a fantastic voice. Truly a great person ... rare and precious.

The song rang in my ears for many many days ... i had written down the words and kept them carefully somewhere ( not to be found now ) ... and i recorded the tune in my own voice on my cheap tape recorder ( tape got spoilt ) - so that i could remember it later. Unfortunately, the film was canned .... the song never got released. I tried through my friend to trace the song ... but unsuccessfully. That little treasure has disappeared without a trace.

My only hope is that it may someday emerge from the dark recesses of my memory ( where I am sure it resides ) and will come back to me in a flash n some lucky day ! Till then, I only wonder ..... how many such songs must this man have recorded - which we are unable to hear and appreciate because the films may have been canned ?

The song may not there today. But that day is permanently etched in my memory. That visit to meet and hear Rafi Saheb ... along with a subsequent visit to Lata Mangeshkar's house.. were probably 2 good reasons why I accepted the job in Bombay ( when I was actually keen to stay in Calcutta ! )

That surely was a loong story. Hope i do not bore all you people.

sri

Thanks for sharing the story Sri.

You are very lucky to have met the genius !

[Sharad]

Sri
that was wonderful

gosh i felt what you wrote about this mohd rafi experience

[iqbal]

gosh i felt what you wrote about this mohd rafi experience

So did I and visualised,

Srikantji you are very fortunate indeed, thank you very much.

[Harold]

Same here. Reading your post was like watching a small movie.

Thanks for sharing these fine and rare thoughts. You're indeed very fortunate.

[viquar]

Bachpan se, When Rafi Sahab was amongst us

[zankib]

Tere kooche me armaanon ki duniya leke aaya hun
Tujhi par jaan dene ki tammanna leke aaya hun

Hosh sambhalte hi jo nagma pehle pahal kaan main goonja wo yehi tha.
Yahan se apna dostana aur mohabbat parvan chadi

Uske baad to

Insaan Bano-Baiju Bawra
Jaane kya dhoondhti hain-Shola aur Shabnam
Jeet hi lenge Baazi humtum-Shola aur Shabnam

se to deewangi bad gayi

Zamane ki ankhon ne-Ek baar Muskura do

-ke baad

To kayal ho gaye farishtai aur masihi awaaz ke.

[gin_ger_ale]

Like most of the mjority here, I became a fan after the legend passed away. I would have had to be born much earlier to have seen him perform:( Among the present lot of singers, I somehow do not have the urge to see them perform or even meet them:(

[imagine2001]

All Rafians, please vote - this should be interesting!

I was almost 13 when he passed away. I had just started to like his filmi music. Since I was terrible interested in classical music, I had heard his Classical gems when I was as young as 4.

So, I have been his fan before he passed away. He has been my role model erer since I heard him sing "man tarpat hari darshan" and "tu ganga ki mouj mein" what a voice, what a style. He sings a complicated piece of music so effortlessly.

I still remember the songs they played in the radio stations as a tribute to him.
"Rang Sur Noor ki Baaraat kise pesh karon" is etched in my memory. "

I have been a Rafian since I was 4.

[the_cotton_cloud]

I am one of those people who were (sadly) born after the Maestro's death, and it took a long time for me to fall in love with him. Infact I vividly remember receiving a collection of songs sung by Rafi Sahab on my 17th birthday from my cousin who was a self proclaimed fan of the man. That was over 7 years back. Much time has passed since then, but the love for the man has jus grown. He almost assumes a larger than life existence in my subconscious. I can spend hours jus listening and raving about one single song of the maestro. I'm sure its the same with the other fanatics too. But one thing that I have seen is that there are people even in our generation who are mad about Rafi Sahab. Hope this trend continues till the end of time.

As for my choice of Rafi songs, I prefer the music of SD, Roshan, Madan Mohan, OP Nayyar, Naushad etc to LP and RD. The depth of the music was much more in the golden era with the exception of Khayyam who kept on composing perfectly raag based songs even in the hopeless times of the mindless copying of Western tunes and beats by Bappi and RD; same can be said about the quality of lyrics, but for a stray Gulzar poem in the late 70s and early 80s.

I still get amused by the amazing metamorphosis of the voice of the great man over the years, from the innocent crooning in "Yahaan badla wafa ka bewafai ke siwa kya hai" to the beautifully dulcet duet with Lata (in a highly mellowed voice) for Khayyam "Simti hui yeh ghadiyan phir se na the bikhar jaayen". Both are as pleasing and appealing to the ears as any great number by the great man. The greatness was such that even in his last year of his illustrious career, he had 10 songs on the list of superhit songs of Binaca Geetmala as compared to Kishore's 2 songs. His felicity and professionalism even made very good singers seem mortals.

I hope my love for the great man keep growing at this pace.

Cheers!!!

[Guest]

Wow, man, you wrote that so beautiful!!! Good job!

[the_cotton_cloud]

Thanks for your kind compliments Sir.......
Its the plain love for the God of Music that gets me expressing myself......
Rafi Sahab has been the one stable factor in my rather uneventful life, consoling me at times, uplifting my spirits now and then, and making me feel jealous of some people who met him and enjoyed his music during his time. (His time, though, continues, and would span till the end of time. Amen.)

If he was my beloved, the one song that I would sing at every drop of a hat would be

"Khuda bhi aasmaan se jab zameen par dekhta hoga,
Mere mehboob ko kisne banaya sochta hoga"



I would love to listen to your association with the Maestro Sir.......

Thanking in anticipation....

Tanvir

[Harold]

Hi Tanvir,

I was the guest. I didn't notice that I wasn't logged on.

My post is #44 on page 3.

Rgds,
Harold

[the_cotton_cloud]

Hi Friends,

I really enjoyed reading yours posts on this subject. I will vote after my reply.
I myself also grew up listening to his voice and the voices of the other legends. I was still a kid and not so intoxicated, addicted and hooked up to his voice as I'm now, but he always was my favourite singer. So I'll vote for before.

As the years went by, I became more and more a Rafi-"deewana". He came to Holland in 1973, 1977 and 1979 (correct me if I'm wrong Roy). I'm born in 1968 and cannot remember his visit in 1973. We migrated to Holland in September 1973, so maybe we weren't living here at that moment yet.

The evening of his concert in 1977 I can remember very clear. I was 9 years old and my mother asked me if I wanted to go with her and my elder brother and sisters to the concert. Stupid me told her, that I can listen to his voice at home, so save your money. (Oelloe ke patthe!!!!!) I was told later that the concert was sold out and people even watched the concert standing. It was at the Krasnapolsky Hotel on Dam Square in the City Centre of Amsterdam.

After 2 years in 1979 I came back to sanity and went to his concert in Amsterdam at the Jaap Eden Hal. It was 27 October I believe. Almost my whole family went to his concerts. It was my first concert ever and the best and most special concert in my life. It was his last visit to Amsterdam. He was wearing a white suit and came on stage with a big smile. He smiled almost the whole concert, so much love was shining from him. He made jokes while singing. When he sang "Pardah Hai Pardah", he had a flower in his hand while singing "kisi haseen ki taraf ye gulab phaikoonga". And after the first couplet he really threw it into the audience A old lady catched it. Every was enjoying and laughing. While singing "Sar Par Topi Lal Haath Mein Reshem Ka Roemaal" He actually had a "roemaal" in his hand and was waving with it. Top of the evening was "O Duniya Ke Rakhwale". If I can remember well, he even received a standing ovation for this song. Maybe Roy can remember this as he saw all his Holland-concerts.

I had the fortune to see every legend except Mukesh, and I can say that his concert was the best I ever saw. People would really go crazy. That is something you don't often see in our culture. Most of the time you see people just gently clapping after a song. In his concerts people would whistle, cheer, laugh and applaud even during the song. The whole atmosphere was different. I think Sajjad, Roy and other members who have seen him will agree. The shy humble man became a different man on the stage. His daughter said the same to me when I met her in September. She said: "Sometimes when we would see him on stage, we'd be like: I this our Dad?"

After this concert my crazyness of him started to speed up and as the years went by, he became more and more important to me. So important that I can say that he is a part of my life, who will always be a part of my life until the last breath I breathe. I love him with whole my heart and regularly cry when I listen to his voice, or see him or think about him. He was a living miracle. A man who was excellent in every aspect of sangeet and life.

Once I had a discussion wit someone, who said that in 30 years nobody will be interested in Rafi saab anymore because they don't know him and will forget him. I said to that person: "I see that young children who are born after his death still become a fan of him without even having seen him. This man was so great that he can't be forgotten."

You guys prove that this is true and will always be the case, as long as sangeet is In the world. And I'm therefore very glad to see the "after"-group in majority.

"Zamaana jab tak gajega, Mohammed Rafi yaad ajega".

Please forgive me for the long post, but I got carried away in his remembrance.

Harold

Hi Harold ji

felt really humbled after reading your post
probably you are a bigger Fan of Rafi Sahab than me
And ofcourse you had the honour of seeing the Great one performing live, a feat which I can never achieve
I loved the detailing with which you have explained the whole concert
I hope the man was alive today, not only because I would have then won the right to see him performing, but also because he would have gotten the deserved honour of being the most loved singer (I still get the feeling that probably he died a sad man, and that his singing career received a jolt due to some MD-Singer cartels)
But our love for the man keeps growing even as we share views and songs on this amazing forum. I hope the RafiMania keeps growing stronger and the community bigger by the day, already the biggest testimony to this being most number of posts for any singer being in his name.

regards.

Tanvir