Last update: 28-09-2008 10:14

The native village of Mohammed Rafi near Amritsar is doing its bit to keep the memories of the legendary playback singer alive by developing a park to be named after him. As the 28th death anniversay of Rafi falls on Thursday, his village Kotla Sultan Singh remembers its greatest hero, whose name will always be among one of India's greatest singers.

"The village panchayat has given an acre of land near the main road for a park which is named after Mohd Rafi. We will also be putting up Rafi Sahab's statue over there," village sarpanch, Santokh Singh said.

Last update: 31-08-2008 18:16

5^TH July, 2008 will be remembered by music lovers in Hyderabad as a day of revival of the vintage music of the hfm (hindi film music). For nearly six months now, we have been trying to organize a grand musical show and also invite some well known playback singer of the yesteryears to Hyderabad. The closest we came to was the name of Mubarak Begum Sahiba and our good friend Samarjit Acharjee was in continuous contact with her. Either the glorious singer with the golden voice was not available when we had wanted to organize a show or we were preoccupied with our normal lives and thus we could not go ahead with the idea that remained in our minds. However, we did not lose heart and kept our trials going.

Almost a month back Samarjit Acharjee informed me that he would shortly be leaving India for better prospects in the U.S. and he has thus invited Mubarak Begum Sahiba to Hyderabad for a rendezvous with our musical group of ABADRAFI. He asked me to organize a musical show, however small and that the legendary singer would attend the same. That set the ball rolling. Ours is still a small group and in its infancy. How were we going to arrange a musical show where the Chief Guest would be Mubarak Begum Sahiba herself. We had to get our act together, and fast. First, we got all the details of the gifted singer – her profile so to say. Websites helped. Other music lovers too helped in gathering all the data. We had wanted all her songs and our messages went in all directions seeking the rare gems of Begum Sahiba’s songs. Good friends like Hussein Sheikh helped a lot in this regard. Samarjit too could gather a few from other sources. Many in our group too had not heard of some of the very best songs of Begum Sahiba. Three songs that were know to all of us were (1) Kabhi Tanhaiyon Mein Yun Hamari Yaad Ayegi, (2) Hum Haale Dil Sunayenge, Suniye Ke Na Suniye and (3)the evergreen duet with Rafi Sahab – Mujhko Apne Gale Lagalo (Humrahi). The other songs were not too common for our group. The idea was that we know all the notable songs much before Begum Sahiba comes to Hyderabad. 5^th July 2008 (Saturday) was fixed after consulting many of our friends. It was convenient for some while others had to make room for attending the musical program. The basics done, we got down to the real ground work. A suitable venue had to be arranged. Orchestra had to be negotiated, photographs and videography to be arranged. Banners had to be made and so also word had to be spread around in the musical circles of Hyderabad about the upcoming event. We were running against the time and all the members of ABADRAFI got going.

Last update: 31-08-2008 18:03

“Tell us about any incident that you would never forget, Mubarak Ji? Something that brings a smile to your face or brings tears to your eyes…”

“Andhere Chha Rahe Honge, Ke Bijli Kaundh Jayegi, I had just sung till this line from the song Kabhi Tanhaiyon Mein Yun from the film Hamari Yaad Aayegi when” - she paused for a moment to look at the anticipation in the faces in front of her – “the lights went off!” We laugh out loud; she smiles. “Gaane ka aisa asar kisine kabhi dekha nahi hoga,” she says with a twinkle in her eyes. Mubarak Begum chose something amusing over the myriad melancholic things that keep bothering her.

Last update: 13-08-2008 10:56

Last update: 18-06-2008 10:12

 

Songs by legendary singer Mohammed Rafi drew a packed house here 28 years after his death, and audiences were in for a surprise as an evergreen voice from the yore took the stage again, rekindling memories and melodies of an era gone by.

Mujhko apne gale laga lo and Thahariya hosh me aa loon, sung by the forgotten Mubarak Begum wafted across the lush green lawns of the Green Court Club on the city's outskirts Sunday night.

 

Last update: 21-05-2008 22:43

I came across this article on timesofindia.com website and it was interesting to read that even in the troubled territory of Afghanistan the voices of Rafi sahab and Kishore Da is making people forget their pains and share a smile or two. Music has so much power which helps it transcend the barriers of language and cross the boundaries of nations to spread the word of love among all its listenere. So no surprise there that the appeal of Rafi sahab's voice is universal.

"It's a different matter altogether that the demand for Bollywood Hits - the Qurbani qawwali - outstripped the response to any other music. But you can't blame them - old Mohd Rafi and Kishore Kumar songs are streaming constantly in the background, wherever you go. The mere mention of Amitabh Bachchan raises a roar of applause."

Last update: 29-04-2008 14:47

    Everyone in my family is a big lover of music and movies so I had been exposed to a sizeable dose of Bollywood music right from my early childhood days. We had a big Panasonic tape recorder and a smaller Panasonic Radio. A day would typically start with songs by Rafi sahib, as my mom would go about the regular chores of house work listening to Rafi sahib. My father due to his rural upbringing had some fascination for the Radio and he would carry it with him everywhere in the house, after getting back from the office. So at nights we would have Vividh Bharti entertaining us, and we would all wait for Ameen Sayani sahib’s Binaca Geetmala. My mother was and is a fan of old Bollywood music, with Rafi sahib without doubt being the first choice, and we had a decent collection of songs by Rafi sahib in form of hundreds of audio cassettes. But well that didn’t make me Rafi sahib’s fan. I was too young to appreciate his singing, even though I liked hearing him. In those days the Disco fever was at its peak, now people are going to get a hearty laugh, to learn that in those days I liked the songs of “Disco Dancer” (yeah Bappi Daa one) and also enjoyed listening to singers like Nazia Hassan, and so on. Nevertheless, I used to have a great time whenever my mom would put the songs sung by a certain Mr. Rafi.

Last update: 19-03-2008 21:33