1. 1970s …Those were the days when Radio was the only means of listening to music. Not everyone had a Television in their houses. Radio means Vividh Bharti. I was hardly 9 or 10 yrs old then.

I reminisce that the songs played were really awesome.What caught my fancy was one voice which can’t be put in one mould. Then the anchor said…
Agla gaana.. .Mohamed Rafi ki awaaz mein…

The song streamed into my ears n I was transported to another world.
After this I eagerly awaited for a song of this singer.
His voice was so sweet, melodious and some X factor he definitely had.

As I started growing into my teens, romance meant hearing Rafisaabs romantic numbers.
I was such a great fan of Rafisb that whenever I fell ill my dad used to play the radio and listening to this melifous voice soothed my nerves.

Slowly I realised that not only romance but heartbreak songs were a notch above too. In fact u give him a mediocre song, Rafisaab will make it an extraordinary song.
Any genre …comedy, romance, devotional, ghazal….u just name it. He excelled beyond anyone’s expectations.

Also his interviews n other Hindi cine celebrities interviews on radio like Jaimala on VB showed that this singer is an out of this world human too.

As I now enter into middle age, I feel he set a benchmark for himself , constantly beating his own record of par excellence rendition.

Rafi Saab was God’s own unique creation.His voice melted every one irrespective of the fact that they might not understand the language.
Such was the mind blowing effect of his voice.

The voice n rendition came from the core of his heart, hence Rafisaabs each song is a masterpiece n inimitable.
The actors, I dare say,were blessed to have him playback them.
The artists expression failed to match the expression in Rafisaabs voice. Rafisaab won always.

What is this voice …who is this special singer endowed with a voice which can reach the nadir and zenith of music scales.
He is remembered even today n to date no one could match even one percent of his calibre.

And in the future also it’s impossible.
God’s one time unique creation…that is Mohammad Rafi Saab.
An institution of music
A Good Samaritan
Lethal combo n hence even God wouldn’t be able to produce one more Rafisaab any time in the future.

Meri awaz Suno….he sang
N to date we r still listening to him.

God’s must b enjoying ur renditions there ..hence called u so early to Heaven.

If one listens to Rafisaabs songs, they learn the nuances of playback singing. Each composition is sung with such distinct clarity that one can jot down the lyrics as he lipsyncs the song. Dont believe me, then try n observe. He is the only singer who pronounced each n every word clearly and each words expressions were different. Such was his modulation and calibre.

Many groups have been formed in the name of Rafisaab by his million fans on WhatsApp and Facebook. Many a times, I come across debates regarding who is a better singer; Rafisaab or XYZ singer . And by chance,if someone supports XYZ singer, explosion of words take place on social media n lot of mud slinging takes place. I would like to say to all ardent Rafians ( Rafisaab fans are generally called Rafians on social media n am one of them too), does it matter if someone agrees or not that Rafisaab is the greatest singer of all times?

The Sun shines brightly n spreads its light over the world. Does it matter if the candle does not vouch for the Sun’s brightness?
Just step into Rafisaabs shoes and think as he would. He would have given 2 hoots to such petty talk. Let’s not give importance to others mud slinging as it’s a fact that there is no other playback singer as versatile as Rafisaab, whether one agrees or not.

His body of work is famous now for over almost 6 decades n still remains unmatched. The good soul produced immortal songs.

Rafi Foundation has given us this platform to write on Rafisaab. Reems and reems of paper too can’t do justice to Rafisaab. Praises n his good deeds can’t be summarised in one article. All superlatives n adjectives need to be used to describe him. Am happy at least we got this opportunity to express our feelings about Rafisaab.

The only thing of regret is that he left us early.

Ek meera thi
Jo krishna ki yaad mein duniya bisra gayi
Rani thi daasi ban gayi
Ek hum hai jo Rfsb ki meethi awaaz ke deewane aise bane
Na ghar yaad hai
Na dwaar yaad hai
Humein kya zamaana kya kehta hai
Hum toh sudh bisra gaye Rafi saab ki yaad mein

Har ek shaks jo Rafisaab ka deewana hai
Woh kya meera se kam hai
Rafisaab ki awaaz ka jadoo aisa chadha
Ki aaj tak nahi utra
Naahi kabhi utrega
Humein kisi aur awaaz se kya kaam
Jab is awaaz mein humey miley rahim aur ram
Ye jadoo na koi laa sakaa hai na laa payega
Rafisaab hamare dil mein basey hai aur basey hi rahenge
Shikayat hai toh bas itni
Ki humein itni jaldi kyun chod gaye aap
Phir man ko tasaaalli de dete hai
Uparwale ko bhi thi aapki pyaas🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻