Mohammad Rafi's unforgettable voice, listening to which even time stops

So many singers have come and gone in the Indian music world, no one was less than the other in their own talent, their own tune, and their own voice, but still the one who could not even touch the shadow of that great singer is the great singer, the god of melodies, the Tansen of the music world, Mohammed Rafi. Any of his songs, even today, stirs and shakes the new generation with the same emotions, makes them flow with waves of love, sorrow, devotion, playfulness and old memories, as much as it did for the older generation.

Mohammed Rafi A voice that touched hearts and brought tears to eyes. Mohammed Rafi is not just a singer, he is an emotion, a memory and a piece of Bollywood history.

In his career spanning more than three decades, he remained one of the top singers in Indian films and non-films. His songs became a backdrop for love stories, celebrations and even sorrow.

On a cold, shivering day in 1924, just a day before the big day, in Kotla Sultanpur, Amritsar, who knew that one day this child would create history in the world of music and make India's name shine in such a way that his shine would remain eternal like the rays of the sun. The surprising thing is that no one in his family knew even the G of the song, but little Rafi, whom his six siblings and parents lovingly called Feeko, this child, turning away from all worldly affairs and studies, was crazy about only melody and rhythm. Be it a fakir or a madman, whoever passed by the street singing a song, little Feeko would follow him and then sing the same song himself. Everyone would stop in shock after listening to the heart-touching voice of Feeko i.e. Rafi. When Rafi turned 9, his entire family shifted to Lahore. When Feeko (Rafi) refused to study further, his father asked him to work with his elder brother in the family barber shop. At the young age of 9, Rafi started learning to cut hair in his barber shop in Bhati Gate of Noor Mohalla. Rafi used to sing songs while cutting the hair of his customers, which everyone used to listen to with great interest. It was the year 1933, when one day, music maestro Pandit Jeevanlal came there to get his hair cut, Rafi started humming a song of Waris Shah while cutting his hair. The essence and magic in Rafi's voice stunned Jeevanlal. After getting his hair cut, Jeevanlal asked him to come to his office. When Rafi reached there, Pandit ji auditioned him and then started training him in Punjabi songs. It was a cakewalk for Rafi. Soon Rafi started singing powerfully. Rafi started singing around the house, at any festival, on any stage. He also assisted music organizers with backstage responsibilities at their events.

It was the year 1937, an All India Exhibition was being organized in Lahore, 13 year old Rafi went to help the organizers. In the same exhibition, famous singer Kundan Lal Sehgal had to give a stage performance, but at the last moment the power went out. Now Kundan Lal refused to sing without a mike. The public who had bought tickets started creating a ruckus, then to control them the organizers asked Rafi to sing. When Rafi started singing without a mike, there was silence in the audience. When Rafi finished the song, the hall echoed with thunderous applause. K.L. Sehgal also remained speechless and at the same time he blessed Mohammad Rafi and said that this boy will become a great singer in the future. And Rafi never looked back.

In one such program, Rafi met film director Shyam Sunder. Shyam Sunder not only approached Rafi to sing in his film Gul Baloch but also asked him to play a role in it. Mohammad Rafi acted in this film only in his life. The song 'Pardesi Soniye, O Heeriye' sung by Rafi in that film became a huge hit.

But Rafi's eyes were filled with dreams of doing something bigger than Lahore. During those days, he met producer-actor Nazir. Nazir was very impressed with Mohammad Rafi's voice. One day he asked Rafi to come to Mumbai and try his luck there and also gave him ₹100 for pocket money and got him a ticket to Mumbai. When Mohammad Rafi came to Mumbai, he first got an offer to sing a patriotic song "Hindustan ke hum hain" in the film 'Pahale Aap' (1944). The music director of this song was Naushad. Naushad was a perfectionist musician. When he recorded this song, he instructed the singer Mohammad Rafi and the chorus singers with him to sing the song wearing military shoes and to make the sound of left and right from the shoes. He gave sound effects to the sound of the shoes in the music. When the recording was over, Naushad was shocked to see that Mohammad Rafi's feet were bleeding (the shoe was not of his size) but Rafi did not even utter a word and completed the entire song with great enthusiasm. After this incident, Mohammad Rafi became Naushad's favorite singer and all the best songs he sang in his life were Naushad's.

Rafi sahab's popularity as a singer started increasing. He created a buzz in the world of singing by creating magic of his voice in the film 'Anmol Gudiya' in 1946, 'Shahid' in 1948, 'Deedar' in 1951, 'Kohinoor' in 1960, and then Baiju Bawra (1952). From 1948 to 1970, Mohammad Rafi dominated the songs of Hindi and other languages to such an extent that no other singer could compete with him, but after 1970 Kishore Kumar started showing his magic. Despite this, Mohammad Rafi's charm remained intact. The most interesting thing is that Rafi sahab also gave voice for Kishore Kumar in two films, Ragini and Shararat, and did lip-syncing for Kishore Kumar.

Mohammad Rafi worked with all the legendary music directors of the film industry like Naushad, Shankar Jaikishan, OP Nayyar, Madan Mohan, SD Burman.

Mohammad Rafi's melodious voice used to change colors like a chameleon. He sang all kinds of songs Soulful classical compositions, romantic melodies that tugged at hearts, patriotic songs that aroused national pride, peppy dance numbers, devotional bhajans, spiritual highs and soul-stirring qawwalis, what did he not sing. His ability to sing in 14 Indian languages and even in English and Creole made Rafi unique. He was not just a singer, he was a musical ambassador who bridged cultures through his voice. Musician Naushad was the first to recognize his potential.

Naushad once said a profound thing about Rafi, he said "Only 50 percent of me is left after his departure. I will pray to Allah to send Rafi back to this world for just one hour so that I can create the last best music of my life."

OP Nayyar was very punctual. He used to close the door of his recording studio as soon as it was 9:30 in the morning. Once Rafi sahab reached OP Nayyar's recording 10 minutes late and as soon as he arrived he apologized to OP Nayyar and told him that he was late because of a recording of Shankar Jaikishan. On this OP Nayyar told him that he has time for Shankar Jaikishan, they have become so important and he doesn't have time for OP Nayyar, he is not important for him? After this incident OP Nayyar stopped working with Mohammad Rafi. Many years passed like this, one day Rafi sahab himself reached OP Nayyar's house. Then OP Nayyar got emotional and hugged Rafi and said, "Rafi, by coming to my house you have proved that you are great. I could not leave my ego, you left your ego and came to me." This tells a lot about Rafi sahab's character.

Mohammed Rafi considered Lata Mangeshkar his sister but once he had a falling out with her over royalties. Despite their differences, Rafi and Lata always shared a beautiful brother-sister bond. Lata herself acknowledged Rafi's greatness and called him "a wonderful singer - very sweet and equally emotional". But the two had stopped singing together. Finally, during a programme, Nargis, who was the host of the programme, stunned everyone by suddenly asking both Rafi and Lata to come together on stage in a packed auditorium. And finally the two legends started singing again.

Many people will be surprised to know that Rafi initially did not know how to give autographs in English. He did not even know what an autograph is.
Once when he was returning from a program with Mahendra Kapoor, Mohammad Rafi's fans surrounded him and asked for an autograph. Mohammad Rafi did not understand anything, he quietly asked Mahendra Kapoor in Punjabi what are they asking for? Then Mahendra Kapoor told him that they are asking for your autograph. On this, Rafi sahab's naivety was at its peak and he said to Mahendra Kapoor, "Then you sign my name." Later he used to practice for hours to improve his signature.

Ravindra Jain once called Rafi the "Tansen of the Indian film industry" – a title that perfectly reflects his musical talent.

Singer Krishna Mukherjee, who performed with Rafi in India and abroad, shared an interesting anecdote and told that before any performance, Rafi used to comb his bald head with a silver comb with a mischievous smile, then he used to drink a glass of cold milk and go on stage and his voice would create such magic that people would stand up and clap.

While singing, he would get so engrossed in the song that at times he would even snatch the drumsticks from the drummer and start playing them.

Apart from singing, Rafi sahab had a hobby of flying black kites. When black kites were seen flying in the sky around his house during Makar Sankranti, people would know that Rafi sahab was flying a kite on the roof of his house. He did not like it at all if someone cut his kite.

He loved playing carrom with the children of his family, watching Hollywood movies, listening to ghazals, and enjoying home-cooked food. When he sat down to watch an English movie, he would fall asleep within a short time but the children sitting with him would tell him the story of the movie.

Mohammad Rafi was very fond of drinking tea but his tea was prepared in a different way and he used to drink tea prepared by his wife Bilkis. His wife Bilkis Bano used to prepare special tea for him with almonds, cloves and cinnamon, which he used to take to his studio in a thermos.

On 31 July 1980, India lost its musical treasure. At the age of just 55, Rafi suffered a heart attack. He had just returned after recording a film song when he started sweating and had chest pain. His wife noticed that his nails were turning blue. An ambulance was called but Rafi sahab insisted on going to the hospital in his own Fiat car. The hospital he reached did not have the facility to install a pacemaker, so he was taken to a bigger hospital. But despite all efforts, he could not be saved. In the middle, when he regained consciousness once, he had tubes attached to his body and an oxygen mask was on. In such a situation, he looked at his daughter Nasreen and both their eyes filled with tears. Ultimately, he lost the battle with death. The entire film industry mourned - for the first time, two days of national mourning was declared for an artist.

Rafi was more than just a singer, he was a humble human being who respected fellow artistes. Mohammed Rafi was not just a singer, he was and still is a musical journey, a spirit that resonates across generations. His voice is not just heard, it is felt deep within the soul. 

Even today, when his songs are played, time seems to stop, and memories come flooding back – a testimony to a voice that was truly immortal.

Some immortal songs of Rafi saheb: