Unknown aspects of Rafi’s life highlighted

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 8

Mohammed Rafi is considered undoubtedly one of the legendary voices of our times. His fans in the city do not miss any opportunity to remember the gifted artiste and celebrate his voice. Marking the 38th death anniversary of the singer, the Sur Samrat Mohammed Rafi Welfare Society hosted a commemorative musical evening at Punjab Naatshala. Several unknown aspects of his life were highlighted through a play.

Born on December 24, 1924, Rafi died in Mumbai on July 31, 1980 following a massive heart attack. But for his fans, his voice lives on forever. “Every year, we mark his birth and death anniversary by celebrating musical talent from the city and giving them a platform. Our event has no age bar, we get artistes from the age of 13 to 70 years even. The idea is to let them perform for an audience, let their dreams become reality,” said Baljit Singh Saini, president of the welfare society.

Celebrating his memories, the Rafi-fan club has for long now been demanding and trying to build a memorial of the late singer. Rafi’s native village Kotla Sultan Singh still has his native house, but little has been done to ensure his memories live for long. “We had attempted to get a collaboration done with the villagers so that the house could be built into a memorial or museum of sorts. But sadly, no one seems to be interested. Mohammed Rafi had visited the city and his village only once after making his mark in Mumbai. People still consider that he forgot his birth place,” said Saini.

A play titled Pheeko was also staged at the event. “Not many people know that Pheeko was Rafi’s nickname and he started by singing chants in the streets of his village as a teenager. Through the play, we tried to show the unknown aspects of his life, as a youngsters, before he became a noted name in the music world,” said Saini.