RAFI HOLIDAY - TEAM HYDERABAD

A BIG SALUTE TO ALL MEMBERS OF RAFI FOUNDATION, HYDERABAD CHAPTER

After the stupendous success of RAFI HOLIDAY held at Hyderabad on November 27th & 28, 2010 we are now receiving a barrage of appreciation from various Rafi Bhakts, those who personally attended this mega event and also from those who could not attend the same. Even during the two days at Dhola-Ri-Dhani and upto the time of their departure, almost all the Rafi Bhakts who came to Hyderabad from other centres have showered us with extraordinary praises. In most of their appreciation, they have not just complimented the excellent arrangements of stay, food, reception and organizing the event itself, but had emphasized more particularly on the exemplary behaviour of the Hyderabad-team which provided so much warmth to all our friends from other centres. Today, most of our members in Hyderabad are sought after by these Rafi Bhakts and they have all become the source of inspiration to many more. Hats off to your show of solidarity, of unstinted showmanship, of being a perfect host. While each of us has toiled a lot for the success of the event, some of us stole the hearts of all with their readiness to be of help and their commitment. Some names therefore, need to be mentioned for the record.

S K ELIAS : Showed his class with his exceptional singing on both days, right from the word go. Was a toast of the Rafi Bhakts who stood mesmerized with his range of vocal chords and his modest and humble nature. His down to earth approach earned him respect and many many friends and he will be talked about whenever the name of Rafi Foundation, Hyderabad Chapter is taken anywhere in the country. He has arrived with a bang. Elias spoke his heart out at the closing ceremony and thus became a darling of the crowd.

CLN Chakravarthy : This young man was ready on call for any eventuality, from making a CD of some rare gems of songs to getting the banners printed to decorating the auditorium to look after the distribution of Caps, Gifts etc. and for any work of any sort whenever required. Today morning, Faiz Ahmed wanted his mobile number and had wanted to speak to him just before they left for Kolkata. That was the impact of CLN Chakravarthy on the Rafi Bhakts. His speech at the closing ceremony drew all round applause. Exemplary presentation of yourself Chakravarthy, we have many many miles to go together in the Rafi Foundation.

K V SHARMA : Was one of the very active persons in the reception committee, and volunteered on his own to pick up friends at odd hours from railway stations. Also offered to scout for the gift items and spent considerable time in getting these organized. With Chakravarthy, was very thorough in distribution of the gift articles to all the participants. His biggest contribution was something which he did without even being prompted - that of making all those lovely badges for the participants. Very painstakingly done, very meticulously organized. Each of the Rafi Bhakt proudly sported the badge through the two-day event. A big salute to K V Sharma for such a marvelous idea and clinical execution.

S SRINIVASAN : First with a handsome monetary contribution of Rs.10,000/- and following this up with Railway Station duty to receive and transport the Chennai team so early in the morning in the company of R Padmanabhan, Srinivasan took up the mantle of being a host with all seriousness and came up trumps in the job. Imagine they had to be at the Sec'bad Railway station as early as 5.30 a.m. on the morning of 27th and it was all foggy and misty and very chilly too. Yet, Srinivasan was on his feet fully ready to be part of the RAFI HOLIDAY from that moment onwards as he did not go back even to pick up his own family and came straight to the venue with our Chennai friends. Srinivasan also did not look out for opportunities to present his songs and simply waited his turn to be called out and he finally got to sing on the second day only. I was very impressed with his singing too and in one of his songs, there were cheers and applauses all around. Great work done Srinivasan, we are proud to have members like you.

Sanjay Deshpande : Sanjay was instrumental in bringing in small but many sponsors and because of his constant focus on this aspect, we could manage our funds position. We thank Sanjay for his dedicated efforts and also all those sponsors who stood by Rafi Foundation, Hyderabad Chapter for this grand event.

Sachin Deshpande : Sachin Deshpande, barely 21 years old now, is himself no less a Rafi Bhakt. Being in a family which traditionally has been a Rafi-centric one, Sachin was therefore groomed to be a fan and a follower of Rafi Sahab. Soon after last year's Rafi Holiday at Bangalore, where the Hyderabad team lost out due to one simple mistake, Sachin had announced that he will conduct the next Antakshri and Quiz when Rafi Holiday is held at Hyderabad. Just today on another forum, the ultimate winner - H V Gurumurthy who is a veteran on hfm - went on to sing praises on the quality and depth of the questions presented by Sachin Deshpande. In his words and those of others, Sachin has done a tremendous job and while the Antakshri and Quiz may have taken a very lengthy time and was a little haphazard, we are sure that he will improve and improvize from here onwards. He must have received all the confidence now and with encouragement from all the elders, the young boy can become a genius in his Quiz presentations. All the best to him too.

The Sivarams : Today morning, Sivaram had called me up. Unperturbed with what is happening elsewhere, Sivaram is now focussed on a new activity. He would like to prepare a directory of all the Rafi Bhakts who had attended the Rafi Holiday at Hyderabad which would contain the email ids, mobile numbers, addresses and occupation details etc. Commendable idea and if he can complete this task, it would be a feather in the cap of Rafi Foundation, Hyderabad.

Sivaram himself became a toast of the Rafi Holiday and was duly rewarded with a prized momento by Jagat Tarkas from Chennai who had intended to honour exceptional finds in the Rafi Holiday. Together with his daughter Shanti, Sivaram thus was honoured for his behaviour, his commitment to music and his zeal to be happy and keep every one around happy.

Shanti was one of the many who were completely floored by the Rafi Holiday experience. She could not hide her happiness and had informed me several times during the second day how much she enjoyed. If the Rafi Holiday can bring cheer and smile to Shanti, then its objectives are achieved. One year after the last year's Rafi Holiday, Shanti is now an embodiment of total confidence in presenting her choicest of songs. The regulars of Rafi Holiday all testified to this.

R PADMANABHAN : R Padmanabhan, took upon himself to order for the prizes for the surprise round, the prizes for Antakshri and Quiz and also to shoulder his responsibilities in the Reception Committee. He was at the Railway Station to receive the Chennai Team alongwith our S Srinivasan and after making arrangements for their trip to the venue, he went back to collect these prizes and come back again. Even at the venue, R Padmanabhan was always on his feet attending to the minutest of details whenever required and mingled with the crowd to be handy to our friends from outside in case of any necessity. He joined me and N R Padmanabhan once again yesterday to see off our Bangalore friends who were leaving from Kachiguda station.

Friends, as organizers we should not be found praising ourselves. Yet, if I fail to mention the name of our President - N R Padmanabhan - I would be doing injustice to the cause of Rafi Foundation, Hyderabad. N R Padmanabhan was by my side 24 x 7, for the past three or four months. You will all recall that I was out of action since October and upto almost the first week of November after I had to attend to my dental check ups and then the sudden demise of my mother in law. It was N R Padmanabhan (NRP) who took up the mantle to speak off and on with the Dhola-ri-Dhani authorities and finalize our package. He must have been on the phone with them on alternate days and has visited their Office at Secunderabad several times. He also went to Dhola-ri-Dhani on a few occasions all by himself to attend to several loose ends. Whether finalizing the videographer or attending to his Reception Committee duties and liaising with Rafi Bhakts from other centres, NRP was always there. It is his farsightedness that has helped me also on several aspects. Many a times we both may have also disagreed on finer points but we discussed on almost a minute-to-minute basis and never did even a single sore point come in the way of marching towards the success of Rafi Holiday. His priorities have always been clear and charted out very well and he is a source of inspiration and a guiding spirit to me in most of my activities related to Rafi Holiday.

Every member who attended the Rafi Holiday has contributed monetarily too. Each of such member deserves the fullest appreciation. There are members who could not attend the Rafi Holiday and yet they have contributed for the cause of this mega event. New entrants into our fold have unfazingly contributed large sums and some of our recent friends too have given their share. A L Sreesha has contributed Rs.5,000 and was asking me the other day if he needs to contribute more. I restrained him at that point. D G N Sarma (many would ask who he is) joined us only at our last musical session and had already chipped in Rs.10,000/-. Lt. Col. TSS Prasad spoke to me on 26th November and joined us during the Rafi Holiday on 28th Nov and paid Rs.1,000/- just for the one day. These contributions beside the other contributions of large amounts of Rs.10,000/- each from A S Murty, N R Padmanabhan, R Padmanabhan, S Srinivasan, Satyendra and Samina Bano and the sponsorship amounts generated by Sanjay Deshpande have all helped in a big way in achieving our objectives and presenting the RAFI HOLIDAY in its splendour.

If there are shortcomings in the organizing the Rafi Holiday, I take all those on my name and I would give all the credit for all the success to each and every member of Rafi Foundation, Hyderabad Chapter and very ably led by N R Padmanabhan.

Three cheers, therefore, to each one of you.

A S MURTY

The Rafi Holiday lingers on.......

EXTRA LENGTHY MUSICAL SESSION

ADABRAFI DOSTON,

After a long time, I am once again presenting the report of our Musical Session that was held today. Several reasons why I chose to report this one when I was not doing it in recent times. One main reason that it was an extended Musical Session begining from almost 1.00 p.m. instead of our usual time of 3.00 p.m. Then again, today those of us who attended presented our songs that we would be singing for the upcoming RAFI HOLIDAY. Third reason is that today we were also joined by new members - Mr Balaji and Mrs Sailaja - a music loving couple. Mrs Sailaja, in fact, is an adept singer and works for Syndicate Bank and had very recently won the 1st Prize in the Inter Bank Hindi Film Songs Singing Competition. Her rendition of the song AAYEGA AAYEGA AAYEGA from Mahal had won accolades from all the participants and the judges. She gave a preview of our singing prowess today at our Musical Session. Mr Balaji is working with BSNL and is an avid music lover who will also be singing from our next session onwards. We heartily welcome both of them into Rafi Foundation, Hyderabad Chapter and are sure they will be our regular members. So much so that they promised to visit us during the Rafi Holiday on 28th November 2010 briefly.

FORTY FOUR songs were rendered today and except for a few songs which were not listed for RAFI HOLIDAY, all the singers presented their songs for the two day event which is now only 10 days away.

A few of our members could not come, but most did and we had a very good gathering.

I was on tour since Saturday and my internet connection had also broken down for the past four or five days. I could, therefore, only send SMS to all our members about our Musical Session today. K V Sharma had replied to me that as he is out of station, he would not be attending. S Srinivasan too had sent me an SMS that he has some programme to attend and would not be participating today. A L Sreesha had been tied up with his work the entire day and as late as 7.00 p.m. he was waiting for a cab to come down, by which time it was time to call it a day. The Chandars could not come, maybe due to some pre-occupation. All the other regulars did come - A S Murty, N R Padmanabhan, Sivaramakrishnan, Sivaram & Family, Chakravarthy, R Padmanabhan, Sanjay Deshpande, Raj Kumar Yadav, Ravi Srinivasan, Elias and the new friends - Balaji and Mrs Sailaja.

The last one hour was spent in discussing the arrangements for Rafi Holiday and the individual roles that each of us has to play. The enthusiasm of our members was evident as every one discussed and deliberated on most points and showed their willingness to carry out all the tasks that were given to them.

Just as I was writing out this report, both Balaji and Mrs Sailaja spoke to me over phone to convey their thanks for a lovely afternoon and also expressed that they enjoyed our session very much and that they will be part of our group.

More mails on RAFI HOLIDAY will follow and hence it is imperative that we keep a close watch on our Mailbox every day.

Thanks to all for a wonderful day, once again.

--
A S MURTY

The Rafi Holiday beckons you. Take the first train to Hyderabad.

the countdown has begun...

10 days

GEETON KA GULDASTA

ADABRAFI TO ALL FRIENDS !!!!!

MUSIC can be the reason for many gatherings and festivities. Music can be the time for relaxation, enjoyment and for celebration. Indeed, on the 2nd May 2010 when we all met at the Sivarams' house, it was a mixture of all the above and more. The Dhepes were simply exuberating, for did their daughter not make them proud ? Yes, Namita came up with some stunning performance in her CAT examination and was instantly selected by two of the top Business schools. We understand she is likely to take up her further Management studies with the IIM, Lucknow. The Rafi Foundation has always appreciated the genius as it has derived its being from one of the greates geniuses of the country - Mohammed Rafi Sahab. And like the Dhepes, we are all elated and feel proud too in their celebration. Aptly, the Dhepes decided to give us all a party on 2nd May 2010 at our Musical Session. We were hoping the numbers would swell despite the hot summer and the Dhepes too came fully prepared to give a treat to an expected 25 to 30 of our friends. Unfortunately though, many could not turn up for various reasons. As the day unfolded, Harikishanji sent me an email that as he had just arrived the same day after a tour, he would not be joining us. Nalin Rajan also sent me an SMS informing his being busy. New friend - S Srinivasanji of Infocad Enterprises enquired with me around noon on how to reach the Sivarams' residence and we did expect them to turn up. Unfortunately again, a death in their family associates on that day deprived us of being in their company. Samina Bano who had arrived by the early morning flight from Pune also had a lot of tidying up to attend to and although she had desperately wanted to be with us, she just could not make it and was indeed very apologetic about it. This way a good number of our friends who were sure to attend could not turn up. There was however no news of Elias and we presume he may not have been in town. There was no word from many more of our members and thus only our most regular members - sans Elias - were present on that day.

Among the early birds was R Padmanabhan who reached the venue first, shortly followed by me and new friend Chakravarthy. N R Padmanabhan and Satyendra followed suit thereafter and we were soon joined by Chandar and Mrs Radha Chandar. Mrs Nirmaa Dhepe and Nitin Dhepe too came and the last to come were Sanjay Deshpande and K V Sharma. These and the Sivarams thus made up for the small number that gathered for our Musical Session.

Just as we had planned to start the programme around 3.30 p.m., there was a sudden power failure (most sudden as we heard there would not be a power cut at all) which lasted for a good half hour. We lost precious time. The 'power-less' period thus was utilized for the partying - what with abundant snacks brought in by the Dhepes. After the resumption of electricity, the singing of songs took to its true style - a la MERAGANA.COM. Everything else jelled with the atmosphere, the internet connection giving fullsome speed, the music system blaring the most appropriate sound waves (I am very careful sometimes as I just could not afford a typographical error with the word - Waves......). I know someone of you would offer your comment on this.

Well, here we go with the list of all the THIRTY THREE songs that were sung in perfect blend (now this has always been the most difficult part of my reporting - typing at length all the listed songs, I mean. I must have been a typist even in my previous birth, else how can one do it repeatedly, session after session ?).

There are generally little mistakes in what I type, but when I do have to read what R Padmanabhan had jotted down, don't blame me if a few of them do creep in. The list, folks :

1.MERA MAN TERA PYASA - Gambler - S Chandar
(read SONG, MOVIE NAME and SINGER) else (oh ! that else again ! else one would think Gambler S Chandar).

2.O MERE BECHAIN DIL - Aamne Saamne - S Chandar
3.PHIR WOHI SHAAM WOHI GHAM - Jahan Ara - N R Padmanabhan
4.TERE BIN SOONE NAYAN HAMARE - Meri Soorat Teri Ankhen - N R Padmanabhan
5.ROSHAN TUMHI SE DUNIYA - Parasmani - Chakravarthy
6. AAJ UDTA HUA IK PANCHHI - Gehra Daag - A S Murty
7.MUJHE TUMSE MUHOBBAT HAI - Bachapan - A S Murty
8.NAKHRE WAALI - New Delhi - K Sivaram
9.SALA MAIN TO SAHAB BAN GAYA - Sagina - K Sivaram
10.JAANE WOH KAISE LOG THE JINKE - Pyasa - K V Sharma
11.DEKHA NA HAYRE - Bombay to Goa- K V Sharma
12.KESARIYA BALMA - Lekin - Mrs Radha Chandar
13.KHAT LIKHDE SAWARIYA KE NAAM - Aaye Din Bahar Ke - Mrs Radha Chandar
14.YUNHI TUM MUJHSE BAAT KARTI HO - Duet from Sachha Jhuta - S Chandar and Mrs Radha Chandar
15. MUJHE DARD-E-DIL KA PATA NA THA - Aakashdeep - R Padmanabhan
(now here Sanjay Deshpande remarked that most men would sing this song after they get married $@$%#$%). Sanjay is a smart guy we learnt many years ago.
16.DUNIYA O DUNIYA TERA JAWAB NAHI - Naya Zamana - R Padmanabhan
17.SAANJH DHALE - Utsav - Mrs Nirmala Dhepe
(It was an UTSAV indeed for the Dhepes).
18.MAN BHAVAN MERO - a private Bhajan - Mrs Nirmala Dhepe
(ye MAN Hindi ka hai, angrezi ka nahi)
19.SAMA HAI SUHANA SUHANA - Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani - Nitin Dhepe
20.ZINDAGI KE SAFAR MEIN GUZAR JAATE HAIN - Aap Ki Kasam - Nitin Dhepe

(Subah aati hai, shaam jaati hai, waqt chalta hi rehta hai rukta nahi, ek pal mein yeh aage nikal jaata hai.... ek baar chale jaate hain jo din raat subah shaam, woh phir nahi aate, woh phir nahi aate ------ I will come back to these lines later again).

21.NEELE NEELE AMBAR PAR - Kalakaar - Satyendra Singh
22.TUM AA GAYE HO NOOR AA GAYA HAI - Aandhi - Satyendra Singh
23.YEH RAATEN YEH MOUSAM - Duet from Dilli Ka Thug - Sivaram & Shanti
24.DOORIYAN NAZDEEKIYAN - duet from Duniya - Sivaram & Shanti
25.YASHUMATI MAIYYA SE BOLE NANDLAALA - Hare Rama Hare Krishna - Shanti
26.RAINA BEETI JAAYE - Amar Prem - Shanti
27.MERI MOHOBBAT TERI JAWANI - Anjaana - S Chandar
28.HOSAHWALON KO KHABAR KYA HAI - Sarfarosh - N R Padmanabhan
(I had not heard this wonderful ghazal earlier, it was a revelation to me personally. Some very powerful sheyrs in this fabulously composed Ghazal).

29.HUM CHHOD CHALE HAIN MEHFIL KO - Jee Chaahta Hai - A S Murty
30. KOI LAUTADE MERE -Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein - K V Sharma
31.WOH HASEEN DARD DEDO - Humsaya - Mrs Radha Chandar
32.HUSN-E-JAANA IDHAR AA - Saathi - R Padmanaban
33. CHAND AAHE BHAREGA - Phool Bane Angaare - Chakravarthy

There you are friends. The list above can be one of the most sought after by any standards as the selection of songs is very varied and melodious. The singing is going upwards as always.

We are sure our other members will all turn up at our next Musical Session which will be on the 16th May 2010.

Please make it a habit to inform us beforehand in case any of you are unable to attend as those making some arrangements can be tipped off.

Will send the photos separately as the attachment is not working.

ADIEU

A S MURTY

A Mukesh-Musical Session

ADABRAFI TO ALL !!

A very delayed report to a very exciting Musical Session, but well worth the wait I would say. The Session this time around was attended by some of the regular members with an exception of a few and also by newer members who all gave exceptional renditions. But first on who missed the bus and those who made it on that sweltering hot day. The heat has not receded even now and perhaps would continue even by the time we have our next Musical Session on the first Sunday of May this year.

The Chandars could not attend the session as the parents of Mrs Radha Chandar are in town. Earlier, Mrs Radha Chandar had gone to Chennai too and as her father had just arrived on 18th April, even Chandar could not have possibly attended and that way we could not have their company. The Deshpandes too did not make it this time as I understand Sachin was not keeping good health. He is now alright. The Dhepes were both out of town having sent us messages to that effect. While we did not have information from our other friends who did not attend, we presume other engagements and/or the heat would have kept them away.

Besides the Sivarams, self, NR Padmanabhan, R Padmanabhan, Elias, K V Sharma and new members Harikishan and Raj Kumar Yadav attended. Also in good company was Sreesha from Bangalore who is camping here in Hyderabad for his professional work.

One more new member - S Srinivasan - was also unfortunately so tied up at his domestic front that he regretted very much being away from us. But he will join us all from the next Musical Session onwards. This gentleman is known to me and is not the other S Srinivasan who did attend one Musical Session earlier.

Well you would be wondering what the title of this reporting is all about, what has Mukesh to do with all this, etc. As though there was some telepathy at work, almost all sang songs of Mukesh, so much so that even Rafi Sahab's songs were found wanting on this day. The list below would give a fair idea on how almost all thought of bringing in songs of Mukesh which though being rendered by most of us regularly never overshadowed the songs of Rafi Sahab in our Musical Sessions. But on this day they did and some of the very best songs by Mukesh came to the fore.

Besides the grand selection of songs last Sunday, the singing quality of all the singers showed remarkable professionalism. The audio system too seemed to have made up its mind to come out on top after it had made that visit for Health Check up by the Sivarams earlier in the day. The sound output was exactly as it should always be and it aided all our members in bringing out their very best.

We did incorporate some of the recent suggestions and it was for R. Padmanabhan to take up the donning the mantle of the anchor. He guided our singers in perfect succession so that all got the chance evenly. He also jotted down all the songs rendered on this great musical day and the final tally of 46 songs would read as a list of some of the top songs of the golden decades gone by. Fortunately for all of us, there was no power cut and since we assembled at 3.00 p.m. itself, we could start the Musical Session just around 3.30 p.m. to continue the same almost upto 7.30 p.m.

Here is that much awaited list of the golden 46 songs by each of us :
1.Shanti - Mohabbat Ki Jhooti Kahani Pe Roye -Mughal E Azam
2.Shanti - Sun Saiba Sun - Ram Teri Ganga Maili
3.K V Sharma - Zindagi Hasne Gane - Zameer
4.K V Sharma - Na Tum Humen Jaano - Baat Ek Raat Ki (have to be careful in typing Hindi words into English and a small mistake can read as "Bat Ek Rat Ki" - not a very palatable proposition).
5.A S Murty - O Door Ke Musafir - Uran Khatola
6.A S Murty - Koi Humdum Na Raha - Jhumroo
7.A L Sreesha - Tum Bhi Chalo Hum Bhi Chalen - Zameer
8.A.L. Sreesha - Mere Dil Mein Aaj Kya Hai - Daag
9.K Sivaram - Diye Jalte Hain - Namak Haraam
10.K Sivaram - Nadiya Se Dariya - =do=
11.N R Padmanabhan - Hoshwalon Ko Khabar Kya - a Jagjit Singh ghazal.
12.N R Padmanabhan - Main Ye Sochkar Uske Dar se chala tha - Haqeeqat
13. R Padmanabhan - Jo Unki Tamanna Hai Barbad Hoja - Inteqaam
14. R Padmanabhan - Tere Pyar Ko Is Tarah Se Bhulana - Maine Jeena Seekh Liya

(now here is where the bell was sounded for Mukesh's songs......).
15.S K Elias - Huyi Shaam Unka Khaya aa Gaya - Mere Humdum Mere Dost
16. S K Elias - JAB DIL SE DIL TAKRATA HAI - Sangharsh
17. Harikishan - TUMNE MUJHE DEKHA - Teesri Manzil
18. Harikishan - Hai Duniya Usiki - Kashmir Ki Kali
19.Shanti - He Ri Pawan - Bemisal
20. Shanti - Sawan Ke Jhonke - Zurmana
21.KV Sharma - Badan Pe Sitare - Prince
22.KV Sharma - Ae Mere Dil Kahin Aur Chal (Daag)
23.A S Murty - Je Hum Tum Chori Se - Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke
24. A S Murty - Mubarak ho Sabko - Milan
25.A L Sreesha - Baharon Mera Chaman Chhod Kar - Devi
26. A L Sreesha - Dil Pukare Aa Re Aa Re - Guide
27. Raj Kumar Yadav - Jhoom Jhoom Ke Naacho Aaj - Andaz
28.Raj Kumar Yadav - Hum Tujhse Muhobbat Karke Sanam - Awara
29.K Sivaram - Shamma Jalti hai
30. K Sivaram - Chalo Ik Baar Phir Se -
31.N R Padmanabhan - Jaane Wo Kaise Log The - Pyasa
32. N R Padmanabhan - Aaya Hai Mujhe Phir Yaad Wo Zalim - Devar
33. Harikishan - Raat Kali Ik Khwab Mein - Buddha Mil Gaya
34. Harikishan - Jaane Kahan Gaye Wo Din - Mera Naam Joker
35. R Padmanabhan - Khushi Ki Wo Raat Aa Gayi - Dharti Kahe Pukar Ke
36.R Padmanabhan - Itni Haseen Itni Jawan - Aaj Aur Kal
37. S K Elias - Zindagi Ke Mod Par - Bedaag
38. S K Elias - Main Nigahen Tere Chehre - Aap Ki Parchhaiayaan
39. Shanti - Maayi Ri Maayi - Hum Aapke Ke Hain Kaun
40. K V Sharma - Dil Ko Dekho - Sachha Jhutha
41. A S Murty - Zindagi Bhar Gham Judaai - Miss Bombay
42.A L Sreesha - Dost Dost Na Raha - Sangam
43. K Sivaram - Aa Chal Ke Tujhe - Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein
44. N R Padmanabhan - Sajanwa Bairi Hogaye Hamaar - Teesri Kasam
45. One song by R Padmanabhan - not legible in his list,but a certain Mukesh song.
46. S K Elias - Dil Ke Jharoke Mein - Brahmachari

This way, we all had a very enchanting Musical Session and everyone felt that all sang so very well.

We welcome our new found friends CLN Chakraborty (yet to join our Musical Session, though I have met him in Sreesha's room recently), Harikishan, Srinivasan Seshan, Raj Kumar Yadav, etc. Our members too can send them a welcome message by using the REPLY TO ALL button.

Friends, the Pannickers were in contact with me recently and I requested them to arrange for our future Musical Sessions at SMR Empire complex which is far more spacious and convenient to all of us. They have agreed to the same and we can have our future Musical Sessions at our earlier venue. However, it will be very hot at that venue during the summer with direct sun-rays into the hall. Some of us felt that we can continue at Sivaram's house for the present and then shift back to SMR Empire complex once the rainy season starts. We can decide on this in the coming days.

We will have our next Musical Session on 2nd May 2010 and I will follow this up by a reminder email during the course of this week again.

Until then, here is wishing you all a very Musical week ahead.

A S MURTY

BACHUPALLY - MUSICAL SESSION

BACHUPALLY - MUSICAL SESSION
ADABRAFI DOSTON,

Variety is the spice of life is a quote often used by Chandar and we all tend to agree on that. With an aim to bring in some variety I chose "Bachupally - Musical Session" as the theme of this reporting. Else, it would have looked like the dreary writings that come from my pen after most of our musical sessions.

But what and where is this Bachupally ? Most would have asked until yesterday. But since for many of the members of Rafi Foundation, Hyderabad Chapter this name sounded as 'heard somewhere' went on to become the address most sought after today. For, all roads seemed to lead to Bachupally. From the backyards of Lothukunta to A S Rao Nagar to Karmanghat and Marredpally to Musheerabad to Ranigunj and Motinagar and elsewhere. the traffic on the roads, though minimal, was the one to follow. DD Colony on Sivam Road had one family drawing up the route map mentally on how best to reach this new found musically sounding address - 202 S R R Residency. Names which were never heard earlier by anyone were the most sought after ones today - SMR Vinay Complex, GATEWAY Building, Turbo Machinery Ltd. What are they, some of you would go on to ask. These landmarks were all predominantly positioned in the route-map that Chandar had sent us only a few days back. I had not downloaded this but I do have a printed copy of the same in front of me as I narrate to you this story.

A few weeks ago then, when Chandar decided to have our next Musical Session at his residence, he sent us all an email extending the invitation. He followed this up with phone calls to most of us who are here in Hyderabad (he may have missed out on a few too) and that was the reason why we all proceeded towards that new musical landmark of Hyderabad at Bachupally. Some could not come and many did find themselves in that three bedroom shackle of a tastefully decorated flat of 1500 sft. The term shackle will remain for as long as the Chandars are the only occupants of that upcoming Apartment Complex which is still under construction. The Chandars moved into their newly acquired flat last August, when the condition of the apartment complex was still at its initial stages. Since then, with workers of all hues around and being the only occupants of the otherwise 45 flats apartment building, the Chandars have had a very amazing experience. But once inside their flat, all the distractions of an otherwise under-construction site vanish. The Chandars have come up with one of the finest in interior decoration that I have seen in any flat. I have seen a house in recent times which is a mind-boggling place for aristocratic living and that is close to my own house and belongs to a client of my bank. But that being an independent house has many advantages like plenty of open space and several floors in the same duplex house. An independent lift, an amphitheatre, cctvs, out of this world furniture and interior decorations and sanitary fittings. That is a different story by itself which has little to do with this one. I noticed that the Chandars have kept the showpieces and decorative articles to the bare minimal, but class acquisitions. The furnishings, the wall hangings, the toiletry, the modular kitchen with an opening into the dining hall, spacious bed-rooms all give the comfort that any family would cherish in their own home. The Chandars seem to have spent a fortune in making their living as comfortable as they can possibly can.

Well, that was how then seventeen of us assembled at the new venue for our Musical Session today. Some of us turned up quite late, having got lost in our songs while travelling and taking the wrong roads. The session therefore began with some of the early birds like Sivaram, Shanti, R Padmanabhan, K V Sharma and his wife. Soon they were joined by N R Padmanabhan, self, Elias and Nitin and the Kulkarnis. The Deshpandes and the Bhumkars were the next to come and Nalin Ranjan too came. Sumptuous lunch was arranged by the hosts giving us all the jittery feeling of an enjoyable siesta over an enchanting songs session. But we comfortably sailed through this as we took the stage to perform with the live " meragana.com" karaoke tunes that was in place. The power-cut timings being all too well known in advance, the programming was done as to have maximum utilization of the "power-less" period with some innovating quizzing inter-spread with some jokes. Mrs Sharma had to leave early and at around 4.30 p.m. the Kulkarnis and the Sivarams too bid the remaining good bye. The rest of us continued until almost 5.30 p.m. with some more singing and an on-the-spot quiz by the young quiz-master Sachin Deshpande.

The long distance that our members had to cross over did not leave any of us a wee bit tired for the singing session saw some exceptional renditions. Mrs Kshama Kulkarni once again mesmerized with her perfect renditions and without accompanying music also. K V Sharma is simply adept at modulating between Kishore Kumar, Hemant Kumar and Talat Mahmood.

The full list of the songs that came up reads like the treasure trove of songs from Hindi films and a few Marathi songs as well. Here is that list friends :

1. JO TUMKO HO PASAND WOHI BAAT KARENGE - Safar - R Padmanabhan
2. BHOOLI HUYI YAADON - Sanjog - R Padmanabhan
3. RAHA GARDISHON MEIN HARDAM - Do Badan - K V Sharma
4. BABUJI DHEERE CHALNA - Aar Paar - Shanti
5. TU HI WOH HASEEN HAI - Khwab - S K Elias
6. MADHUBAN MEIN RADHIKA NACHERE - Kohinoor - S K Elias
7. PHOOLON KA TAARON KA - Hare Rama Hare Krishna - A S Murty
8. JAB JAB BAHAR AAYEE - Taqdeer - A S Murty
9. SWAPNA TARANGA - Marathi song by Mrs Kshama Kulkarni
10. EK SHEHENSHAAH NE BANWA KE HASEEN TAJMAHAL - Leader - Mrs Kshama Kulkarni
11.JAANE WALON ZARA - Dosti - Sivaram
12. MANZILEIN APNI JAGAH HAIN - Sharabi - Sivaram
13. MAAGE UBHA MARGESH - Marathi song by Mrs Radha Chandar
14.LAG JA GALE SE PHIR YEH HASEEN RAAT - Woh Kaun Thi - Mrs Radha Chandar
15.TERI RAAHON MEIN KHADE HAIN - Chhalia - Mrs Nabha Bhumkar
16.MAA MUJHE APNE GALE SE LAGALE - Raja Aur Rank - Mrs Nabha Bhumkar
17.PHOOLON KE RANG SE - Prem Pujari - K V Sharma
18.BEKARAR KARKE HUMEIN YUN NA JAAIYE - Bees Saal Baad - K V Sharma
19.AA CHALKE TUJHE MAIN LEKE CHALUN - Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein - Nitin Dhepe
20.PHIR MILOGE KABHI IS BAAT KA WADA KARLO - Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi - Nitin Dhepe
21.SEENE MEIN JALAN - Gaman - N R Padmanabhan
22.DARD SE MERA DAMAN BHAR DE - N R Padmanabhan
23.DEEWANON SE YE MAT POOCHHO - Upkaar - Nalin Ranjan
24. APNI AANKHON MEIN BASAKAR - Thokar - Nalin Ranjan
25.TUMNE KISI KI JAAN KO - Jaanwar - S Chandar
26.MAIN SHAYAR TO NAHI - Bobby - S Chandar
27. JOHN JAANI JANARDHAN - Elias
28. DUNIYA BANANE WALE - Teesri Kasam - Mrs Nabha Bhumkar
29.TERI DUNIYA SE HOKE MAJBOOR CHALA - Pavitra Paapi - A S Murty
30. KISI KI YAAD MEIN DUNIYA KO HAIN BHULAYE HUYE - Jahanara - R Padmanabhan
31.AYE MERE DIL KAHIN AUR CHAL - K V Sharma
32.MUJHKO IS RAAT KI TANHAI MEIN AWAZ NA DO - N R Padmanabhan
33. YAMMA YAMMA - S K Elias and S Chandar
34. ITNI HASEEN ITNI JAWAN RAAT KYA KARE - S Chandar

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
With the above listing, the singing session came to an end and after bidding adieu to the Chandars, we all prepared to take the lengthy journey back to our homes. In all, an enjoyable fare throughout.

Friends, we will plan our next Musical Session in a day or two. Earlier, our friend Sivaram had suggested that we all meet for the morning session of Health-check up and singing of songs on 18th April 2010. Please let us know if we are meeting on that day in the morning. As far as I am concerned, it will not be possible for me to go in the morning of that day and I am available for the Musical Session from 3.00 p.m. on that day. Please let us know if we assemble in the morning and also have our Musical Session from 3.00 p.m. on that day or only one of these two and if so which of these two programmes.

A S MURTY

MUSICALLY ENCHANTING SESSION 21ST FEB 2010

ADABRAFI FRIENDS,


Amidst the din and troubled times in Hyderabad, when we had asked our members to assemble for this evening's musical session, we had known that the attendance would be rather thin. A few of our members were not in town and some more were apprehensive of how the day would unfold - after the sad demise of the young boy who immolated himself for a political cause. Nevertheless (albatta in Urdu ?) those of us who assembled made the most of it as we all could get to sing more and more number of songs.

Nitin had sent me a message yesterday itself that he would be going out of town and that Mrs Nirmala Dhepe is not having backlog of Office work to cope up with even on Saturdays (their weekly off) and Sundays and that the situation will continue until the end of the current financial year. Nitin would however join us from the next musical session.

Raghavendra Rao has not been attending many of our musical sessions for the last few months, but he is on long deputation outside Hyderabad. He spoke to me just yesterday and was already on his way to some place on official duty.

Mrs Anita Agarwal must be busy with her upcoming Exhibition on 22nd and 23rd at Taj Krishna about she had told me sometime back. In fact, this exhibition had to be postponed from January due to the present agitation going on. We hope this time around, her efforts bore fruit and that her venture was successful.

Mrs Padmaja spoke to me this morning and informed that if the situation was fully peaceful she will try to come. Not knowing when and what will happen at the Osmania University campus, which is very close to her house, I too advised her to take precautions and only then decide on attending the musical session.

R Padmanabhan had left for Chennai suddenly yesterday and he has now missed two musical sessions in a row - very unlikely of him, but then his absence on both occasions was unavoidable.

Today Mr Kanta Rao and Mr Madhusudan (Madhu-rafi) were also to come but they had informed that they would have to leave after spending only as much as one hour with us as they had to attend another programme. Perhaps, they thought that they would miss the latter programme if they attended our Musical Session and hence they too could not come.

Ten of us, therefore, were taking the utmost advantage of the sparse crowd today and sang so many songs that I had to request all of them to jot down the songs for my detailed listing. In recent times, I had discontinued with writing down these details, but the selection of the songs and excellent renditions today (the effort by Sivaram in providing the sound system and N R Padmanabhan in bringing a very smart laptop with internet connection were the main contributors for the fantastic singing) forced me to revive the listing of songs, just as Sachin Deshpande had been insisting on the list being made. Towards the end of the musical session, I had once again requested the few friends to create a new Rafi-email id and Venkatesh Sharma did it the moment he reached home. I have included his new email id in the above list and moved the general email id in "my other contacts" group. Please use the latest email ids from my last messages always, as they will be up to date. So friends, besides myself, others who were at today's musical session are as follows :
1. K SIVARAM,
2. Mrs Prema Sivaram
3. Shanti
4. N R Padmanabhan
5. K Venkatesh Sharma
6. S K Elias,
7. Sanjay Deshpande
8. Mrs Radha Chandar
9. S Chandar.

Here is the list of all songs rendered at this very enthralling musical session.
A S MURTY :
1. MAIN TOOTI HUYI EK NAIYYA HUN - AADMI
2. MEHFIL SE UTH JAANE WALON - DOOJ KA CHAND
3. JAANE WALE ZARA HOSHIYAR - RAJKUMAR
4. JANE KAHAN MERA JIGA GAYA JI - duet with Shanti
5.MAIN TOOTI HUYI EK NAIYYA HUN - repeated on request.

Ms. SHANTI :
1. BABUJI DHEERE CHALNA - AAR PAAR
2. PYAR KARNE WALE - SHAAN
3. JANE KAHAN MERA JIGAR GAYA - duet with ASM
4. THANDI HAWA KAALI GHATA - MR & MRS 55

K VENKATESH SHARMA:
1. ZINDAGI KA SAFAR - SAFAR
2. RANG AUR NOOR KI - GHAZAL
3. DIL AAJ SHAYAR HAI - GAMBLER
4. One more sing not listed by us.
S K ELIAS :
1. MAIN NIGAHEN TERE CHEHERE - AAP KI PARCHHAIYAAN
2. KAL RAAT ZINDAGI SE - PALKI
3. SHIRDI WALE SAI BABA - AMAR AKBAR ANTHONY
4. SAAZ HO TUM AWAZ HUN : SAAZ AUR AWAZ
5. SHANAKARA - SHANKARABHARANAM
K SIVARAM :
1. JAANEWALON ZARA - DOSTI
2. ZINDAGI KE SAFAR MEIN - AAP KI KASAM
3. YE KYA HUA - AMAR PREM
4.CHALA JATA HUN - MERE JEEVAN SAATHI

Mrs Radha Chandar :
1.AA AA BHI JA RAAT DHALNE LAGI - Teesri Kasam
2. Jaane Kyon Log Mohobbat - Mehboob Ki Mehendi
3. Muhabbat Cheez Kya Hai - Yeh Raat Phir Na Ayegi
4. Ek Tu Hai Piya Jispe Dil Aagaya - Pran Jaye Par Vachan Na Jaaye

DUETS S CHANDAR & MRS RADHA CHANDAR

1.Jab Deep Jale Aana - Chitchor
2. Roka Kai Baar Maine - Mere Sanam
3. Brindavan Ka Krishan Kanhaiya - Miss Mary

S CHANDAR :
1. GORI TERA GAON BADA - Chitchor
2.CHHOTI SI YEH DUNIYA - Rangoli
3. JO UNKI TAMANNA HAI - INTEQAAM
4.CHANDI SE DEEWAR NA TODI - VISHWAS

N R PADMANABHAN :
1. AB KYA MISAAL DUN - AARTI
2. ZARA SI AHAT - HAQEEQAT -
3. RANJISH HI SAHI - GHAZAL BY MEHDI HASAN
4. HUM PYAR MEN JALNE WALON - JAILOR
6. WOH SHAM KUCH AJEEB THI - KHAMOSHI

From the above listing, one can observe that the selection of the songs was very interesting and classy. So also, as the music and sound system was excellent, the renditions too came out very well. For me, in some of the songs, I felt as though I was attending a live concert. Two songs from the entire above list are my all time favourites and they were rendered so well that I have to repeat their listing once again.

1. KAL RAAT ZINDAGI SE MULAQAAT HO GAYI (Palki) by S K Elias.

Less than 20 days back, when Sreesha had come to Hyderabad, the three of us = Sreesha, self and Elias = were sitting in the former's hotel room and listening to various songs. Elias had never paid much attention to this gem of a song before that day. Repeated hearing of this song had an everlasting impact on Elias who heard it separately and wrote down its lyrics and rehearsed the song. This is one song that cannot be learnt in less than 20 days time. The variations in the antaras, the various ragas, the diction that certain words require, are of such high standards that many good singers have kept away from singing this great song. But not Elias. For me, it was a gift from this young singer who puts in so much effort in learning and perfecting the art of singing. More about this song and Elias' singing in a separate email again.

2. IK TU HAI PIYA JISPE DIL AA GAYA (Pran Jaaye Par Vachan Na Jaaye) by Mrs Radha Chandar.

This is one exceptional song from an otherwise forgettable movie and has remained my favourite song for decades. Not much heard either on TV Channels or with collectors of songs, the song has perfect balance between the lyrics and the tune composition. Asha Bhonsle has put in some very subtle variations in the song which I was keenly observing when Mrs Radha Chandar presented the song. They were all intact. The beats in the song also change frequently within the mukhda, in antaras and it is a great composition. It was a treat to hear it yesterday once again and we are very happy that such lovely songs are brought to the fore by our members.

Many other songs from the above listing too were very good, for e.g. AA AA BHI JAA RAAT DHALNE LAGI; GORI TERA GAON BADA PYARA (Chitchor), ZARA SI AHAT HOTI HAI (Haqeeqat) and my own rare song - MAIN TOOTI HUYI IK NAIYYA (Aadmi).

Some of these songs are generally not rendered in most mehfils and that makes our Musical Session an exceptional one. Kudos to all our members.

A S MURTY

होश जब से संभाला है, होश ही उड़ गए हैं
कुछ अजब सुरूर है रफ़ी साहब के तरानों में

HOSH JAB SE SAMBHALA HAI, HOSH HI UD GAYE HAIN !
KUCH AJAB SUROOR HAI RAFI SAHAB KE TARAANON MEIN !!

DISCOVERING RAFI SAHAB

Discovering Rafi Sahab

Rafi Bhakts present new tales to the unending saga

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Article by A S MURTY, Secretary, Rafi Foundation, Hyderabad Chapter – rafimurty@gmail.com

For the past several years now, I have had a very close interaction with many Rafi Bhakts, from across the globe. Fans of Rafi Sahab, like that of any other legend, come from all walks of life. They have very varied lifestyles and come from different cultural backgrounds. Yet they have many commonalities in them. I have found some very dedicated Rafi Bhakts, who indulge in a wide spectrum of activities that spread the works of Rafi Sahab. All of them do it selflessly and purely out of their own personal passion for Rafi Sahab and his songs. Most of them work ceaselessly, devoting a lot of time and money on their activities – unmindful of any rewards. Their only reward is their personal satisfaction of doing what they like most – spreading the fragrance of Rafi Sahab. There are several communities of Rafi Sahab on social networking sites on the internet. Several groups exist in almost all the major cities. These groups conduct musical shows, musical sessions, get togethers, mehfils and so much more. They inter-act and discuss the movies for which Rafi Sahab has given his impeccable renditions and relive the magic of these immortal songs.

Rafi Sahab was a singer par excellence – he surpassed all the known playback singers with his outstanding ability to go into the soul of the song. Writers before me have commented that he actually enacted the songs and nothing could have been truer. This quality alone makes him unique in the large galaxy of some of the finest playback singers that our country has produced. But beyond these extra-ordinary armory that Rafi Sahab possessed, he was a very down-to-earth person. Very modest in disposition and humble in nature. He lived a fairly simple life and had no vices. Foremost, he believed he had to spend quality time with his family. He played games with his children, sang songs for them all to hear and did his riyaz unfailingly. He was a very large hearted person and helped the needy, several times even without the needy seeking alms from him. He encouraged everyone in the industry – from musicians to film-makers to the co-singers. Although Rafi Sahab was at the pinnacle of glory, his attitude was that of a commoner. He won the hearts of everyone in the film industry with his unimpeachable character and was therefore respected by the big and small alike. He was always addressed as Rafi Sahab by not only his contemporaries and juniors, but by seniors and veterans. Rafi Sahab learnt early in his life that respect begets respect and love. His endearing charm lay in his smile as otherwise he was a man of few words.

I have discovered that, listening piously to Rafi Sahab songs for several decades now, his fan following not only has become countless – running into millions I presume. But more than this, his fans who often would like to call themselves as Rafi Bhakts – have themselves imbibed several qualities of their virtuous idol. Many are often seen doing charity services. Rafi Bhakts are trying to become role-models for future generations by their unstinted and selfless acts. Many names crop up, but it would not be proper to name some and forget many and hence individual names are not being lined up. But the picture is very brightly lit before us. Rafi Bhakts are not only earning a good reputation and name, but also enhancing the name of Rafi Sahab in whatever they do. Pages after pages have been written on legendary idols by their fans, including on Rafi Sahab by the Rafi Bhakts. Rich tributes have been paid to some of the very great Rafi Bhakts earlier too in various fora. I have seen youngsters, some of them still in their teens, who worship Rafi Sahab as though they have grown up listening to his songs. Most of these youngsters have been born several years after Rafi Sahab himself bid goodbye to this world. How then this YOUNG RAFI BRIGADE came to be such staunch followers of a playback singer whose songs were recorded several decades earlier. Awestruck, I tried to find answers to these perplexing questions. Men would easily prefer male playback singers and often co-relate their own voices (and singing abilities sometimes) to the well known male playback singers. Their being Rafi Bhakts therefore is understandable. But we do have a very large distaff music lovers who besides being good music lovers and liking the songs of Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle, Geeta Dutt, Suman Kalyanpur, etc. have a very definite and strong leaning towards Rafi Sahab. Their knowledge of the songs of Rafi Sahab is extra-ordinary again. These female fans of Rafi Sahab show equal passion, sometimes more vocally than their male counterparts.

As I have been in close inter-action with such great Rafi Bhakts over the last several years it set me thinking – how they came to become Rafi Bhakts in the first place. What touched the emotional chord in them to be so vociferous in their piety towards Rafi Sahab ? And I set myself to discover their tryst with the one persona they admire and worship more than anyone else – Rafi Sahab. I threw open a topic “HOW I BECAME A RAFI FAN” and within days, a plethora of short but well crafted true accounts of individual infatuations, emotions, convictions, etc. all started pouring in. Careful analysis of most of them tells me one thing very clearly – these write ups are just as honest as ever there can be and have been narrated from the depth of individual hearts of Rafi Bhakts. Just a week before I had asked friends – all staunch Rafi Bhakts – to narrate their story on what makes them a fan of Rafi Sahab. From among the heaps of write-ups that I have already received, it was very difficult to choose one over the other. However, for various reasons I did find one very exceptional write up which I think all the Rafi Fans across the globe would like to read. Perhaps many would see a piece of their own life in such a great essay which has been sent to me by Dr Vasudha Theeratharam.

Dr. Vasudha Theertharam is an Ayurvedic physician and a Nutritionist.She has her own private clinic at Bangalore.She is a senior faculty member in Information and Research centre where she teaches Health and Nutrition on a part-time basis.

Dr Vasudha has herself essayed a fine article on these pages earlier, partnering Gan Sharma and the link to that article (A wide range of fans for one song!) is

http://www.mohdrafi.com/meri-awaaz-suno/a-wide-range-of-fans-for-one-song.html

Friends I would like you to analyse the following write up of Dr Vasudha on “HOW I BECAME A RAFI FAN” and co-relate the same with your own corresponding thoughts.

QUOTE

I am narrating a tale of untold bliss.

Beneath the layers of my heart lay a cache of images which sheltered millions of emotions.Here friends, take a peek into my heart.

My tryst with Rafi began when I was blossoming into a teenager.

Papa had a ear for good music and he played Baiju Bawra, Chori Chori, Barsaat among various other filmy, instrumental and classical numbers. As a kid I listened to these divine musical delights. Though unable to comprehend the meaning of the songs, the melody, the range, the cadence and the nuances of Man tarpat, Oh duniya ke rakhwaale, Jhoolen pavan ki aayee bahaar, Tu ganga ki mauj mein, Khuli palak mein jhoota gussa, Chupne waale saamne aa etc. touched my heart and Rafi left that indelible mark which till date no other singer has succeeded in erasing. Every note was ingrained in my gray matter.

I was on the threshold of teenage. I was a plain Jane whom nobody would want to give a second glance.

One day a cousin of mine came to stay with us. She had this ‘mane’ mania and the looks of my silky, brown hair caught her eye (That lux and lux alone was the secret of my brown hair is something I would like to share with you all). She loved my hair and made me aware of my asset, the beauty of which used to be camouflaged in a meandering plait or a bouncing pony until then.

She and I often listened to old Hindi songs, crooned and dreamt; though I did not have the necessary qualifications of a teenage dreamer.

It was one of those day dream sessions which was interrupted by Teri zulphonse judaai to nahin maangi thi - I was mesmerized by the melody of the song.

My dream boy was singing for me.

Every mind is fickle and carefree. It has the liberty to date Dev Anand, gaze at the full moon with Dharmendra and reach for the stars with the man of one’s choice. This unbridled exhilaration cannot be snatched from any mind.

But –

I took a tour of the universe with the man of my dreams-Mohommad Rafi.

Rafi’s voice held my mane, entangled it with his hands, lifted my drooping chin and pacified me with Maine kya zulm kiya aap khafa ho baite…

And in the breezy twilight sang Tumhaari zulf ki saayen mein shaam kar loonga… Wow! I had fallen in love with the voice. I did not care to see the face. I exulted in the tantalizingly ‘teenful’ years.

I did have few admirers for my eyes which were pronounced against the backdrop of my prominent cheekbones. I imagined Rafi looking into my eyes and singing Yeh aankhen uff yumma pyaar kyun na hoga and I looked into his eyes with the same level of intensity singing Yeh mausam uff yumma and thus began the journey of ishq, pyar, mohobbat- so exciting, so intoxicating.

Mujhe tumse mohobbat ho gayee hai mujhe palkonki chaao mein rehne do – reverberated in every cell of my body.

On one of my daily trips to school – I remember having told one of my friends – I want to marry Rafi – It was of course told in a lighter vein.

“Rafi? Have you seen him?” she shot back.

As a teenager pining from love, Rafi’s Choo lene do naazuk hotonko, Jaane chaman shola badan pehlu mein aa jao, Chalkaaye jam aayiye aapki, Tum kamsin ho naadan ho were some of the songs which served as an ambrosia and aroused the ‘Mohobbat’ in me.

It didn’t matter how old Rafi was or how he looked I was his ‘Radha’, Prem diwaani. ‘Everything is fair in love’, I told my friend.

I had no Rafi obsessions whatsoever. I loved his singing, that’s all and his songs took me to another land – Phiroo tujhe sang leke, naye naye rang leke sapnonki mehfil mein.

My teens were coming to an end. During my five and a half years of dissecting bodies, learning plant and human anatomy my emotional physiology took a backseat. During the cultural fest in my college I unconsciously sang Rafi songs for music competitions. Bahoaaro phool barsao, Woh jab yaad aaye and mitwa mere meet re. I won the first prize for Bahaaro, and 3^rd for Mitwa; somehow woh jab yaad aaye didn’t make the necessary impact.

While practicing Mitwa mere meet re my better half ‘Chinnu’ as I lovingly call him had listened to the song and then said.- ‘You sang very well’. Little had I realized then that ‘Mere mitwa’ was complimenting me.

Today I am happily married and have two sons.

When my elder son who is a Downs baby listens to Oh duniya ke rakhwaale. Man tarpat hari darshan and many other songs in an absorbed manner I feel I have succeeded in transferring my music gene to my progeny.

Was it ‘that’ extra gene that made him a Downs baby? If the answer is in the affirmative I would somewhere, amidst all my sorrow of begetting such a child, feel happy too that an extra pair of genes that was the causative factor for the syndrome, has music in it.

My Papa and Amma are very fond of my son. He grew up listening to his Grandpa singing, among various other songs Raadhike tune bansari churaayi as well. It is sheer pleasure even now to listen to papa singing Bansari churaayi, and my son unfalteringly saying ‘KYA’ and the music session going on for hours.

Now in the transition period of my life I fly with the same gusto carrying lovely memories of my association with songs like Dil bekaraar saa hai, Raat suhaani jaag rahi hai, Aise toh na dekho, Yeh parbatonke daayre, Jaag dil e deewaana, Rhim jhim ke geet saawan gaaye, Yaad mein teri jag jag ke hum –the list is endless.

Rafi the sculptor, the man who kindled the flame of first love in me has succeeded in carrying it to this day with the same brightness making me live every moment, naughtily whispering into my ears—

Tumse kahoon ek baat paron se halki halki halki halki halki–

Vasudha

UNQUOTE

Many more of Rafi Bhakts have already sent in their write ups and many would do so for several months more. The aim was to discover Rafi Sahab through the Rafi Bhakts and if write ups like the one above keep pouring in from all quarters, the dream of understanding Rafi Sahab better would become a reality for all of us. Activities of these nature are not common and it is in this context that I have always felt that the Rafi Bhakts are just as unique as the master himself. The saga of Rafi Sahab continues therefore in the form of outpouring from the Rafi Bhakts themselves. Some of the experiences and thoughts of these Rafi Bhakts are so out of this world that they resemble fairly tales. But true they are and therein surfaces several aspects of Rafi Sahab that perhaps are yet to be discovered. Go on Rafi Bhakts, narrate your own tryst with Rafi Sahab. Those of you who wish to write about your own personal experiences and thoughts on this subject, may please send me their essays to my personal email id given above, or else follow up this article by posting in your thoughts.

Discover Rafi Sahab, therefore, in the only way his true followers can – as unique and gifted as the master himself.

A S MURTY

TERI ANKH KA JO ISHARA NA HOTA

ADABRAFI DOSTON,

"Teri Aankh Ka Jo Ishara Na Hota - 1967 film Nai Roshni. Singer: Mohammed Rafi. Music by Ravi. Stars: Tanuja, Sailesh Kumar, Ashok Kumar, Mala Sinha, Raaj Kumar, Biswajeet. Story by Nihar Ranjan Gupta. Dialogues-director: N S Bedi. Director: C V Sridhar. Other films with the same name were made in 1930 and 1941. There would be no film songs or ghazals, singers or even screenplays and superstars without lyricists and writers. Why not give full due credit to the poor lyricists first, and also to the comparatively super-rich music composers, producers and directors? The legendary singer Mohammed Rafi (1924-1980) still continues to entertain millions around the world. Surely, he justly and rightly deserves more honours for his selfless contributions to the Bollywood film and entertainment industry. Under-rated, under-paid Mohammed Rafi was honoured with the "best singer of the millennium" by Hero Honda and Stardust magazine in Mumbai on 07 January 2001, over twenty years after Rafi passed away in July 1980. "It was Mohammed Rafi sahib's humility which made him such a great singer. This is evident in his songs which he sang from the heart. He thought of the music, and doing a good job. He did not think of the money or furthering his career. His personality and attitude showed in his voice which was like divine nectar. God created him to sing...," according to Shakil. Only the best lyricists, musicians and singers perform for http://www.youtube.com/spsyed live shows, mehfils, ghazal nights..."

Well, you must be wondering what the above has to do with our Musical Session of 17th Jan 2010, for that was the topic for this write-up you would say, is it not ? You could not have been more correct. But since yesterday, I have been listening to this gem of a song (twice yesterday at the Musical Session) and since the time Satyendra sent us all this wonderful song. Today as I checked the internet for more details on this song, I stumbled upon the above passage which again struck me. I may have heard this song somewhere in my own childhood, but not too often to have remembered the classic composition. I would have continued to be devoid of this heavenly feeling that I am now in, had it not been to perhaps Imtiazbhai who joined us for our Musical Session yesterday.

Imtiazbhai, as I have told you all earlier, had seen my blog : http://rafimurty.blogspot.com and found out my email id and sent me a message from Jeddah, S.A. informing that he being from our own city, would be visiting Hyderabad from 8th to 18th Jan 2010 and would like to attend one Musical Session. I had not known him earlier than the one email that he had sent me and I sent him all the information about our group and other related activities. Imtiazbhai then joined us finding his way in the now very well developed Hyderabad (he has been coming and going but just cannot see the entire city on his short trips and Hyderabad has undergone so many changes). And he came fully equipped - he had IPod looking device which stored his Karaoke tunes and perhaps many more songs. He is an old hand with www.meragana.com too and as we were to find out, is a very fine singer too. The song TERI AANKH KA JO ISHARA NA HOTA thus came as a fresh whiff of music to all of us. I had decided to request him to sing the song once again towards the end and he did oblige, besides singing other songs - all at ease again. To sum up Imtiazbhai's contribution at yesterday's musical session (he brought along plenty of snacks to munch on too) - HE CAME, HE SANG and HE CONQUERED. Imiazbhai many thanks and your visit to Hyderabad is cherished by us all and we wish you to come here as often as possible.

The start of the Musical Session was also greeted by another good news - Shanti getting a placement. She goes to work from tonight. Congratulations Shanti and we all wish you a bright future in your career ahead. Shanti has taken a big leap forward as far as her singing is concerned. Now she is getting to become the talk of the Musical Sessions, what with her expressive singing. To put the point in much broader perspective, Imtiazbhai wanted to hear her sing again before he left.

We know that the Dhepes were in Bangalore and would not be attending the Musical Session. Also away is Mrs Padmaja who will join us from the next Musical Session onwards. Nalin Ranjan sent an SMS informing that due to exams he would not be attending the Musical Session. We had expected one more new friend - Mr S Srinivasan. He too telephoned me during the day yesterday conveying that he may be tied with his cousin visiting Hyderabad from Bangalore and if time permits he would attend. We hope he will be with us all from the next Musical Session onwards. Other friends also could not attend but there was no information from them. There were thus the usual regular members :

the Sivarams (3), the Chandars (2), N R Padmanabhan, R Padmanabhan, A S Murty, Satyendra, S K Elias and the Deshpandes (2), besides Imtiazbhai.

We all sang 38 songs of all hues again - Hindi, Marathi - solos, duets, Rafi Sahab, Asha Bhonsle, Lata Mangeshkar, Geeta Dutt, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Talat Mahmood and wonder who else ? the Big B too. Yes, Chandar sang two of the songs which were sung by Amitabh Bachhan. As this report has already taken considerable space, I am not listing out the 38 songs. But we had fun singing them like we always do. Magic Sing Karaoke seems to have taken a back seat as all the songs were from meragana.com and a couple from the built in Karaoke tunes that Imtiazbhai had brought along. One particular incident is worth mentioning. Sivaram becomes emotional whenever a song with powerful lyrics, in particular songs on Deshbhakti are rendered. So it was when Elias was singing Watan Pe Jo Fida Hoga that Sivaram, standing behind the singer, started to roll down tears of emotion. I think the success of our Musical Session was for all of us to see.

Although we did not finalize the next date of Musical Session in a fuller throat, as some suggested, we can have the next one on the godly occasion of the REPUBLIC DAY i.e. 26th January 2010. We can all come up with atleast one Patriotic song. We may come up with a bigger National Integration Programme on the occasion of 15th Aug 2010 in a big and reputed School. This way we will be able to send across to the children of today the most patriotic songs that have captivated generations of music lovers.

In case anyone wishes to have any Patriotic Hindi film song, just let me know and I will try to send the same.

Finally, the DVDs of RAFI HOLIDAY, the BHEL Programme and the DHOLA RI DHANI programme are all with us. Some are in circulation and soon the copies will be made for these. Those who had attended the above programmes will in any case be the proud owners of these DVDs, but in case anyone who was not part of the above programmes too wishes for the same, just let us know.

Doston, I will soon write to you on another subject which is being discussed among many Rafi Fan clubs and the Rafi Foundation elsewhere in the country. We would like our members too to participate in the on going activities. I would like you to keep pace with www.mohdrafi.com on various activities and other music related topics. You can also contribute by way of your own good write-ups and comments to other fancied articles.

I will send you all the information on the next Musical Session of 26th Jan 2010 by Sunday next. Let all our members attend this Session on the occasion of formation of our Republic.

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A S MURTY