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Wahi jispe sangeet ko naaz hain, Mohd. Rafi ki woh awaaz hain!
As you read in yesterday’s post Rafi’s father was a stern antagonist of music, while Rafi its devotee. Hence the clash between father and son was obvious. It’s reported that, when Rafi was mere seven years old he began exhibiting his penchant for the art.
CHECK OUT: A tribute to Mohammed Rafi
You may be surprised to know that Rafi’s inspiration for singing was a divine gift. Recalling his early days once Rafi in an interview said, ”I vividly remember when I was a child I was inspired by the song of a blind fakir who frequented our house singing sufi songs in the morning. He used to carry a bowl in one hand and tongs in other hand. He never used to ask for anything but villagers gave him eatables and money.” Rafi continued, ”Whenever I used to hear him singing it created such an intoxicating impact on me that I used to get carried away and blindly followed the fakir until he reached the outskirts of the village and waited anxiously for him to arrive the next day.”
That was not all, Rafi not just listened to the fakir but when he used to return home, he would secretly sing the same song in perfect sync as sung by the fakir. Rafi’s uncle Hamid Sahab used to be wonder-stuck by the excellence of the young Rafi who was barely seven years then. On the contrary Rafi’s fathers instead of praising his son use to get furious and scolded him to refrain from music, which in those days was looked down upon. However, luckily Hameed Sahab was able to convince Rafi’s elder brother, Mohammed Deen, who saw the ‘Sparkles of the Genius’ and a ‘God’s Gift’ in his brother’s voice. Thus Hamid Sahab and his brother Mohammed Deen, played a key role in shaping Rafi’s career.
Also Read:
Who gave recommendation letter to Rafi to meet music wizard Naushad?
