Posted on 01/01/2024 on Trivia – The Spice of Life
[ Here’s wishing all the readers a very happy new year 2024!!]
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/mohammad-rafi-the-voice-of-god
A mesmerizing, divine voice strung into the seven notes of music, expressing an array of emotions that we hear everyday, is however not a voice that we have heard very often in conversation. I am referring to the immortal Md. Rafi. Not a day passes when music lovers do not hear his songs on the radio/internet and many other music platforms. However, he was a singer who did not do interviews. He always let his work speak. The microphone for him was for singing and not speaking.
Almost all information that we know about him is from others; seldom is it from the horse’s mouth. YouTube is replete with interviews of film personalities sharing their experiences with him. But try looking for interviews where his voice can be heard in conversation with someone and you will not find more than two or three. Ameen Sayani, the great radio compere who has interviewed the who’s who of the film industry never succeeded in doing an interview with Rafi. When Rafi did finally accede to his request of doing an interview and that too on his own terms – of answering every question through a song of his – it was perhaps too late, for he left for his heavenly abode before this could happen. This was how reticent Rafi was.
The reason why Rafi did not do interviews was because he was very bashful. It was difficult for him to carry a conversation for very long. The discomfort is palpable in his voice. It is almost as though he has been tied to the chair and forced to speak. He sounds happiest when he sings during the course of the interview. Music was what came naturally to him. It is difficult to believe that it is the same diffident person who hardly speaks unless prodded, is the one who has sung the highest of octaves in films.
Rafi was the king of playback singing. His voice is almost akin to the voice of god for music lovers. Yet, in the handful of interviews that one hears, he comes across as extremely humble, god-fearing and down to earth. His motto as one can glean from his interviews was one of simple living and high thinking. He attributed his talent and success to God.
He was a complete family man. As he says in one of his interviews, he neither smoked nor drank. Apart from music his only other passion was badminton. The rest of the time was for the family. In fact one of the rare interviews shows him as a happy family man. He looks relieved once the focus shifts from him to his family, when he longer has to speak.
To find such artists who are not just masterly but also cultured and unassuming is almost next to impossible. Here was an artist who ruled the world of music but was completely devoid of any affectations. God perhaps does not make such artists anymore.
Disclaimer
anitamultitasker.wordpress.com, claims no credit for any image, screenshots or songs posted on this site. The images and screenshots are the copyright of their original owners. The song links and screen grabs are shared from YouTube/ Daily Motion and other platforms only to make the post audio-visual. The copyright of these songs, images and screen shots rests with the respective owners, producers and music companies.
Trivia 
Anita,
Thanks a lot for posting some clips of his interviews. He was an innately shy person and most reluctant to speak. One interesting thing we notice he claimed he would have sung about 25-26 thousand songs. Those days people literally believed in these numbers. Rafi, too, was not making a false claim, he also didn’t know. Today we know his Hindi film songs number about 4800. Since his NFS and other language songs would be very few, we are talking about a total number of about 5500 songs. Thanks to Hindi Film Kosh and other compilations our knowledge today about statistics is very accurate in the range of +-5%.
AK
LikeLike
Thanks a lot for reading and commenting, AK ji! This aspect of Rafi has always intrigued me – he could sing effortlessly but could not speak very confidently. This shows how conversing and singing are two different skills. Being good at one does not necessarily mean that you would be good at the other. I have seen that statistics and documentation is something that the creative people are not very often good at
LikeLike
During Rafi’s era, the culture of media interactions was different compared to today. There was less emphasis on constant public visibility, and many artists, including Rafi, preferred to let their work speak for itself.
While Rafi may not have been as outspoken or publicly visible as some other celebrities, his silence off the stage was in stark contrast to the powerful and emotive voice he lent to countless songs on the stage.
Fans remember him not just for his vocal prowess but also for his dignified and unassuming demeanour. Even with his limited public statements, his impact on the world of music remains immeasurable.
Thank you for selecting this distinctive subject.
Gandhi Vadlapatla
LikeLike
Thanks a lot for reading and commenting, Gandhi ji! You are right about the degree of visibility and media presence in the yesteryears. But inherently too, his personality was such that he was very shy when speaking and thus avoided giving interviews. But despite that he was the king of film music.
LikeLike