Rafi’s voice continues to strike a chord with music lovers

Even after Tamil’s long-standing innings with regional names of melody like TM Soundararajan, PB Srinivas, followed by SP Balasubrahmanyam or KJ Yesudas, Mohammed Rafi finds a special place. One might not know Hindi, but that never stopped them from connecting with the voice be it the lovelorn Mann Re Tu Kahe (Chitralekha) or Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki (Dulari), said Anand Madhavan, a retro music performer from the city for 40 years. 

He said, “His rendition was always extremely emotive and that went across barriers, especially even when people didn’t know the language. That’s what differentiated him from the rest of the singers like Mukesh and Manna Dey, who were also greats in the field. He worked on the song and the result was superb,” he added. 

Specialising in Rafi numbers, Chandan Da, another popular stage name in the city, who grew up and nurtured his love for Rafi in the Calcutta of the 50s, attributes the connection to the profound knowledge the listeners possessed. “The discerning audiences have very unique ears for some gems — like Kabhi Khud pe (Hum Dono by Jaidev) or Zindagi Aaj Mere Naam (Son of India by Naushad). They know every detail from who composed the lyrics to the artistes featured in the song,” he said.

In fact, it was Madhuban Mein Radhika (Kohinoor) that got R Ramnath, a retro Hindi music lover to learn Tabla. He said, “Growing up on a good diet of Hindi numbers on gramophone and later on radio through Vividh Bharati and Binaca Geetmala, his voice exuded a divinity and he was synonymous with melody.”

Lakshmi Raghavan of Music Lovers Chennai, a charitable trust that organises retro shows, pointed out that the city’s connect dates to his heyday when he performed here. Having attended almost all his concerts staged then, she said, “His genuinely, honesty and simplicity came through his song renderings and of course the voice he had was God’s gift.” 

She added that such is the impact that organising any music show in the city without his numbers would be impossible. “Even in our last concert we had this Sunday featuring songs by Shankar-Jaikishen, a fair share were his songs. He had so much versatility that he appealed as the brooding Dilip Kumar’s voice or even the comical and goofy Johnny Walker. He suited almost all heroes who ruled the roost in the 60s — from Shammi Kapoor to Rajendra Kumar,” she pointed out. 

Having worked with an array of music composers from the likes of the classical Naushad to the master of rhythmic OP Nayyar and the peppy duo Shankar-Jaikishen, Rafi had a song for all, she said.

The naturality in his voice and singing made one look at the trees or the river when you listen to him, said Chandan Da, citing Shankar Jaikishen, who collaborated with him for over two decades. They said, “He had aatma in his voice.”