Rafi's two solos, Badi der bhayee and Duniya na bhaaye mohe are no less soul-stirring. Basant Bahar, adapted from Ta-Ra-Su's (TR Subba Rao) Kannada novel Hamsa Geethe, had a plethora of melodious songs, including Manna Dey's Sur na saje and Ketaki gulab ki, and the Lata-Manna Dey duet, Nain mile chain kahan. Devout Muslim that he was, he seemed to transfer that faith to whichever God he was singing to - bearing out the tenet that there is just one God. As my grandmother said when she learnt that the Guruvayoor temple authorities had forbidden him entry, " All Yesudas has to do is to sing it wherever he is, and Guruvayoorapan will present himself in front of him.") That is precisely how I feel when I hear Mohammed Rafi sing a devotional song. (I feel the same way when I hear Yesudas sing Guruvayoor ambala nadayil for that matter.
It was only a matter of time before Hameed was persuading Mohammed Rafi's father to let Rafi move to Bombay, under his guardianship.īhajans are not usually my cup of tea, but there is something very attractive about Mohammed Rafi singing bhajans - the devotion is unmistakeable, the faith is unwavering, and it is hard, as a listener, to not feel it. (The film only released in 1944.) By this time, Rafi was beginning to make a name for himself, and by 1943, had become a regular on Radio Lahore. He offered Rafi a chance to sing for him, and in 1941, Mohammed Rafi recorded his first song - Soniye (Goriye?) nee heeriye nee for the Punjabi film Gul Baloch. Music director Shyam Sunder was a member of the audience, and was also quite taken by the young lad's voice. KL Saigal, impressed by the young lad, blessed him with success. Thirteen-year-old Rafi thus performed for the first time in public. Abdul Hameed, a friend (and soon-to-be-brother-in-law) convinced the organisers to let Mohammed Rafi sing until Saigal could take over. The crowd was growing restless and the organisers were in a fix. Due to a power outage, the microphone was useless and the legendary singer refused to sing until the power came back on. Mohammed Rafi's first public performance was at concert in Lahore where KL Saigal was scheduled to perform.