MOHAMED RAFI: THE VERSATILE GENIOUS
Rafi was born in a small village called Kotla Sultan Singh near Amritsar in December 1924. His family shifted to Lahore when he was still a baby. A fakir used to come to their locality in Lahore every day and sing. The young Rafi was so fascinated by him that he used to follow him around. His elder brother Hamid was aware of Rafi's love for music and encouraged it. "In fact," says music director Naushad, "A lot of credit for Rafi's success must go to Hamid who knocked on several doors and tried everything to ensure that his brother got work.''
In Lahore, Rafi started taking music lessons from Ustad Wahid Khan. One day Rafi and Hamid had gone to attend a performance by K L Saigal. But the legendary singer refused to sing since there was a power failure at the venue. Hamid went up to the organiser and asked if his brother could sing to keep the audience quiet. That was Rafi's first public performance -- at the age of 13. As it turned out, the setting was just right for him. Among the audience sat noted composer Shyamsunder who was so impressed that he invited the young Rafi to come to Bombay. Hamid brought him to Bombay without telling their father why they were going. Their mother, however, knew about it and blessed them.
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