Mohd. Rafi is a name firmly entrenched in the hallways of immortality.
By the time I attained a certain level of musical consciousness, Rafisaab had reached a sort of a cul-de-sac in his career. I am talking about the 1969-70 phase, when out of nowehere Kishore broke through and dethroned Rafi from his lofty perch. This was nothing less that a minor miracle for, till the release of 'Aradhana' it was Rafi all the way with Mukesh, Manna Dey and Mahendra Kapoor always being at the fringes of popularity.
It was sometime in 1977, when Rafisaab staged a remarkable comeback with 'Laila Majnu' and 'Dharam-Veer' that my interest in him was rekindled. From then on, I went into a flashback and unearthed all his old songs, which I had never heard until then. Vividh Bharati and AIR - Urdu Service used to play Rafisaab's songs with frequent rapidity and from then on, I was totally hooked to his dulcet voice, which has remained so till date.
I can identify two songs of his which I must have heard over a thousand times, but still sound so fresh with every hearing - 'Pukarta chala hoon main..' from 'Mere Sanam' and 'Aap ke haseen rukh pe...' from 'Bahaaren phir bhi aayengi'.
