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I wanted to start speaking about Rafi having had posted so much on Kishore in the last few months. Let us begin with the following song list, the first in a series of many similar to come on Rafi and others. Rafi was the original playback maestro. All others only followed him. While Sehgal fans may not agree with my notion, I can choose to ignore them since they are hardly any force to make a hue and cry on this issue…lol. A list of mostly romantic solos by Rafi is displayed here. Remember, I’m no pucca Rafi listener, so bear with whatever I could produce now.

My childhood went in listening to an exploding Kishore Kumar. This happened from mid-70s onwards. He was alive till I became 18 in 1987. Rafi passed away when I must have been around 11. Mukesh a couple of years earlier. I clearly remember them having a sway over my elder generation. I carried the word of appreciation from thereon. Rafi’s voice thus became an integral part of my upbringing. Vividh Bharati and All India Radio Urdu Service would air Hindi movie songs in those days. Megaphones in Navaratri Pandals and weddings would also play them aloud.

There were times, I won’t listen to KK’s numbers for months on (mostly having overlistened him). I did not enjoy it, unless I could sing along too. And this was not easy to accomplish in KK’s case. You could follow Rafi in all weathers though, if you desired so. His genre bore a simplicity, despite his vastness as a singer, that may not easily be found in any other singer’s style. I used to switch over to Rafi’s camp for this reason, whenever tired of listening KK.

Rafi Saab In Aashiqana Mood!