Did you become a Rafisaab fan before, or after the legend passed away? Options

[iqbal]

All Rafians, please vote - this should be interesting!

[Harold]

Hi Friends,

I really enjoyed reading yours posts on this subject. I will vote after my reply.
I myself also grew up listening to his voice and the voices of the other legends. I was still a kid and not so intoxicated, addicted and hooked up to his voice as I'm now, but he always was my favourite singer. So I'll vote for before.

As the years went by, I became more and more a Rafi-"deewana". He came to Holland in 1973, 1977 and 1979 (correct me if I'm wrong Roy). I'm born in 1968 and cannot remember his visit in 1973. We migrated to Holland in September 1973, so maybe we weren't living here at that moment yet.

The evening of his concert in 1977 I can remember very clear. I was 9 years old and my mother asked me if I wanted to go with her and my elder brother and sisters to the concert. Stupid me told her, that I can listen to his voice at home, so save your money. (Oelloe ke patthe!!!!!) I was told later that the concert was sold out and people even watched the concert standing. It was at the Krasnapolsky Hotel on Dam Square in the City Centre of Amsterdam.

After 2 years in 1979 I came back to sanity and went to his concert in Amsterdam at the Jaap Eden Hal. It was 27 October I believe. Almost my whole family went to his concerts. It was my first concert ever and the best and most special concert in my life. It was his last visit to Amsterdam. He was wearing a white suit and came on stage with a big smile. He smiled almost the whole concert, so much love was shining from him. He made jokes while singing. When he sang "Pardah Hai Pardah", he had a flower in his hand while singing "kisi haseen ki taraf ye gulab phaikoonga". And after the first couplet he really threw it into the audience A old lady catched it. Every was enjoying and laughing. While singing "Sar Par Topi Lal Haath Mein Reshem Ka Roemaal" He actually had a "roemaal" in his hand and was waving with it. Top of the evening was "O Duniya Ke Rakhwale". If I can remember well, he even received a standing ovation for this song. Maybe Roy can remember this as he saw all his Holland-concerts.

I had the fortune to see every legend except Mukesh, and I can say that his concert was the best I ever saw. People would really go crazy. That is something you don't often see in our culture. Most of the time you see people just gently clapping after a song. In his concerts people would whistle, cheer, laugh and applaud even during the song. The whole atmosphere was different. I think Sajjad, Roy and other members who have seen him will agree. The shy humble man became a different man on the stage. His daughter said the same to me when I met her in September. She said: "Sometimes when we would see him on stage, we'd be like: I this our Dad?"

After this concert my crazyness of him started to speed up and as the years went by, he became more and more important to me. So important that I can say that he is a part of my life, who will always be a part of my life until the last breath I breathe. I love him with whole my heart and regularly cry when I listen to his voice, or see him or think about him. He was a living miracle. A man who was excellent in every aspect of sangeet and life.

Once I had a discussion wit someone, who said that in 30 years nobody will be interested in Rafi saab anymore because they don't know him and will forget him. I said to that person: "I see that young children who are born after his death still become a fan of him without even having seen him. This man was so great that he can't be forgotten."

You guys prove that this is true and will always be the case, as long as sangeet is In the world. And I'm therefore very glad to see the "after"-group in majority.

"Zamaana jab tak gajega, Mohammed Rafi yaad ajega".

Please forgive me for the long post, but I got carried away in his remembrance.

Harold