India, Dec. 28 -- I t all started in Kotla Sultan Singh, a Punjab village and a hamlet like any other, but if you go the Wikipedia, you will learn that it is no ordinary settlement but the birthplace of Mohammed Rafi (24 Dec 1924-31 July 1980). Rafi as we know him was no ordinary person but a legend whose songs are stamped on every Indian heart. He was a rare singer and he was considered the greatest and the most influential singer of the subcontinent. He was born to a Punjabi family and his father was a respected figure in the village with henna dyed hair and beard. He was addressed as Haji Ali Mohammad for he had gone thrice to the Islamic pilgrimage at Mecca in Saudi Arabia, all the way from his remote village. Rafi's mother's name was Alharakhi Bai. They called their son Pheeto and had hopes that he would study hard and do well in life. But to the father's disappointment he showed no interest in his studies but chased a mendicant who visited the village singing for alms. And not just that, but also chose to sing with him. The mendicant's favourite song was 'Khedan de din chaar' (The time for play is short). So, he was sent to his uncle's hair saloon in Lahore and make a career there. So, Pheeto left the village and started training in the saloon at age eleven. As the legend goes, young Rafi was humming away always. And, one day, as he manicured a gentleman's nails in the Lahore saloon in Bhatti Gate, he started singing softly. The customer happened to be the famous music director in Lahore and his name was Ghulam Haider. Haider complimented the young man for his hold on music and these were the first words of praise that Rafi had heard in the face of constant discouragement. So he held these words close to his heart and made his first public appearance by singing a KL Sehgal song. His first break as a playback singer came in a Punjabi film in Lahore in a debut number with singer Zeenat Begum. Following this the Lahore Radio Station invited him to sing and the journey began. Rafi moved from Lahore to Mumbai in 1944 when just 20 and shared a ten-by-ten feet room in the congested Bhendi Bazar area and the first song, a peppy number in Noorjahan starring film 'Gaon ki Gori' in 1945: 'Aji dil ho kaabu mein tao dildar ki aisi taisi'! This was his first recorded song in a Hindi film and he went onto record over 7000, in not more, songs across Indian languages, besides singing in several foreign languages. He made a great impact with leading music directors like Naushad Ali, 0P Nayar, SD Burman and Roshan. His most memorable song with Naushad was a famous Bhajan ' Man tarhpat Hari Darshan ko aaj' of the film 'Baiju Bawra' which interestingly was written by Shakeel Badayuni. The song of the 1952 film gained immense popularity overnight as one of the best bhajans ever sung. Even now no musical soiree, wedding or birthday can be imagined without a song or a qawali without playing or singing of a cherished Rafi number. "Abhi Na Jao Chhod Kar," The greatest tribute came to this song when leading classical musicians of the country sang it on the hundredth birthday of Rafi. Originally sung by Rafi and Asha Bhosle, penned by none other than our Sahir Ludhianvi to the lilting music by Jaidev it was performed by many famous Indian singers as a tribute for World Music Day 2024 which coincided with the birthday of Rafi. In recent times, the same song which had won Indian hearts in the 1961 film Hum Dono popped up once more courtesy Karan Johar in the 2023 in the film "Rocky Aur Rani ki Prem Kahani' starring Ranveer Singh and Alia Bhatt. Interestingly, it was picturised on oldies of the cinema world, an ageing Dharmendra, on the edge of dementia and a widowed Shabana Azmi as the two remember a crush they had for one another long older. Expressing the spell Rafi caste is often difficult to explain. However, city's senior singer-composer Kamal Tewari, puts it thus: "Rafi's greatest gift was that he sang with intensity that can be found only in the purest of hearts. I have had the good fortune of attending his concert here at Tagore Theatre and, of course, following him on the radio since childhood. I feel besides the formal music training I took, it was listening to him that honed my singing." Five hours away Delhi-based singer Nasser Harvani says: "The songs of Rafi Sahib are embedded in my heart. What was remarkable about Rafi, apart from his mellifluous, was his unique tonal control and technique. His high note pitching was effortless and he enhanced the lyrics by putting so much soul and expression. Every song is a story told." We all have our own personal collection of Rafi favourites in our hearts and for this singer it is songs like 'Thehariye hosh mein aa loon' and 'Jaag Dile Diwana'. Well, one hopes the readers will now be recalling or even humming their own Rafi favourites. And this scribbler, that's me, has had a good time this Saturday interspersing my writing with listening to my cherished share of the songs of Pheeto, the boy....