There is no doubt as we turn back time that Mohammed Rafi through his contribution to Hindi Cinema has left his mark through his melodious voice, amongst distinguished colleagues such as Mukesh and Kishore Kumar and most importantly, in our hearts. Even though Rafi Sahaab, as he was commonly known, is no more with us… he has left behind a rich tapestry of silk (if you will) woven by those gifted vocal chords and has captivated almost three generations with a body of work that spans four decades. From a humble family who managed a men’s salon in Lahore’s Noor Mohalla, Rafi learnt Hindustani classical music from maestros such as Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Pandit Jiwanlal Matto and Firoze Nizami. His first public performance came at the age of 13 which also had the legendary singer, K.L Saigal performing as well. In hearing his performance, a Lahore radio station invited him to sing with them. But this was just the beginning… In 1944, Rafi sahaab moved to Mumbai and on being introduced to several leading producers and music directors (notably Naushad) for whom he sang as a part of the chorus until 1948 when Rafi sang "Sun Suno Aye Duniya Walon Bapuji Ki Amar Kahani" written by Rajendra Krishan. With the song turning into a hit, he was also invited by Jawaharlal Nehru to sing at his residence while also receiving a silver medal on Indian Independence Day. Rafi rose to fame under the musical direction of Naushad, and it wasn’t long before almost every composition by the latter was sung by Rafi. And during the 50/60s era, music directors like O. P. Nayyar, Shankar Jaikishan and S.D. Burman began to work with Rafi Sahaab as they began to realize versatility with which he gave his performances. And if you’ve been a fan of the ‘evergreen hero’, Dev Anand, the music director S.D Burman patronized Rafi as his singing voice on the big screen. Here’s a song that he sang for Dev Anand, for an unforgettable movie ‘Guide’: So well-received was his voice that he was sought by almost all music directors from the years 1950 onward until 1970, while gracefully making way for the actor-singer known as Kishore Kumar. An interesting aspect of Rafi Sahaab was that even though most people relate yodeling to the late great Kishore Kumar, it was due to Rafi experimentation with this vocal style much earlier that led to its popularity during the Kishore Kumar era. Apart from singing in Hindi, he was known for his versatility as he sang in many Indian languages including Urdu, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Kannada, Telugu and Persian. Another cool thing about Rafi Sahaab is that he also recorded two albums in English as well, of which one was aptly titled ‘Pop Hits’. He also sang a song in Creole while on a visit to Mauritius in the late 1960s. Rafi's notable renderings in the late 1970s and early 80s include Laila Majnu (1976), Apnapan (1978), Qurbani, Dostana (1980), The Burning Train (1980), Naseeb (1981), Abdullah (1980), Shaan (1980), and Asha (1980) and his comeback as a leading playback singer in the 80s was brought to an abrupt halth by the massive heart attack that he succumbed to in July, 1980 On the other hand, his strained relationship with Lata Mangeshkar is well-documented until his death while he has some memorable duet performances with Asha Bhonsle (Lata’s sister) during the entire span of his career. Although amidst great controversy, it isn’t clear who recorded more songs between the two, Lata or Rafi… what remains is that he also received the Padma Shri in 1965… and is fondly remembered and revered for his contribution to the art of playback singing in the 20th century.