Little did one know when a boy was born on 24th December 1924 in Kotla Sultansingh village in Punjab, near Amritsar, that he was going to become a musical sensation in the near future. The little boy was none other than the legendary Mohammad Rafi saab. Born to Hajji Ali Mohammad, a village land lord, it was not an easy journey for young Rafi to pursue his dream of becoming a singer
with his father dead against the idea. One day, when young Rafi Saab was about seven years of age, his brother noticed him following a fakir who was walking the streets singing while playing on his Ektara (a one-stringed instrument). Ignoring the regular reprimands of his parents, the young boy continued to follow the fakir to his abode - a huge tree - regularly. It was his brother-in-law Mohammed Hameed who spotted the talent in Rafi Saab and encouraged him. Rafi Saab's first public performance came at the age of 13, when he was allowed to sing at a concert featuring the legendary K. L. Saigal.
As time flew, ‘The voice ‘ of Rafi Saab became a household name. The emotions that his voice depicted touched the hearts of millions. Rafi Saab learnt Hindustani classical music from maestros Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Pandit Jiwanlal Matto and Firoze Nizami. With his talents polished by these crowns of music, Rafi saab was undisputedly one of the best voices not only during his times, but in the history of Indian music. Soon after a couple of performances and playback singing, Rafi Saab was invited by the Lahore radio station to sing for them and the rest is history.
"When Rafi came to Bombay his ambition was to sing a song with his idol, KL Saigal. Naushad gave Rafi few lines in the Saigal song “Roohi Roohi” with which his ambition was fulfilled. "
