A Snub To Rafi Again

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 7 February 2024 Granted, some individuals are greater than any award just like the Nobel Prize Committee publicly admitted that M K Gandhi was greater than the Nobel Peace Prize (he never got it), awards are often official acknowledgements and stamps of an individual's excellence in any sphere. Mohammad Rafi ------ The legendary Mohammad Rafi getting only Padma Shri, that too way back in 1966, and never getting Dada Saheb Phalke or Bharat Ratna is a clear sign of governmental apathy. In fact, a Padma Shri was the only State honour that the great singer received during his lifetime. If Vinod Khanna (!) and Prithviraj Kapoor could get Dada Saheb Phalke Award posthumously, why can't Rafi get? If Lal Krishna Advani can get it at the fag-end of his life, why can't the government confer it upon Rafi? All awards have lost their importance. Now anyone can get any award. If you're well-connected and hobnob with people in the political corridor, you can manage to get any award. Rafi's universal greatness has never been questioned. His songs still warm the cockles of our hearts. And he's perhaps the only great from Bollywood whose fame has never diminished. Rather, it's on the rise by the day and Rafi is now a cult. Yet, no government has ever officially recognised the greatness of one of the finest voices in the world. Music has a universal appeal. Whether it's vocal or instrumental, it echoes in our consciousness. P B Shelly wrote, "Music, when soft voices die, Vibrates in the memory—Odours, when sweet violets sicken, Live within the sense they quicken." We still listen to Mozart's immortal compositions like the motet Exsultate, Jubilate, K 165 (1773) and the Jupiter Symphony (1788), Beethoven's 'Choral' symphony (Symphony no. 9 in D minor), K L Saigal's ever-verdant 'Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya' (Shahjahan, 1946), Frank Sinatra's timeless anthem, ' My Way ' (1969), Pankaj Mullick's soulful 'Tere Mandir Ka Hoon Deepak Jal Raha, ' Harry Belafonte's unforgettable, ' Jamaica Farewell ' (1956) and Rafi's otherworldly, 'Man Re Tu Kaahe Na Dheer Dhare' (Chitralekha, 1964). We may forget Dilip Kumar, Paul Newman or Laurence Olivier's wonderful acting on the celluloid, but we can't forget the reverberations of immortal music. We can never be tired of humming Rafi's countless gems be it 'Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki' (Dulari, 1949) or 'Din Dhal Jaaye Hai' (Guide, 1965). By the way, this is Rafi's centennial year. He was born on December 24, 1924. Let's hope, this partisan political dispensation bestows Bharat Ratna upon him on the ensuing occasion. But I'm doubtful. ---- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/rafi-bharat-ratna/d/131668 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism