Mohd Rafi's native village in Punjab remembers the legend

Mohammed Rafi

Legendary playback singer Mohammed Rafi's native village Kotla Sultan in Amritsar, Punjab remembered him on his 36th death anniversary today, with scores paying a tribute to him.

Mohammed Rafi

On the occasion, a small function was organised in the village.

"A number of people and Rafi sahib's fans thronged to pay tribute. He was the best singer of all times and even 36 years after his death, he lives on eternally. His songs today are as popular as they were when he was alive," Jagjit, a fan of the singer, said.

Singing competitions are organised in the village for the children each year to pay tributes to the singer.

Rafi was born in Kotla Sultan, which is about 30 kms from Amritsar in Punjab and about 250 kms from here. Born on December 24, 1924, Rafi died in Mumbai on July 31, 1980 following a massive heartattack.

The first public performance of Rafi, who began singing by chanting the notes that a 'fakir' sung in his village, came as a teenager, when he was allowed to sing at a concert featuring the legendary K L Saigal.

The singer later went on to lend his voice to Bollywood megastars including Amitabh Bachchan, Shammi Kapoor, Dharmendra, Dev Anand and Rishi Kapoor in his career as a successful playback artist.

He had numerous hit songs to his credit including several duets with famous playback singers Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.

Working with music directors like O P Nayyar, Laxmikant Pyarelal and R D Burman, Rafi delivered some evergreen hits including "Yeh duniya yeh mehfil", "Chura liya hai tumne", "O haseena", "Tum jo mil gaye ho" and "Aaj mausam bada beimaan".

He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1967.