LOOKING BACK ... A. MEMOIR!

This is about a special Guru Shishya Parampara which lasted for three decades until death separated the greatest singer of our times. I am talking about the Guru "Bhishma" of Hindi music Naushad Ali and the Shishya the immortal singer Rafi Saab!  Rafi was introduced by Naushad first as a chorus singer. Rafi was singing as an artist from 1944 without success or satisfaction. He came to Naushad after a few years and said that he is not satisfied with the type of songs he is singing then. He wanted to go back to Punjab to continue in classical music in which he was trained. Naushad asked him to be patient and he said he will soon give a classical movie the songs of which he will be proud of. Had Naushad not assured then, Rafi would have gone back, and we would have lost a golden voice.   Naushad said this about Rafi. “Rafi those days used to feel concerned that, though singing extensively, he had not been able to create the same impact as Talat Mehmood or Mukesh. ‘Well, ...

  Mom with her granddaughters  Mom with Shanthi at Central Park New York Mom at Rishikesh 1985 Mom at Chennai 1988 Granddaughters celebrate mom's birthday Mysore 1991 Selfie with mom At chidambaram with my brother and uncle  SN Wedding picture GK Vale studio 1946 Today 10 th June is my dear mother’s birthday. This is a tribute on her 90 th birthday. She died four years back and we still see her alive through memories. My mother Jayalakshmi known to my relatives as Jayam was a bold woman with a strong will and determination. She was from a rich family background. A Sivarama Iyer my mom’s father from Tirunelveli district (Cheranmadevi ) was a first generation highly successful businessman at Madras in the 40s and a distributor of a diversified portfolio of paint, paper and also insurance agent for British companies. He was an allrounder who commanded respect with his towering personality, who can also sing devotional and play harmonium and what not. He had 4 sons and 4 ...