Mohammed Rafi (God's Own Voice)

Contents Foreword 9 Preface 11 The Voice that Mesmerised Millions 15 The Initial Years 25 The Warhorse and His Able Jockeys 39 Bond with the Best! 69 The 'Sher' of Couplets 81 The Second Line 95 The Preserve of Private Mehfils 109 Classically Yours 123 A Devout Nationalist 131 Like Khayyam's Colourful Rubaai! 141 Torchbearers of Hindustani Music 147 A Dosti Forever 153 Not by aushad Alone 169 Usha Khanna's Abiding Muse 179 Harmony on Keyboard 185 Discordant Notes 191 A Dispute Not So Royal! 205 The Great '1969 Split' 213 The 'Jain' Music Fare 219 The Rafi Ladder for Kalyanji-Anandji 223 The Quintessential Punjabi 227 Hero Behind the Heroes 233 The Daughter in 'Himalay' Ki God Mein 241 Voice of the Rebel without a Pause 253 Buoyed by the Rafi Spirit 259 Style with Substance 267 Presiding over Rafi Geetmala 273 Repository of the 'Rafi Raj' 279 Rafi's Piano Accordionist 285 Tasveer teri dil mein ... 291 God and His Devotees 297 Records for Records 309 The Numbers Game 317 Mere Pyaare Abba ... My Dear Father 323 The Jewel in India's Crown 331 Acknowledgements 341 Rafi Trivia 342 Image Credits 356 Index 357