Over the decades, the Indian music industry has witnessed some exceptionally talented singers, who have given so many memorable and timeless songs to the people of this nation. While there are so many talented active singers in India right now, like Sonu Nigam, Arijit Singh, Mohit Chauhan, Shreya Ghoshal, Javed Ali, Sunidhi Chauhan, and many more, who keeps on giving so many hit songs to Indian audiences. However, there is one singer, whose songs are still listened to by millions of people across the world. Yes, we are talking about the man, who is often regarded as the greatest singer in the history of this nation, Mohammed Rafi.
The iconic singer, Mohammed Rafi had died on July 31, 1980, in Mumbai at the age of 56 due to a massive heart attack. However, even today, many ace singers take his name as a reference point in their respective interviews whenever they talk about the Indian music industry. However, today we will talk about his biggest fan in the world, who transformed his house into a museum dedicated to the legendary singer. Moreover, before we move inside, let’s quickly recap Mohammed Rafi’s illustrious career and unparalleled legacy.
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It was on December 24, 1924, when one of the greatest Indian singers, Mohammed Rafi was born in the Kotla Sultan Singh village, Amritsar, Punjab. The singer was born to his parents, Haji Ali Mohammad and his mother, Allahrakhi Bai. During his childhood, Mohammed Rafi used to sit at the door of his house to see people roaming the streets. However, one day, when he was sitting at the door of his house, he saw a fakir singing some religious chants with a smile on his face. That was when Mohammed Rafi was first introduced to music and the art of singing.
After which, at the mere age of 13, he started performing as a singer alongside K.L. Saigal in 1941, and the rest is history. The legendary singer, Mohammed Rafi sang 7,405 songs in his illustrious career that barely needed any introduction. Apart from being considered the greatest Indian singer, who ever lived, Mohammed Rafi was also quite popular in the West. For instance, the iconic filmmaker, Michel Gondry had asked the iconic singer to put his famous song, Mera Mann Tera Pyasa (Guide), in his film, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
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Even after so many decades, even the thought of getting closer to Mohammed Rafi’s legacy leaves any Indian singer in splits, as everyone is convinced that he will never be surpassed. At the age of instant fame and fake stardom, even after 42 years of his demise, his songs are still relevant and loved by people of all generations. Such was the magic of his voice that even the generation that is in love with heavy metal music and peppy tracks find solace at midnight in his songs.
A 47-year-old man named, Mansoor Ahmad Farooqui from Bhopal is the biggest Mohammed Rafi fan in the world. The veteran lives in Bhopal and has dedicated his entire life to keeping his favourite singer’s legacy safe and sound. Mansoor has a collection of 15 books written about the iconic singer, 5,000 songs sung by his favourite singer, and some pages from Mohammed Rafi’s personal diary on display. The die-hard fan has collected all these rare things with the help of his friends and family members with years of hard work.
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Mansoor Ahmad Farooqui belongs to a middle-class family, but that didn’t stop him from following his passion for creating a museum of his idol and favourite singer, Mohammed Rafi. Instead of giving up on his dream of building a museum for Mohammed Rafi because of his financial constraints, he managed to pull off his dream with the things he had. Mansoor Ahmad lives in a 2 BHK house, and he dedicated one room entirely to the museum and started living with his family in another single room.
It wasn’t an easy decision for him and his family, but just because of his pure love for Mohammed Rafi, his family supported him, and today there is no denying the fact that Mansoor Ahmad Farooqui is undoubtedly the biggest fan of the legendary Indian singer, Mohammed Rafi. In an interview with the IANS, Mansoor opened up about the museum he had created in memory of his favourite singer and had said:
"For someone like me, it was never easy to collect those rare songs, books, letters, and audios of Rafi Sahab’s concerts, but I did not let any hurdle come in between my passion. My friends helped me a lot in collecting all these items and information."
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Apart from cassettes of Mohammed Rafi's songs, the singer’s rare photographs, books, and letters, Mansoor Ahmad Farooqui also has 43 songs and gazals of the iconic singer that were never released. With years of hard work and meetings with so many people, Mansoor had managed to collect all these precious things related to the greatest singer India has ever seen.
For the unversed, in order to preserve all these things, Mansoor Ahmad Farooqui purchased some special briefcases and packets from Taiwan that keep the letters and cassettes in good shape even after all these decades. Apart from all the hard work and sacrifice, he has done to make Mohammed Rafi’s museum inside his house, another thing that speaks volumes about Mansoor’s love for the iconic actor is that the latter has named his elder son after Rafi.
For the uninitiated, Mansoor Ahmad Farooqui opens the doors of the Mohammed Rafi museum only two times a year. First, on the late singer’s death anniversary, which is on July 31 and secondly, in the latter months of the year, on his birth anniversary on December 24. However, there’s no denying that Mansoor’s undying love for Mohammed Rafi is beyond words and for which he deserves all the respect in the world.
What are your thoughts on Mohammed Rafi’s museum inside his biggest fan, Mansoor Ahmad Farooqui’s house in Bhopal? Let us know.
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