Sanjeev Rambhadran's first claim to fame was when he became the winner of the famous Saregama competition on Zee TV in the mid-90s. The program then was hosted by a young Sonu Nigam and the judge for the finals was none other than the doyen of Hindi film music- Anil Biswas.

Born and brought up in the US, Sanjee is now an acclaimed and much sought-after singer in the US program circuit. He is also a multi-instrumentalist. In this special series to commemorate Mohammed Rafi's 40th death anniversary, Sanjeev brings out various facets of Rafi's gaayaki through his songs with 40 different music directors. He also brilliantly pens his thoughts on these musical gems. Here is the nineth one from the series.Over to Sanjeev Rambhadran for a musical treat!

DAY 9: I was exposed early to the Mohd. Rafi-Khaiyyam pairing thanks to a well-known non-film LP of Urdu poems (written by Dagh, Ghalib, and other established poets) and Hindi bhajans (penned by Madhukar Rajasthani) entitled "This is Mohd. Rafi." These melodies made a deep and lasting impression on me long before I had taken in a single film song of theirs.

In his first foray with Mohd. Rafi from the 1950 film Biwi, "Akele Men Vo Ghabraate To Honge", composer Khaiyyam's style and instrumentation is highly influenced by the established sounds of the time. Though the more experienced of the two at the time, Mohd. Rafi too has a discernable (and endearing) rawness in his voice compared to his later renditions.

Even just a decade later, both singer and composer had evolved tremendously, and it's a starkly different (and more refined) sound you hear in films like Mohabbat Isko Kehte Hain (1965), Aakhri Khat (1966), or even Shola Aur Shabnam (1961). Nestled between these is Shagoon (1964), featuring this tender Yaman Kalyaan-based melody which simply took my breath away, thanks to Sahir Ludhianvi's sensitive poetry and the artful touch of a very polished, suave, confident, and yet unfailingly sincere Mohd. Rafi.

#RememberingMohdRafi #40Years_40Songs_40Days_40Composers #Day9

Note: The first verse should begin "*tum* ki is jheel ke saahil pe..." - I opted not to re-record/edit only in the interest of time, hopefully this does not distract from the overall rendition.