Preserving The Legacy
A joint effort by
Sri Shanmukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha and
The Family of Shri Mohammed Rafi
Social Initiatives
Projects that aim to bring Positive Difference
The year 2024 marks the centenary of the legendary singer Mohammed Rafi.
To celebrate his life and legacy, various initiatives and proposals have been planned. These include a young musician award that offers a cash prize and a concert opportunity, a musical archive and a Minar at his birthplace and primary school in Kotla Sultan Singh, a permanent endowment for renal impairment patients at the Sabha’s community charity healthcare hospital, a request to the Government of India to issue a centenary commemorative coin of ₹100 and a stamp of ₹5 by the Department of Posts, a special cover and a postcard by the Maharashtra postal circle, and a request for a permanent memorial in Mumbai, his karmabhoomi.
A young musician award
To perpetuate Rafi and his music amongst the musicians of the coming generations, the Sabha is setting up the Sri Shanmukhananda Mohammed Rafi Centenary Memorial Award for young and promising musicians following the Rafi Gharana. The award carries a cash prize of Rs. 5 lakhs, a trophy, a citation and a live stage for performance on the 24th December every year in the Sabha.
Rafi’s Musical Archive & Minaret of Songs
Mohammed Rafi was born on 24th December 1924 in Kotla Sultan Singh, a village near Amritsar in India’s border with Pakistan.
The school in which he studied is in need of digital upgradation. Action has been initiated to renovate the school and design class III where he studied last as a musical classroom.
To set up the Rafi Minar in Village Kotla Sultan Singh, a 100 feet stupa with every feet being inscribed with one of his memorable songs in the 22 languages of the world in which he had sung and atop the Minar would be the Tricolour majestically fluttering across the sky reminding everyone that this was the birthplace of a great patriot.
Healthcare Hospital
Mohammed Rafi had tremendous concern for those affected by chronic Kidney diseases, to an extent that once he bought a Dialysis machine during his overseas tour for gifting to an hospital, in place of a long list of articles his children wanted from abroad.
As a permanent lasting tribute to the legacy of this great kalaakar, it is proposed to set up an endowment in the name of Mohammed Rafi in the Shanmukhananda Community Charitable Hospital in the Dialysis section to provide free dialysis to one poor and deserving renal impaired patient every working day.
The Sabha’s Dialysis Centre is the 2nd largest facility in the country and is currently performing about 25000 dialysis procedures of which 90% is free of cost. This Endowment will ensure that one poor patient with renal impairment will have free dialysis every working day in memory of the great master.
Commemorative stamp
The Sabha would represent to the Central Government to issue a centenary commemorative postage stamp of Rs. 5 denomination for wide circulation amongst the masses.
The Sabha will also bring out a Special postal cover (Vishesh Anavaran) on Mohammed Rafi through the Maharashtra Postal Circle and also a colourful postcard of Mohammed Rafi.
Memorial hall or Museum
Sabha shall appeal to the Central and the State Government and to release a plot of land probably in the western suburbs of Mumbai where he lived to set up a permanent lasting memorial that will be the greatest attribute that can ever be paid to this singing legend who belong to this city and was his Karmabhoomi.
Today as we begin celebrating a milestone that he does not witness, his spirit has enveloped us all around and prods us to celebrate life. We feel like humming a line from one of his many non-filmy songs…
पाँव पडुं तोहे श्याम, ब्रिज में लौट चलो…
