Coordinates	6°52′″N122°4′″N
Official name	Al Husun
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Pushpin map	Jordan
Pushpin label position	bottom
Pushpin map caption	Location in Jordan
Coordinates display	inline,title
Coordinates region	JO
Subdivision type	Country
Subdivision name
Subdivision type1	Governorate
Subdivision name4
Leader title1
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Established date3
Unit pref	Imperial
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Population as of	2005
Population blank1 title	Ethnicities
Population blank2 title	Religions
Population density blank1 sq mi
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Al Husun (, also Romanized as Al Husn, Hisn and Husn) is a town in northern Jordan, located north of Amman, and about south of Irbid. It has a population of 33,000. The region has fertile soil which along with the moderate climate allows the growing of high quality crops. Al Husn was known for its wine; now its main products are wheat and olive oil. Al Husn is registered in Jordanian government documents with the spelling 'Al Husun', and it is the administrative center of the Bani Obaid district.

History

thumb|200px|left|Al Husun Orthodox Church Al Husn is one of the possible sites of Dion, a city dating from when the Romans occupied northern Jordan and the region. The Decapolis cities (a ten-city Greco-Roman federation, or league, created under Pompey the Great about 64-63 BCE). According to Pliny the Elder, (CE 23-79) the cities included: Scythopolis (Bet She'an), Hippos (Susieh), Gadara (Umm Qais), Pella (Tabaqat Fahl), Philadelphia (Amman), Gerasa (Jerash), Dion, Kanatha (Kanawat), Damascus, and Raphana (Abila).

Al Husn has one of the oldest Orthodox churches in Jordan. It was originally built in the second century (CE), but destroyed in 1680 by the Ottoman Army. A church was later rebuilt in 1886 by the local Christians. Traditionally, Al Husn has been home to a relatively large Christian community, including Melkites; Al Husn, along with neighboring Fuhais, still includes a high percentage of Christians.

In 1806 a famous German traveler named Seetzen arrived in Husn and became a guest of Al Sheikh Abdalla Ghanma. He narrates in his book, which describes his travels in the east, that when he got to Al Husn Pond and asked about the town’s sheikh, he was directed to Abdalla’s residence, where he stayed with him for two weeks.

In 1812 the Swiss tourist and discoverer of Petra, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt, arrived in Husn. He also became a guest of Sheikh Abdalla Ghanma for ten days. Both these early travelers wrote about their stay in Husn and about their host; the description is full of complements, appreciation and respect.

Sights

Al Husn is notable for its Roman-era artificial hill, situated in the northern part of the town, referred to by locals as "Al-Taal". The Taal used to be the property of the Nusairat family; it was later taken over by the Jordanian government. Local legend says there are "castle ruins" or a Byzantine church within the tell which gave the town its name; "Husn" means "castle" in Arabic. The hill is approximately 200 meters high and 800 meters in diameter.

Other sights include the Roman Pool.

Famous people from Al Husn

Asad Ghanma

Category:Populated places in Jordan Category:Irbid Governorate

ar:منطقة الحصن pnb:الحصن

Coordinates	6°52′″N122°4′″N
name	Mohammed Rafi
background	solo_singer
birth name	Mohammed Haji Ali Mohammed Rafi
born	24 December 1924 Kotla Sultan Singh, Punjab, British India
died	31 July 1980 (aged 55) Bombay, Maharashtra, India
origin	India
instrument	Vocalist
genre	Hindustani Classical Music, Indian classical, ghazal, playback singing, qawwali. thumri
occupation	Playback Singer, sang in Hindi, Punjabi, and various other regional languages, also recorded songs in English, Scottish, Spanish and French
years active	1941–1980 }}

Mohammad Rafi (}}; 24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980), was an Indian playback singer whose career spanned four decades. He won a National Award and 6 Filmfare Awards. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

Rafi claimed to have recorded 28,000 songs in 11 Indian languages between 1944 and April 1980; according to the available figures, Rafi has sung 4,516 Hindi film songs, 112 non-Hindi film songs, and 328 private (non-film) songs from 1945 to 1980. His singing career spanned about 40 years, and his songs ranged from classical numbers to patriotic songs, sad lamentations to highly romantic numbers, qawwalis to ghazals and bhajans, and from slow melancholic tunes to fast and melodious fun filled songs. He had a strong command of Hindi and Urdu and a powerful range that could accommodate this variety. Primarily noted for his Hindi-Urdu songs, he also sang in other Indian languages including Konkani, Bhojpuri, Oriya, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Sindhi, Kannada, Gujarati, Telugu, Maghi, Maithili and Assamese. He also recorded a few English, Persian, Spanish and Dutch songs.

An article in ''Times of India'', published on 24 July 2010 sums up his voice as, "''If there are 101 ways of saying "I love you" in a song, Mohammed Rafi knew them all. The awkwardness of puppy love, the friskiness of teen romance, the philosophy of unrequited love and the anguish of heartbreak - he could explore every crevice of ardour. It wasn't just love, his voice could capture the navras of life - a failed poet's melancholy, a fiery unionist's vim, a debt-ridden farmer's despair, really anybody at all. Rafi, whose career spanned nearly four decades, was a singer for every season and every reason.''"

Early years and background

Mohammed Rafi was born the second youngest of six sons of Hajji Ali Mohammad at Kotla Sultan Singh, a village near Amritsar in Punjab (British India). Rafi, whose nickname was Pheeko, started singing by imitating chants of a fakir in his village. Rafi's father moved to Lahore in the Nineteen Twenties and owned a men's salon in Noor Mohalla in Bhatti Gate Lahore. It was his elder brother (Mohammad Deen's) friend Abdul Hameed who later became his brother in law, who spotted the talent in Rafi in Lahore and encouraged him to sing. Abdul Hameed later convinced the family elders to let him move to Bombay and he accompanied Mohammad Rafi to Bombay in 1944. Rafi learnt classical music from Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Pandit Jiwanlal Matto and Firoze Nizami.

Rafi's first public performance came at the age of 13, when he was allowed to sing at a concert in Lahore featuring K. L. Saigal. In 1941, Rafi, under Shyam Sunder, made his debut in Lahore as a playback singer in the duet "Soniye nee, Heeriye nee" with Zeenat Begum in the Punjabi film ''Gul Baloch'' (the film was released in 1944). In that same year, Rafi was invited by All India Radio Lahore station to sing for them. He made his professional debut in the Shyam Sunder-directed 1941 film Gul Baloch and the Bombay film, Gaon Ki Gauri, the following year.

Advent in Bombay

In 1944, Rafi moved to Bombay (now Mumbai),The brother in laws to be took up a ten-by-ten-feet room in the crowded downtown Bhendi Bazar area. Here poet Tanvir Naqvi introduced him to some of film producers including Abdur Rashid Kardar, Mehboob Khan and actor-director Nazeer. Shyam Sunder was in Bombay and again provided an opportunity to Rafi – who got to sing a duet with GM Durrani, ‘Aji dil ho qaabu mein to dildar ki aisi taisi…’, for Gaon Ki Gori, which became Rafi’s first recorded song in a Hindi film. Many other songs followed. Rafi also did brief roles in movies like Laila-Majnu (1945) and Jugnu. In Laila-Majnu, he was seen singing ''Tera Jalwa'' as a part of the chorus.

In 1948, after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, the team of Husanlal Bhagatram-Rajendra Krishan-Rafi had overnight created the song ‘Suno suno ae duniyawalon, Bapuji ki amar kahani…’. He was invited by the Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to sing at the latter's house. In 1948, Rafi received a silver medal from Nehru on the Indian Independence Day. In 1949, Rafi was given solo songs by music directors such as Naushad, (''Chandni Raat'', ''Dillagi'' and ''Dulari'') Shyam Sunder (''Bazaar'') and Husnalal Bhagatram (''Meena Bazaar'').

Rafi's first song with Naushad was "Hindustan ke hum hain" with Shyam Kumar, Alauddin and others, from A. R. Kardar's ''Pehle Aap'' (1944). Around the same time, Rafi recorded another song for the 1945 film ''Gaon ki Gori'', "Aji dil ho kaaboo mein". He considered this song his first Hindi language song.

Rafi also appeared in two movies. In 1945, Rafi appeared on the screen for the song "Tera Jalwa Jis Ne Dekha" in the film ''Laila Majnu''. He sang a number of songs for Naushad as part of the chorus, including "Mere sapnon ki rani, Roohi Roohi" with K. L. Saigal from the film ''Shahjahan'' (1946). Rafi sang "Tera Khilona Toota Balak" from Mehboob Khan's ''Anmol Ghadi'' (1946) and a duet with Noor Jehan in the 1947 film ''Jugnu'', "Yahan Badla Wafa Ka". Following the Partition of India, Rafi decided to stay in India and had his family flown to Bombay. Whereas Noor Jahan migrated to Pakistan and made a pair with playback singer Ahmed Rushdi.

Rafi was highly influence by the singers of that time like K. L Saigal, Talat Mehmood and, most notably, by G. M. Durrani - on whose style he based his singing. He sung with his idol in some of the songs such as "''Humko Hanste Dekh Zamana Jalta Hai'' (Hum Sab Chor Hain, 1956) and "''Khabar Kisi ko Nahiin, woh kidhar Dekhte'' (Beqasoor, 1950), etc.

Recording career

He associated with many music directors of his time, most notably Naushad. In the late 1950s and 1960s, Rafi worked with other composers of the era such as O. P. Nayyar, Shankar Jaikishan and S.D. Burman.

; Association with Naushad

As per Naushad, Rafi came to him with a letter of recommendation from Naushad's father. Rafi’s first song for Naushad was "Hindustan ke hum hain" ("We belong to Hindustan") for the film ''Pehle Aap'' in 1944. The first song for the duo was the soundtrack of the movie ''Anmol Ghadi'' (1946). Before Rafi, Naushad’s favorite singer was Talat Mahmood. Once Naushad found Talat smoking during a recording. He was annoyed and hired Rafi to sing all the songs of the movie ''Baiju Bawra''.

In 1949 when "Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki".

Rafi's association with Naushad helped the former establish himself as one of the most prominent playback singers in Hindi Cinema. Songs from ''Baiju Bawra'' (1952) like "O duniya ke rakhwale" and "Man tarpat Hari darshan ko aaj" furthered Rafi's credentials. Rafi ended up singing a total of 149 songs (81 of them solo) for Naushad.

In the 1960 film ''Mughal-E-Azam'', Mohammed Rafi sang the song "Ae Mohabbat Zindabad", composed by Naushad, with a chorus of 100 singers.

; Association with S D Burman S. D. Burman patronized Rafi as the singing voice of Dev Anand and Guru Dutt. Rafi worked with Burman in movies like ''Pyaasa'' (1957), ''Kaagaz Ke Phool'' (1959), ''Tere Ghar ke Saamne'' (1962), ''Guide'' (1965), ''Aradhana'' (1969), and ''Abhimaan'' (1973). S. D. Burman was also another music director besides Naushad who used Rafi prolifically to sing for most of his songs.

; Association with Shankar-Jaikishan

Rafi and Shankar Jaikishan was a partnership in the Hindi film industry. Under Shankar-Jaikishan, Rafi produced some of his songs for actors like Shammi Kapoor and Rajendra Kumar. Out of six Filmfare awards, Rafi won three for S-J songs, viz., "Teri pyari pyari soorat ko", "Baharon phool barsao", and "Dil ke jharokhe mein". The song "Yahoo! Chahe koi mujhe junglee kahe" was sung by Rafi, only to be matched a fast-paced orchestra and a composition by Shankar Jaikishan. S-J made Rafi give playback for Kishore Kumar in the film ''Shararat'' ("Ajab hai daastan teri yeh zindagi"). Rafi sang a total of 341 numbers (216 solo) for Shankar-Jaikishan. Among the films of this combination, are ''Basant Bahar'', ''Professor'', ''Junglee'', ''Suraj'', ''Brahmachari'', ''An Evening in Paris'', ''Dil Tera Deewana'', ''Yakeen'', ''Prince'', ''Love in Tokyo'', ''Beti Bete'', ''Dil Ek Mandir'', ''Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai'', ''Gaban'' and ''Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai''.

; Association with Ravi

Rafi got his first Filmfare Award for the title song of ''Chaudhvin Ka Chand'' (1960), composed by Ravi. He got National Award for the song "Babul Ki Duaen Leti Ja" from the film ''Neel Kamal'' (1968), also composed by Ravi. Rafi actually wept during the recording of this song. He, himself, admitted this in his interview to BBC in 1977.

Ravi and Rafi produced several other songs, in the films ''China Town'' (1962), ''Kaajal'' (1965), and ''Do Badan'' (1966).

; Association with Madan Mohan

Madan Mohan was another composer whose favorite singer was Rafi. Rafi's first solo with Madan Mohan in ''Ankhen'' (1950), "Hum ishq mein barbad hain barbad rahenge". They teamed up to produce many songs including "Teri Aankhon ke Siva", "Yeh Duniya Yeh Mehfil" and "Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho".

; Association with O. P. Nayyar

Rafi and O. P. Nayyar created music in the 1950s and 1960s. O. P. Nayyar was once quoted as saying "If there had been no Mohd. Rafi, there would have been no O. P. Nayyar". He and Rafi created many songs together including "Yeh hai Bombay meri jaan". He got Rafi to sing for singer-actor Kishore Kumar – "Man mora baawara" for the movie ''Raagini''. Later, Rafi sang for Kishore Kumar in movies such as ''Baaghi'', ''Shehzaada'' and ''Shararat''. O. P. Nayyar used Rafi and Asha Bhosle for most of his songs. The team created many songs in early 1950s and 1960s for movies such as ''Naya Daur'' (1957), ''Tumsa Nahin Dekha'' (1957), and ''Kashmir Ki Kali'' (1964). Rafi sang a total of 197 numbers (56 solo) for Nayyar. The song "Jawaaniyan yeh mast mast" and the title song "Yun to humne lakh hansee dekhe hain, tumsa nahin dekha" of the film ''Tumsa Nahin Dekha''. They were followed by songs like "Taareef karoon kya uski jisne tumhe banaya" from ''Kashmir ki Kali''.

Rafi and OP had a fallout during the recording for movie "Sawan ki Ghata", as disclosed by OP during one of his interviews. In the interview, he says, "Throughout my career, I have been famous for my punctuality. Rafi had given me a time for recording a song from Saawan Ki Ghata. The musicians were all set. Rafi came late for that recording and said, “Sorry, I was stuck up in Shankar- Jaikishan’s recording.” I said, “You had given me the time by your choice. So I gather, you have time for Shankar- Jaikishan and not for O.P. Nayyar. Now onwards, O.P.Nayyar will not have time for Rafi.” I cancelled the recording in front of shell shocked musicians and told the accountant to charge the expenses for the cancelled session to my account! After three years, Rafi came to my house crying like a baby. I also broke down. Both of us touched each other’s feet. I said, “Rafi, by coming here today you proved that you are much greater than O.P. You could overcome your ego. I could not!” He often used to sing – Yuun To Humne Laakh Sangeetkaar Dekhe Hai, O.P.Nayyar Sa Nahi Dekha! (I have seen many a composer but never one like O.P.Nayyar!) He also used to tell me, “Your music could turn a eunuch into a he-man!”

; Association with Laxmikant-Pyarelal

The composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal (L-P) also patronized Rafi as one of their singers, right from their very first film, ''Parasmani'' (1963). Both Rafi and L-P won the Filmfare Awards for the song "Chahoonga main tujhe saanjh savere" from ''Dosti'' (1964). Rafi rendered the maximum number of songs for the music director duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal: a total of 369 numbers (186 solo) for L-P.

Once, when composer Nisar Bazmi (who had migrated to Pakistan) didn’t have enough money to pay him, Rafi charged a fee of one rupee and sang for him. He also helped producers financially. As Laxmikant (of the Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo) once observed – “He always gave without thinking of the returns”.

Between 1950 and 1970, Rafi was the most sought after singer in Bollywood. He sang for many male stars in Hindi films. In 1965, he was honoured by the Government of India with the Padma Sri award. Rafi recorded two Hindi songs in English on 7" release in 1968. He also sang a song in Creole while on his visit to Mauritius in the late 1960s. Rafi recorded two English albums as well. One of them is ''Pop Hits''. In Bollywood, yodeling is generally associated with Kishore Kumar but Rafi introduced yodeling in Indian film as playback singing. Rafi yodeled in some of his old songs, such as "Hello sweety seventeen" (duet with Asha Bhosle), "O Chale ho kaha", "Dilke Aine main", and "Unse Rippy Tippy Ho gayee" (duet with Geeta Dutt).

; Association with his Contemporary Singers

Rafi associated with several of his contemporaries, singing duets with them and sometimes for them (as in case of Kishore Kumar who was also an actor).

Rafi sang the maximum number of duets with Asha Bhonsle (female), Manna Dey (male) and Lata Mangeshkar (female).

For the song “Man mora bawra” in the film ''Ragini'', Kishore Kumar requested Rafi to sing this song for him because this song was a semi classical and Kishore Kumar said that "Rafi Sahab can sing this song better than me". Rafi sang the song. The song “Ajab hay dastan teri aey zindagi” was first given to Kishore Kumar to sing and he sung the first half of ''antara'' but in the second half, he faced some trouble and after many retakes, he was unable to give the effect that Shankar Jaikishan wanted, and finally the song was given to Rafi to sing.

In the song "Humko Tumse Ho Gaya Hai Pyaar Kya Karein" (Amar, Akbar, Anthony), Mohd Rafi sang with Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh - all in one song. This was probably the only time that all of them rendered their voices for one song.

Controversies

Royalty issue

In 1962-1963, the popular female playback singer Lata Mangeshkar raised the issue of playback singers' share in the royalties. Recognizing Rafi's position as the leading male playback singer, she wanted him to back her in demanding a half-share from the 5 percent song royalty that the film's producer conceded to select composers. Lata's contention was that, there was no way producers and music directors could deny this singing duo, one-half share in that 5 percent song royalty to the composer. Rafi's stated that his claim on the film's maker ended with his being paid his agreed fee for the song. After that, if the film proved a hit, good luck to the movie's maker, he was welcome to keep the Gramco (HMV) royalty he earned from it.

Lata viewed his stand as a stumbling block on the royalty issue and this subsequently led to differences between the two. During the recording of "Tasveer Teri Dil Mein" (''Maya'', 1961), Lata argued with Rafi over a certain passage of the song. Rafi felt belittled, as music director Salil Chowdhury sided with Lata. The situation worsened when Lata Mangeshkar declared that she would no longer sing with Rafi. Rafi stated that he was only so keen to sing with Lata as she was with him. Later, at the insistence of S. D. Burman, the two decided to reconcile and sing duets.

Guiness World Records

During his last years, Rafi was involved in a controversy over Lata Mangeshkar's introduction in to the Guinness Book of World Records. In a letter dated June 11, 1977 to the Guinness Book of World Records, Rafi had challenged the claim that Lata Mangeshkar has recorded the maximum number of songs ("not less than 25,000" according to Guinness). After receiving a reply from Guinness, in a letter dated November 20, 1979, he wrote: "I am disappointed that my request for a reassessment vis-a-vis Ms Mangeshkar's reported world record has gone unheeded.".

In an interview to BBC recorded in Nov 1977, Rafi claimed to have sung 25,000 to 26,000 songs till then. After Rafi's death, in its 1984 edition, the ''Guinness Book of Word Records'' gave Lata Mangeshkar's name for the "Most Recordings" but also stated: "Mohammad Rafi (d 1 Aug 1980) claimed to have recorded 28,000 songs in 11 Indian languages between 1944 and April 1980.". According to the available figures, Rafi has sung 4,516 Hindi film songs, 112 non-Hindi film songs, and 328 private (non-film) songs from 1945 to 1980. The Guinness Book entries for both Rafi and Lata were later removed in 1991.

Early 1970s

In early 1970s, Rafi recorded fewer songs due his ill health and Hajj pilgrimage. At the same period Kishore Kumar's popularity increased due to the songs he sang for the film ''Aradhana''. The music for ''Aradhana'' was composed by S. D. Burman, and he had used Rafi as the male playback voice for the first two recorded duets, "Baaghon Mein Bahaar Hai" and "Gunguna Rahen Hain Bhanwre". After these two recordings, S. D. Burman fell ill and his son and assistant, R. D. Burman, took over the recordings. R. D. Burman got Kishore Kumar to sing the solos "Roop Tera Mastana" and "Mere Sapnon Ki Rani".

During 1971-1973, Rafi's musical output decreased; however, he did sing several songs. Some of Rafi's songs of the early 1970s were with music directors like Laxmikant Pyarelal, Madan Mohan, R. D. Burman and S. D. Burman. These include "Tum mujhe Yun Bhula na Paoge" (a signature song of Rafi in 1971) from Pagla Kahin Ka, "Yeh Duniya Yeh Mehfil" from ''Heer Ranjha'' (1970), "Jhilmil Sitaron ka" from ''Jeevan Mrityu'' (a duet with Lata Mangeshkar, 1970), "Gulabi Aankhen" from ''The Train'' (1970), "Yeh Jo Chilman Hain" and "Itna to Yaad Hain Mujhe" from ''Mehboob Ki Mehndi'' (1971), "Mera mann tera pyasa" Gambler, "Chalo Dildar Chalo" from 1972 released Pakeezah, "Chura Liya Hain Tumne" from ''Yaadon Ki Baarat'' (a duet with Asha Bhosle, 1973), "Na tu Zameen Ke liye" from 1973 released Dilip Kumar movie Dastan, "Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho" from Hanste Zakhm (1973), "teri bindiya re", from Abhimaan(1973) and "Aaj mausam bada beimaan hai" from Loafer (1973).

Later years

Rafi made an comeback as a top leading singer in the mid-1970s. In 1974, he won the Film World magazine Best Singer Award for the song "Teree Galiyon Mein Na Rakhenge Qadam Aaj Ke Baad" (Hawas, 1974) composed by Usha Khanna.

In 1977, he won both Filmfare Award and the National Award for the song "Kya Hua Tera Wada" from the movie ''Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin'', composed by R. D. Burman. Rafi sang for Rishi Kapoor in films like ''Amar Akbar Anthony'' (1977), ''Sargam'' (1979) and ''Karz'' (1980). The qawwali "Pardah Hai Pardah" from Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) was a superhit. Rafi's notable renderings in the late 1970s and early 80s include ''Laila Majnu'' (1976), ''Apnapan'' (1978), ''Qurbani'', ''Dostana'' (1980), ''The Burning Train'' (1980), ''Naseeb'' (1981), ''Abdullah'' (1980), ''Shaan'' (1980), ''Asha'' (1980), ''Aap To Aise Na The'' (1980), ''Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai'' (1982).

Death

On Thursday, 31 July 1980, Rafi died at 10:50 p.m., following a heart attack. His last song was "Shaam phir kyun udaas hai dost" (''Aas Paas''), which he had recorded with Laxmikant-Pyarelal few hours before his death.

Rafi was buried at the Juhu Muslim cemetery. It was one of the biggest funeral processions Mumbai had ever witnessed, with over 10,000 people attending.

In 2010, his tomb was demolished to make space for new burials. Fans of Mohammed Rafi who arrive twice a year at his tomb, on 24 December and 31 July, to mark his birth and death anniversary, use the coconut tree nearest to his grave as a marker.

The Government of India announced a two-day public holiday on his death, honouring him.

Legacy

Rafi's song from the film ''Gumnaam'' (1965), "Jaan Pehechan Ho", was used on the soundtrack of ''Ghost World'' (2001). The film opens with the lead character dancing around in her bedroom to a video of ''Gumnaam''.

His "Aaj Mausam Bada Beiman Hai" is featured in the 2001 film ''Monsoon Wedding''. His song "Mera Man Tera Pyasa" (''Gambler'', 1970) has been used as one of the soundtracks in the Jim Carrey-Kate Winslet starrer ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004). This song is played in the background in Kate Winslet's character's home while the lead pair are having a drink - ''at approx 00.11.14 runtime''.

Several of Rafi's unreleased songs will be used for an upcoming film titled ''Sorry Madam''.

A documentary about Rafi’s life is under production by The Films Division of India.

In the summer of 2008, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra released a double CD entitled ''Rafi Resurrected'' comprising 16 songs by Rafi. Bollywood playback singer Sonu Nigam provided the vocals for this project and toured with the CBSO in July 2008 at venues including the English National Opera in London, Manchester's Apollo Theatre and Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

The Padma Shri Mohammed Rafi Chowk in the Bandra suburb of Mumbai and Pune (extending MG Road) is named after Rafi.

In June 2010, Rafi was voted the most popular playback singer in the OUTLOOK Music Poll, conducted by Outlook Magazine, along with Lata Mangeshkar. The same Poll voted "Man re, tu kahe na Dheer Dhare" (''Chitralekha'', 1964), sung by Rafi as the #1 song. Three songs tied up for the #2 place and two of them were sung by Rafi. The songs were "Tere Mere Sapne Ab Ek Rang Hain" (''Guide'', 1965) and "Din Dhal Jaye, hai raat na jaye" (''Guide'', 1965). This poll was published in Outlook Magazine, the jury of which included many people in the Indian music industry; Abhijeet, Adesh Srivastava, Alisha Chinai, Anu Malik, Ehsaan, Gulzar, Hariharan, Himesh Reshammiya, Jatin, Javed Akhtar, Kailash Kher, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Khayyam, Kumar Sanu, Lalit, Loy, Mahalaxmi Iyer, Mahendra Kapoor, Manna Dey, Prasoon Joshi, Rajesh Roshan, Sadhna Sargam, Sameer, Sandesh Shandilya, Shaan, Shankar, Shantanu Moitra, Shreya Ghoshal, Sonu Nigam and Talat Aziz.

In an article in ''Times of India'', Rafi is described as "a versatile singer, who could render classical, rock and roll, indeed any kind of song with ease, he was Hindi film's favourite male voice through the 1950s and 1960s". Music director Rajesh Roshan, who composed some of the songs with Rafi, remembers him as "a warm-hearted simple person with no ego".

There has been appeals to the Government of India to honour the singer, posthumously, with Bharat Ratna (India's Highest Civilian Award)

Classical and playback singer Manna Dey, who was also a contemporary of Rafi, credits Rafi as "the best singer of them all". He said, "Rafi and I could sing everything, and he was such a gentleman. He was a better singer than me, and I will say this - that no one came even close to him! He deserved everything he got! We had a great understanding and it was never about one-upmanship".

There were reports that a man, sentenced to be hanged, was asked what his last wish was. The man asks that he be allowed to listen to “''O duniya ke rakhwale, sun dard bare mere naale; jeewan apna wapas lele, jeewan dene wale''“ - a song sung by Rafi.

Veteran actor Shammi Kapoor said, "I am incomplete without Mohammad Rafi. I used to often go for the recoding of my song, which was sung by Mohammad Rafi, only because I used to like telling him how I would perform on this song on screen so that he can sing it that way. Even he liked my involvement".

On 22 September 2007, a shrine to Rafi designed by artist Tasawar Bashir was unveiled on Fazeley Street, Birmingham, UK. Bashir is hoping that Rafi will attain sainthood as a result.

Singers like Shabbir Kumar, Mohammed Aziz, and more recently, Sonu Nigam, who made a name by adopting his style, perhaps owe their entire careers to Rafi.

After his death, seven Hindi movies were dedicated to Mohd Rafi; ''Allah Rakha'', ''Mard'', ''Coolie'', ''Desh-Premee'', ''Naseeb'', ''Aas-Paas'' and ''Heeralal-Pannalal''.

As per newspaper reports, over 9000 musical tributes were organized in July 2011 commemorating the singer's 31st death anniversary.

List of Songs

See List of Songs by Mohammed Rafi

Personal life

Rafi and Abdul Hameed married two sisters in Bombay in late forties. Rafi had an earlier marriage with her cousin that took place in his ancestral village that could not be continued due to the migration of his in laws and wife to Lahore Pakistan after partition. Rafi had one son from his earlier marriage and three sons and three daughters from his second marriage with Bilquis in Bombay. He was a teetotaller, a religious and humble person. He was very much a family man, following a recording-room to home to recording-room itenerary. He never attended filmy parties, did not smoke or drink. He used to perform his riyaz (musical practise) from 3 AM to 7 AM without fail. His only indulgences were playing carom and badminton and flying kites.

Awards

; Honorary 1948 - Rafi received a silver medal from the Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, on the first anniversary of the Indian Independence Day.

1967 - Honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

1974 - Film World magazine Best Singer Award for the song "Teree Galiyon Mein Na Rakhenge Qadam Aaj Ke Baad" (Hawas, 1974).

2001 - Rafi was honored with the "best singer of the millennium" by Hero Honda and ''Stardust'' magazine in Mumbai on Jan 7, 2001. Rafi won with 70% of the votes.

Rafi has a record number of Filmfare Award nominations (23). In the earlier years, Filmare used to have only one Best Singer Award (no distinction between a male or female singer). Rafi won it six times.

; National Film Awards Winner:

! Year	! Song	! Film	! Music director	! Lyricist
1968	"Baabul Ki Duayein Leti Jaa"	''Neel Kamal''	Ravi Sharma	Sahir Ludhyanvi
1977	"Kya Hua Tera Wada"	''Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin''	Rahul Dev Burman	Majrooh Sultanpuri

; Filmfare Awards Winner:

! Year	! Song	! Film	! Music director	! Lyricist
1960	"Chaudhvin Ka Chand Ho"	''Chaudhvin Ka Chand''	Bombay Ravi	Shakeel Badayuni
1961	"Teri Pyaari Pyaari Surat Ko"		Shankar Jaikishan	Shailendra
1964	"Chahunga Main Tujhe"	''Dosti''	Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Majrooh Sultanpuri
1966	"Baharo Phool Barsao"	''Suraj''	Shankar Jaikishan	Shailendra
1968	"Dil Ke Jharoke Mein"		Shankar Jaikishan	Shailendra
1977	"Kya Hua Tera Wada"	''Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin''	Rahul Dev Burman	Majrooh Sultanpuri

Nominated:

! Year	! Song	! Film	! Music director	! Lyricist
1961	"Husnwale Tera Jawab Nahin"		Bombay Ravi	Shakeel Badayuni
1962	"Aye Gulbadan Aye Gulbadan"		Shankar Jaikishan	Shailendra
1963	"Mere Mehboob Tujhe"	''Mere Mehboob''	Naushad	Shakeel Badayuni
1965	"Chhoo Lene Do Nazuk Hothon Ko"	''Kaajal''	Bombay Ravi	Sahir Ludhianvi
1968	"Mein Gaaon Tum Sojaao"		Shankar Jaikishan	Shailendra
1969	"Badi Mastani Hai"	''Jeene Ki Raah''	Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Anand Bakshi
1970	"Khilona Jaan Kar"	''Khilona''	Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Anand Bakshi
1973	"Hum Ko To Jaan Se Pyaari"	''Naina''	Shankar Jaikishan	Hasrat Jaipuri
1974	"Achha Hi Huva Dil Toot Gaya"	''Maa Bahen Aur Biwi''	Sharda	Qamar Jalalabadi, Vedpal Varma
1977	"Pardah Hai Pardah"	''Amar Akbar Anthony''	Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Anand Bakshi
1978	"Aadmi Musaafir Hai"	''Apnapan''	Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Anand Bakshi
1979	"Chalo Re Doli Uthao Kahaar"	''Jaani Dushman''	Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Varma Malik
1980	"Mere Dost Kissa Yeh"		Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Anand Bakshi
1980	"Dard-e-dil Dard-e-jigar"		Laxmikant-Pyarelal	Anand Bakshi
1980	"Maine Poocha Chand Se"	''Abdullah''	Rahul Dev Burman	Anand Bakshi

;Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards

Winner

! Year	! Film	! Music director	! Lyricist
1957		O. P. Nayyar	Majrooh Sultanpuri
1965	''Dosti''	Laxmikant Pyarelal	Majrooh Sultanpuri
1966		Shankar Jaikishan	Hasrat Jaipuri

;Sur Sringar Award

Winner

! Year	! Film	! Music director	! Lyricist
1964			Sahir Ludhyanvi

References

External links

Mohammad Rafi at the Internet Movie Database

Category:1924 births Category:1980 deaths Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Indian Muslims Category:People from Amritsar Category:Indian male singers Category:Filmfare Awards winners Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction Category:Recipients of the Padma Shri Category:Punjabi people Category:Indian musicians Category:Indian singers Category:People from Mumbai Category:Konkani-language singers Category:Marathi-language singers

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Coordinates	6°52′″N122°4′″N
name	Lata Mangeshkar
background	solo_singer
born	September 28, 1929Indore, Central India Agency, British India
instrument	Vocals
genre	Film music (playback singing)
occupation	Singer
years active	1942–present }}

Lata Mangeshkar (; born September 28, 1929) is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Bollywood movies and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages, though primarily in Hindi. She is the elder sister of singer Asha Bhosle, and Hridayanath Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar and Meena Mangeshkar. She is the second vocalist to have ever been awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

Mangeshkar was featured in the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' from 1974 to 1991 for having made the most recordings in the world. The claim was that she had recorded approximately 25,000 solo, duet, and chorus-backed songs in 20 Indian languages between 1948 to 1974 (30,000 songs between 1948 and 1987, according to the 1987 edition). Over the years, while several sources have supported this claim, others have raised concerns over its veracity, claiming that this number was highly exaggerated and that Mangeshkar's younger sister, Asha Bhosle, had more song recordings than she had.

Early life

Lata Mangeshkar was born in Sikh Mohalla, Indore, in the Central India Agency (now part of Madhya Pradesh). Her father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar who belonged to a Gomantak Maratha Samaj family from Goa, was a classical singer and theater actor. Her mother Shevanti (Shudhamati) who was from Thalner, Maharashtra, was Deenanath's second wife. The family's last name used to be Hardikar; Deenanath changed it to Mangeshkar in order to identify his family with his native town, Mangeshi in Goa. Lata was named "Hema" at her birth. Her parents later renamed her Lata after a female character, Latika, in one of her father's plays, ''BhaawBandhan''. Lata is the eldest child of her parents. Meena, Asha, Usha and Hridayanath are her siblings in sequence.

Mangeshkar took her first music lessons from her father. At the age of five, she started to work as an actress in her father's musical plays (''Sangeet Natak'' in Marathi). On the first day in the school, she started teaching songs to other children. When the teacher stopped her, she was so angry that she stopped going to the school. Other sources cite that she left school because they would not allow her to bring Asha with her, as she would often bring her younger sister with her.

Singing career

Early career in the 1940s

In 1942, when Mangeshkar was 13, her father died of heart disease. Master Vinayak (Vinayak Damodar Karnataki), the owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company and a close friend of the Mangeshkar family, took care of them.

Mangeshkar sang the song "Naachu Yaa Gade, Khelu Saari Mani Haus Bhaari" which was composed by Sadashivrao Nevrekar for Vasant Joglekar's Marathi-language movie ''Kiti Hasaal'' (1942), but the song was dropped from the final cut. Vinayak gave her a small role in Navyug Chitrapat's Marathi movie ''Pahili Mangalaa-gaur'' (1942), in which she sang "Natali Chaitraachi Navalaai" which was composed by Dada Chandekar. Her first Hindi song was "Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu" for the Marathi film, ''Gajaabhaau'' (1943). Mangeshkar moved to Mumbai in 1945 when Master Vinayak's company moved its headquarters there. She started taking lessons in Hindustani classical music from Ustad Amanat Ali Khan Bhendibazaarwale. She sang “Paa Lagoon Kar Jori” for Vasant Joglekar's Hindi-language movie ''Aap Ki Seva Mein'' (1946), which was composed by Datta Davjekar. Mangeshkar and her sister Asha played minor roles Vinayak's first Hindi-language movie, ''Badi Maa'' (1945). In that movie, Lata also sang a bhajan, “Maata Tere Charnon Mein.” She was introduced to music director Vasant Desai during the recording of Vinayak's second Hindi-language movie, ''Subhadra'' (1946).

Following the partition of India in 1947, Ustad Amanat Ali Khan Bhendibazaarwale migrated to newly formed Pakistan, so Mangeshkar started to learn classical music under Amanat Khan Devaswale. Pandit Tulsidas Sharma, a pupil of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, also trained her.

After Vinayak's death in 1948, music director Ghulam Haider mentored her as a singer. Haider introduced Mangeshkar to producer Sashadhar Mukherjee, who was working then on the movie ''Shaheed'' (1948), but Mukherjee dismissed Mangeshkar's voice as "too thin." An annoyed Haider responded that in the coming years the producers and the directors would "fall at Lata's feet" and "beg her" to sing in their movies. Haider gave Lata her first major break with the song “Dil Mera Toda,” from the movie ''Majboor'' (1948).

Initially, Mangeshkar is said to have imitated Noor Jehan, but later she developed her own style of singing. Lyrics of songs in Hindi movies are primarily composed by Urdu poets and contain a higher proportion of Urdu words, including the dialogue. Actor Dilip Kumar once made a mildly disapproving remark about Mangeshkar's Maharashtrian accent while singing Hindi/Urdu songs; so for a period of time, Lata took lessons in Urdu from an Urdu teacher named Shafi.

“Aayega Aanewaala,” a song in the movie ''Mahal'' (1949) was composed by music director Khemchand Prakash and lip-synced on screen by actress Madhubala.

1950s

In the 1950s, Mangeshkar sang songs composed by various music directors of the period, including Anil Biswas (in films such as Tarana and Heer), Shankar-Jaikishan, Naushad, S. D. Burman, C. Ramchandra, Hemant Kumar, Salil Chowdhury, Khayyam, Ravi, Sajjad Hussain, Roshan, Kalyanji-Anandji, Vasant Desai, Sudhir Phadke, Hansraj Behl, Madan Mohan, and Usha Khanna.

Mangeshkar sang many raga-based songs for Naushad in movies such as ''Baiju Bawra'' (1952), ''Mughal-E-Azam'' (1960), and ''Kohinoor'' (1960). ''Ae Chorre Ki Jaat Badi Bewafa'', a duet with G. M. Durrani, was her first song for composer, Naushad. The duo, Shankar-Jaikishan, chose Mangeshkar for ''Aag'', ''Aah'' (1953), ''Shree 420'' (1955), and ''Chori Chori'' (1956). Before 1957, composer Sachin Dev (S. D.) Burman chose Mangeshkar as the leading female singer for his musical scores in ''Sazaa'' (1951), ''House No. 44'' (1955), and ''Devdas'' (1955). However a rift developed between Lata and Burman in 1957, and Lata did not sing Burman's compositions again until 1962.

Mangeshkar won a Filmfare Best Female Playback Award for Salil Chowdhury's composition “Aaja Re Pardesi,” from ''Madhumati'' (1958). In the early fifties, Lata Mangeshkar's association with C. Ramchandra produced songs in movies such as Anarkali, Albela, Asha, Pehli Jhhalak, Shin Shinkai Bublaa Boo, Azad and Amardeep. For Madan Mohan, she performed for films like Adalat, Railway Platform, Dekh Kabira Roya and Chacha Zindabad.

1960s

Mangeshkar's song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" from ''Mughal-E-Azam'' (1960), composed by Naushad and picturized on Madhubala, still remains famous . The Hawaiian-themed number "Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh" from ''Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai'' (1960) was composed by Shankar-Jaikishan and picturized on Meena Kumari.

In 1961, Mangeshkar recorded two popular bhajans, "Allah Tero Naam" and "Prabhu Tero Naam", for Burman's assistant, Jaidev. In 1962, she was awarded her second Filmfare Award for the song "Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil" from ''Bees Saal Baad'', composed by Hemant Kumar.

On June 27, 1963, against the backdrop of the Sino-Indian War, Mangeshkar sang the patriotic song "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" (literally, "Oh, the People of My Country") in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India. The song, composed by C. Ramchandra and written by Pradeep, is said to have brought the Prime Minister to tears.

In 1963, Mangeshkar returned to collaboration with S. D. Burman. She also sang for R. D. Burman's very first film ''Chhote Nawaab'' and later for his films such as ''Bhoot Bangla'' (1965), ''Pati Patni'' (1966), ''Baharon ke Sapne'' (1967) and ''Abhilasha'' (1969). She also recorded several popular songs for S. D. Burman, including "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai", "Gata Rahe Mera Dil" (duet with Kishore Kumar) and "Piya Tose" from ''Guide'' (1965), and "Hothon Pe Aisi Baat" from ''Jewel Thief'' (1967).

During the 1960s, Lata Mangeshkar continued her association with Madan Mohan which included the songs "Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha" from ''Anpadh'' (1962), "Lag Ja Gale" and "Naina Barse Rim Jhim" from ''Woh Kaun Thi?'' (1964), "Woh Chup Rahen To" from ''Jahan Ara'' (1964), and "Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega" from ''Mera Saaya'' (1966).

The 1960s also witnessed the beginning of Mangeshkar's association with Laxmikant-Pyarelal, the music directors for whom she sang the most popular songs in her career.

She also sang several playback songs for Marathi films, composed by Marathi music directors including Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Vasant Prabhu, Srinivas Khale, Sudhir Phadke and herself (under the name ''Anandghan''). During the 1960s and 1970s, she also sang several Bengali songs, composed by music directors like Salil Chowdhury and Hemant Kumar.

In this period Lata Mangeshkar has recorded duets with Mukesh, Manna Dey, Mohammed Rafi, and Kishore Kumar.

1970s

In 1972, Meena Kumari's last film, ''Pakeezah'' released. It featured popular songs including "Chalte Chalte" and "Inhi Logon Ne" sung by Lata Mangeshkar, and composed by Ghulam Mohammed. She recorded many popular songs for S. D. Burman's last films, including "Rangeela Re" from ''Prem Pujari'' (1970), "Khilte Hain Gul Yahaan" from ''Sharmeelee'' (1971), and "Piya Bina" from ''Abhimaan'' (1973).

Lata Mangeshkar's most notable songs in 1970s were composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal (Laxmi-Pyare) and Rahul Dev Burman. She recorded several songs composed by Laxmi-Pyare in 1960s and 1970s, many of them written by the lyricst Anand Bakshi. She also recorded many hit songs with Rahul Dev Burman in the films ''Amar Prem'' (1972), ''Caravan'' (1971), ''Kati Patang''(1971), and ''Aandhi'' (1975). The two are noted for their songs with the lyricists Majrooh Sultanpuri, Anand Bakshi and Gulzar.

In 1973, she won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the song "Beeti Na Bitai" from the film ''Parichay'', composed by R. D. Burman, and written by Gulzar. In 1974, she sang her only Malayalam song "Kadali Chenkadali" for the film ''Nellu'', composed by Salil Chowdhury, and written by Vayalar Ramavarma. In 1975, she again won the national award, this time for the song "Roothe Roothe Piya" from the film ''Kora Kagaz'', composed by Kalyanji-Anandji.

From 1970s onwards, Lata Mangeshkar has also staged many concerts in India and abroad, including several charity concerts. Her first concert overseas was at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1974. She also released an album of Mirabai's bhajans, ''Chala Vaahi Des'', composed by her brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar. Some of the bhajans in the album include "Saanware Rang Raachi" and "Ud Jaa Re Kaaga". In the early 70s, she released other non-film albums, such as her collection of Ghalib ghazals, an album of Marathi folk songs (koli-geete), an album of Ganesh aartis (all composed by her brother Hridaynath) and an album of ''abhangs'' of Sant Tukaram composed by Shrinivas Khale.

In late 1970s and early 1980s, she worked with the children of composers she had earlier worked with. Some of these composers included Rahul Dev Burman (son of Sachin Dev Burman), Rajesh Roshan (son of Roshan), Anu Malik (son of Sardar Malik), and Anand-Milind (sons of Chitragupt).

1980s onwards

From 1980s onwards, Lata Mangeshkar worked with music directors including Shiv-Hari, Ram Laxman, and A. R. Rahman. She recorded some non-film songs, including ghazals with Jagjit Singh.

In 1990, Mangeshkar launched her own production house for Hindi movies which produced the Gulzar-directed movie ''Lekin...''. She won her third National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her rendition of the song "Yaara Sili Sili" from the film, which was composed by her brother Hridayanath. During the 1990s, she recorded with music directors including Jatin-Lalit and Nadeem-Shravan. She has sung for Rajshri Productions, including ''Maine Pyar Kiya'' (1989) and ''Hum Aapke Hain Kaun'' (1994).

Mangeshkar has sung for almost all the Yash Chopra films and films from his production house Yash Raj Films at that time, including ''Chandni'' (1989), ''Lamhe'' (1991), ''Darr'' (1993), ''Yeh Dillagi'' (1994), ''Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge'' (1995), ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (1997) and later on ''Mohabbatein'' (2000), ''Mujhse Dosti Karoge'' (2002) and ''Veer Zaara'' (2004).

A. R. Rahman recorded a few songs with Mangeshkar during this period, including "Jiya Jale" (''Dil Se''), "Khamoshiyan Gungunane Lagin" (''One Two Ka Four''), "Ek Tu Hi Bharosa" (''Pukar''), "Pyaara Sa Gaon" (''Zubeidaa''), "Lukka chuppi" (''Rang de Basanti'') and "O Paalanhaare" (''Lagaan''). She made an appearance in the film ''Pukar'' singing this song.

In 1999, Lata Eau de Parfum, a perfume brand named after her, was launched.

In 1999, Mangeshkar was nominated as a member of Rajya Sabha. However, she did not attend the Rajya Sabha sessions regularly, inviting criticism from several members of the House, including the Deputy Chairperson Najma Heptullah, Pranab Mukherjee and Shabana Azmi. She stated the reason for her absence as ill-health; it was also reported that she had not taken a salary, allowance or a house in Delhi for being a Member of Parliament.

In 2001, Lata Mangeshkar was awarded Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. In the same year, she established the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune, managed by the Lata Mangeshkar Medical Foundation (founded by the Mangeshkar family in October 1989). In 2005, she designed a jewellery collection called Swaranjali, which was crafted by Adora, an Indian diamond export company. Five pieces from the collection raised £105,000 at a Christie's auction, and a part of the money was donated for the 2005 Pakistan earthquake relief. Also in 2001, she recorded her first Hindi song with the composer Ilaiyaraaja, for the film ''Lajja''; she had earlier recorded Tamil and Telugu songs composed by Ilaiyaraaja.

Lata Mangeshkar's song "Wada Na Tod" is in the film ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004) and on the film's soundtrack.

On June 21, 2007, she released an album ''Saadgi'', featuring eight ghazal-like songs written by Javed Akhtar and composed by Mayuresh Pai.

Non-singing career

Music direction

Lata Mangeshkar composed music for the first time in 1955 for Marathi movie ''Ram Ram Pavhane''. Later in 1960s, she composed music for following Marathi movies under the pseudonym of ''Anand Ghan''.

1960 - ''Ram Ram Pavhana''

1963 - ''Maratha Tituka Melvava''

1963 - ''Mohityanchi Manjula''

1965 - ''Sadhi Manase''

1969 - ''Tambadi Mati''

She won Maharashtra State Government's Best Music Director Award for the film ''Sadhi Manase''. The song "Airanichya Deva Tula" from the same film received best song award.

Production

Lata Mangeshkar has produced four films:

1953 - ''Vaadal'' (Marathi)

1953 - ''Jhaanjhar'' (Hindi), co-produced with C. Ramchandra

1955 - ''Kanchan'' (Hindi)

1990 - ''Lekin'' (Hindi)

Awards and recognitions

Lata Mangeshkar has won several awards and honors, including Padma Bhushan (1969), Padma Vibhushan (1999), Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1989), Maharashtra Bhushan Award (1997), NTR National Award (1999), Bharat Ratna (2001), ANR National Award (2009), three National Film Awards, and 12 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards. She has also won four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards. In 1969, she made the unusual gesture of giving up the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award, in order to promote fresh talent. She was later awarded Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993.

In 1984, the State Government of Madhya Pradesh instituted the ''Lata Mangeshkar Award'' in honuor of Lata Mangeshkar. The State Government of Maharashtra also instituted a Lata Mangeshkar Award in 1992.

In 1974, The Guinness Book of Records listed Lata Mangeshkar as the most recorded artist in the history, stating that she had reportedly recorded "not less than 25,000 solo, duet and chorus backed songs in 20 Indian languages" between 1948 and 1974. Her record was contested by Mohammed Rafi, who was claimed to have sung around 28,000 songs. After Rafi's death, in its 1984 edition, the Guinness Book of World Records stated Lata Mangeshkar's name for the "Most Recordings", but also stated Rafi's claim. The later editions of Guinness Book stated that Lata Mangeshkar had sung no fewer than 30,000 songs between 1948 and 1987.

Although the entry has not been printed in Guinness editions since 1991, reputable sources claim that she has recorded thousands of songs, with estimates ranging up to figures as large as 50,000. However, even the earliest Guinness claim of 25,000 songs (between 1948–1974) was claimed to be exaggerated by other sources, who stated that the number of songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar in Hindi films till 1991 was found to be 5250. Mangeshkar herself stated that she does not keep a record of the number of songs recorded by her, and that she did not know from where Guinness Book editors got their information.

See also

Playback singer

Asha Bhosle

List of Indian playback singers

Bollywood songs

References

Further reading

. A collection of articles written by Lata Mangeshkar since 1952. . . A collection of articles written by Lata Mangeshkar since 1952.

External links

Category:1929 births Category:Indian female singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Recipients of the Bharat Ratna Category:Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan Category:Recipients of the Padma Bhushan Category:Living people Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Marathi people Category:Kollywood playback singers Category:People from Indore Category:Marathi playback singers Category:Telugu playback singers Category:Kannada playback singers Category:Hindi-language singers Category:Marathi-language singers Category:Bengali-language singers Category:Gujarati-language singers Category:Tamil-language singers Category:English-language singers Category:Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipients Category:Recipients of the Maharashtra Bhushan Award Category:Malayalam playback singers

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Coordinates	6°52′″N122°4′″N
name	Jaspinder Narula
background	solo_singer
genre	Punjabi music, religious music, Bollywood music
years active	1994-present
notable instruments	}}

Jaspinder Narula is a noted Punjabi singer and Bollywood playback singer, who shot to fame after the duet "Pyar to hona hi tha" with Remo Fernandes from the 1998 film ''Pyar To Hona Hi Tha'' for which she won the 1999 Filmfare Best Female Playback Award. Her other notable films are ''Mission Kashmir'', ''Mohabbatein'', ''Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani'' and ''Bunty Aur Babli''. She also a singer of Sufi music, and as well as Gurbani and other Sikh religious music.

In 2008, she won the title of India's Best Live Performer in the NDTV Imagine singing reality series, ''Dhoom Macha De'' (2008).

Career

Jaspinder’s career in singing began early. Her father Kesar Singh Narula was a music composer of the 1950s. Initially Jaspindar Narula kept away from film singing and specialized in singing bhajans and Sufiana compositions. She moved to Mumbai a few years later at the advice of noted music director Kalyanji who heard her at the private gathering in Delhi and asked his son and music director, Viju Shah, to give her break in films like ''Master'', ''Aar Ya Paar'' and ''Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan'' (1998).

She excels in singing folk and devotional songs. She has lent her voice to record numerous music albums for a large number of successful Bollywood films like ''Dulhe Raja'', ''Virasat'', ''Mission Kashmir'', ''Mohabbatein'' and ''Bunty aur Babli'' to name a few.

Personal life

She lives in Mumbai and is married to a Canada-based Indian businessman. She completed her Ph.D. in Hindustani classical music from Delhi University in 2008.

Awards

Filmfare Award

1999: Best Female Playback: "Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha" from ''Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha''

Star Screen Award

* 1999: Best Female Playback: "Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha" from ''Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha''

References

Jaspinder Narula Filmography ''Bollywood Hungama''

External links

Category:Indian female singers Category:Indian film singers Category:Bollywood playback singers Category:Punjabi people Category:Filmfare Awards winners Category:Punjabi-language singers Category:Performers of Sikh music Category:Performers of Sufi music Category:Living people

Coordinates	6°52′″N122°4′″N
playername	Saleem Raza
country	UAE
batting	Right-handed batsman
bowling	Right-arm offbreak
deliveries	overs
columns	2
column1	Tests
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best bowling1	-
catches/stumpings1	-
column2	ODIs
matches2	6
runs2	159
bat avg2	26.50
100s/50s2	0/1
top score2	84
deliveries2	32
wickets2	3
bowl avg2	59.66
fivefor2	0
tenfor2	n/a
best bowling2	1/17
catches/stumpings2	0/0
date	1 March
year	1996
source	http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/other/content/player/25543.html }}

Saleem Raza (born 5 July 1964, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan) is a former cricketer. After playing in ''eight'' first-class games for his native Lahore City from 1986-87 to 1987-88, Saleem Raza emigrated to the United Arab Emirates, for whom he competed in the 1994 ICC Trophy. He also played for the UAE in the 1994 Austral-Asia Cup and the 1996 World Cup, in which competitions he played his six One Day Internationals.

References

CricketArchive page on Saleem Raza

Cricinfo page on Saleem Raza

Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:Pakistani cricketers Category:Lahore cricketers Category:United Arab Emirati cricketers Category:United Arab Emirates One Day International cricketers Category:People from Lahore Category:Pakistani expatriates in the United Arab Emirates