Railway Tatkal Charges to be reduced from 1st october 2009

As announced by Hon’ble Minister for Railways in the Railway Budget 2009-10, the Tatkal charges for reservations have been reduced with effect from 1st October, 2009.   The revised Tatkal charges which will be levied uniformly both in peak and non-periods,  have been fixed as a percentage of fare at the rate of 10% of basic fare for Second Class and 30% of basic fare for all other classes subject to minimum and maximum as given in the table below :   Class of Travel Minimum Tatkal charges (Rs.) Maximum Tatkal charges (Rs.) Second (sitting) 10 15 Sleeper 75 150 AC Chair Car 75 150 AC 3 Tier 200 300 AC 2 Tier 200 300 Executive 200 300   The Tatkal tickets will be issued for actual distance of travel instead of end to end, subject to the distance restriction applicable to the train.  The facility will be introduced in the executive class of Shatabdi Expresses also by earmarking 10% of the accommodation available, i.e., five seats per coach.   The existing refund rules of the Tatkal tickets will remain unchanged.   Illustration of the new tatkal fare.   Fare for tatkal ticket in different classes from Secunderabad to Visakhapatnam by train no. 8310 Nizamabad-Sambalpur Nagawali Express.    Comparison of existing non-peak period charges with revised charges   Non-Peak period charges (1st Aug. to 31st Aug.)   Revised fare (01/10/2009) Description Existing fare (Rs)   2AC 3AC Sleeper   2AC 3AC Sleeper Basic fare 1460 1054 374   993 717 255 Reservation Fee 25 25 20   25 25 20 Tatkal Charges 200 200 75   298 215 77 Total 1685 1279 469   1316 (-369) 957 (-322) 352 (-117) At present, tatkal tickets are issued from train originating station to train destination (i.e.Nizamabad to Sambalpur).   In revised scheme, tatkal tickets are issued for actual distance of travel. (i.e. Secunderabad to Visakhapatnam)     Comparison of existing Peak period charges with revised charges   Peak period charges (1st to 30th Sept. 2009   Revised fare (01/10/2009) Description Existing fare (Rs)   2AC 3AC Sleeper   2AC 3AC Sleeper Basic fare 1460 1054 374   993 717 255 Reservation Fee 25 25 20   25 25 20 Tatkal Charges 300 300 150   298 215 77 Total 1785 1379 544   1316 (-469) 957 (-422) 352 (-192) At present, tatkal tickets are issued from train originating station to train destination (i.e. Nizamabad to Sambalpur).   In revised scheme, tatkal tickets are issued for actual distance of travel. (i.e. Secunderabad to Visakhapatnam)

Defending Champs India wins Nehru Cup 2009

Continuing its legacy the defending champions India defeated Syria to win the Nehru Cup International Football Tournament at the Ambedkar Stadium in Delhi. On Monday (August 31), India tamed Syria 5-4 through tie-breaker. Thanks to the heroics of Subrata Paul who saved as many as three penalty shots and ensured win for India.

Paul who was later declared Man of the Match, shown brilliant performance throughout the game and didn’t allow the opponent to goal easily. Following the 1-1 deadlock at the end of the regulation time, the match had been stretched to penalty and again Paul proved his brilliance at the goal post. The shots of Hamzeh Al Attouni, Wael Ayan and Ahmad Haj Muhammad were saved by Subrata Paul.

For India, Climax Lawrence, Sunil Chhetri, Steven Dias, Anwar Ali and Surkumar Singh scored goals in the shootout, while Renedy Singh and Meharajuddin Wadoo missed the goal post. On the other hand, for Syria, Raja Rafe, Mosab Balhous, Abdul Fatah Alaga and Abdul Razak Al Hussain scored.

The 20,000 capacity Ambedkar Stadium was packed and many prominent personalities were present including film actor Salman Khan. The 120 minutes of the game was full of enjoyment and the crowd was cheering the home team at the fullest. As Paul saved the last penalty of the Syrians, people ran into the ground to celebrate the victory.

It was second consecutive win for India in Nehru Cup. In the year 2007 India had won the tournament for the first time against the same opponent Syria. Established in the year 1982 to honour the first Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru, the tournament is a mega football tournament of the country. Ironically, Bob Houghton has been the coach of the team in both the tournaments. Besides Nehru Cup, India has also won AFC Challenge Cup in supervision of Bob Houghton. With the two consecutive wins, India has leaped forward in the world football.  Hope the team would get more success in the coming time.

Sikhs are Khalistanis, called Varun Gandhi during LS elections

After facing the severe criticism for hate speeches against Muslim, BJP MP Varun Gandhi is once again in soup. In fresh allegations it is said that Varun Gandhi had also spoke against the Sikh community during the Lok Sabha election campaign in Pilibhit. The allegations have been made by the Congress candidate V M Singh who lost elections to Varun Gandhi from the Pilibhit Lok Sabha constituency.

In a complaint to the Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday (August 25), Singh said Varun had referred to Sikhs as “Khalistanis” besides calling Muslims “Pakistanis”.  The 35-page complaint of V M Singh has been submitted to the state’s principal home secretary Fateh Bahadur. The state principal home secretary admitted that he had received such a complaint and said, “We will look into the complaint and get everything examined before initiating any action”.

Singh’s complain cites a speech of Varun Gandhi delivered at Mathia temple in Deshnagar locality of Pilibhit on March 6, 2009. In his complaint Singh says, “The applicant seeks permission from the state to initiate criminal proceedings against Mr. Varun Feroze Gandhi for indulging and misusing religion to garner votes and also spitting venom and creating a divide between communities to reap electoral benefits”.

Further the complaint reads, “The transcript of the speech delivered by Varun on March 6, 2009, in Pilibhit reveals that apart from trying to create a divide between Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims to secure votes in the election, he made personal attacks not only against me but also against the Sikh religion”.

While Varun’s hate speeches delivered on March 7 and 8 against Muslims in Pilibhit are under police investigation, his alleged anti-Sikh utterances in Deshnagar went unreported. A former MLA and a renowned farmer leader, V.M. Singh found the transcripts of Deshnagar speech recently and took the matter to the state government. But one important question raises here. Why Varun spoke against Sikhs? As his mother Maneka Gandhi is also a Sikh. If the allegations are true, then it would be really discouraging for another minority community Sikh.

Swine Flu deaths in Chennai, Pune: India’s toll rises to 6

 

A four-year-old Chennai boy died in the latest and the sixth case of deadly swine flu death in the country on Monday (August 10, 2009) morning. The child was suffering from acute respiratory condition and he was in the hospital since past week. The death of four-year-old boy is reportedly the first swine flu death in Tamil Nadu’s capital Chennai.

The Chennai boy died after an ayurvedic doctor Dr. Babasaheb Mane died at Sasoon Hospital Pune on Monday morning. The 35-year-old ayurvedic doctor’s death was the fifth case of swine flu death in India. Dr Mane is the third person in Pune to lose his life due to swine flu virus. A senior health official said, Mane was ailing for sometime and there was blood in his cough for the last couple of days.

The deadly H1N1 Virus that has badly affected the world is becoming lethal in India as well. The first victim of swine flu in India was Reeda Sheikh from Pune. The 14- year-old girl succumbed to the disease on August 3, 2009 in a hospital in Pune. The second victim was Fahmida Panwala from Mumbai who died in Kasturba Hospital in Mumbai on Saturday (August 8, 2009). Fifty three-year-old Fahmida had highly complicated case of diabetes and hypertension, and died of acute respiratory distress.

The third swine flu death was reported from Pune late Saturday (August 10, 2009) night.  A 42-year-old teacher Sanjay Kokare from Kedgaon was in a critical condition and had been on ventilator in the ICU.

On Sunday (August 9, 2009) morning, the fourth case was from Ahmedabad where a non-resident Indian Pravin Patel died of the swine flu. The 43-year-old NRI had come to Ahmedabad with his wife on July 31. Patel had developed complications on August 5 and was shifted to civil hospital on August 8.

The swine flu deaths have been on the rise in India and six persons have lost their lives in a span of seven days. Pune has recorded the maximum of three deaths, while Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Chennai have recorded one death each.

India’s capital Delhi is also under the influence of H1N1 Virus and people are highly upset over the increase in number of swine flu patients. The Delhi government is making people aware about the swine flu symptoms and ways of prevention. We need to take proper care to save ourselves from the attack of deadly virus.

- Published in MeriNews.com – http://www.merinews.com/article/swine-flu-deaths-in-chennai-pune-indias-toll-rises-to-6/15780577.shtml

Bihar: Maulana’s win helps Congress

May 16 was a historic day for the Congress, as it crossed the 200 mark after the 1991 Lok Sabha elections. Its success in Bihar, a part of the Hindi heartland where it is likely to consolidate itself in the days to come, is even more pleasing

THE SUCCESS of the Congress has surprised all and it has been proved yet again that tall claims sound hollow to the well-informed. The BJP, which coined the slogan ‘Majbut Neta, Nirnayak Sarkar’, failed to woo the voters again and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh silently proved his strength.

The Lok Sabha election of 2009 has led to several interesting outcomes which could change the political scenario of the country. The Congress-led UPA, which was earlier not sure of success, bagged 258 seats, just 14 short of the magical number, 272. That means the UPA can form the government without the support of major parties like the Samajwadi Party (SP), RJD and the Left. It is really a pleasing prospect for the people of the country that they do not have to witness the cheap ‘bargain politics’ of the regional parties, courtesy the performance of the Congress party.

Congress has done very well in several states of the country and swept all the seven seats in the national capital of Delhi. Importantly, the Congress has regained its lost pride in the Hindi heartland and the political hub of the country, Uttar Pradesh. The veteran national party also registered a phenomenal success in Rajasthan which had been snatched by BJP in the last election. Meanwhile, the Congress also succeeded in two Bihar constituencies, where the JD [U] – BJP coalition has won 32 out of 40 seats.

Of course, the two seats won by the Congress in Bihar are negligible in comparison with the overall national figure of 202. But, it can be said a new dawn has broken for the Congress in Bihar which it lost in the 1991 Lok Sabha elections. As in many districts of Bihar, the Congress had lost its ground in the Muslim-dominated Kishanganj district. Renowned journalist MJ Akbar won the Lok Sabha election from Kishanganj in 1989 on a Congress ticket. After that, the Congress has not won in Kishanganj.

Finally, after a long wait, Maulana Asrarul Haque has brought the smile back in the Congress camp by winning the election by a good margin of 81,205 votes. In 1989, Maulana Asrarul Haque was defeated by MJ Akbar by around 25,000 votes. At the time, Maulana Asrarul Haque contested as an independent and lost, due to the legacy of the Congress in the constituency.

Despite being the people’s favourite, Haque lost the election in 1998 and 1999 as well on Samajwadi Party and NCP tickets respectively. However, this time, owing to the RJD – LJP coalition in Bihar, the Congress decided to field candidates on its own from several constituencies, including Kishanganj.

The 62-year-old veteran got the Congress ticket at the last minute, replacing Jawed Azad. The decision of the Congress party was welcomed by the people of Kishanganj and all focus shifted to Haque.

From the beginning, it was clear that Haque would win. At last, on May 16, when the country’s political scene witnessed a major transformation, Haque had helped the Congress by winning the Kishanganj seat. In the days to come, the Congress may expect more success from Bihar.

Haque’s victory is seen as a victory of the people of the educationally and economically backward Kishanganj district. As a Congress-led UPA government is going to take charge at the centre, the people of Kishanganj expect all-round development of the district now. One only hopes that the UPA government will do its best for the development of Kishanganj, the country’s most backward district. Last but not the least, Haque has got the people’s mandate for the educational uplift of Kishanganj. The sun has perhaps risen on the educationally and economically-deprived district.

Countdown begins for the 15th Lok Sabha

SO, THE countdown has begun for the formation of 15th Lok Sabha and less than 24 hours are left in the beginning of the counting of the votes. Whole country is impatiently waiting for the election results that would be declared from Saturday (May 16) morning.

Like earlier, this time too the leading news channels as well as newspapers of the country have started predictions. According to exit polls issued by famous news channels like NDTV, Aaj Tak, Star News and Zee News, major parties like Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are not getting the clear majority.

Interestingly, the two main alliances, namely UPA and NDA fell short off the magical mark of 272 according to opinion polls of the news channels. Keeping in mind the exit polls of media issued after last phase of polling conducted on May 13, Congress and BJP have started to look out for support from small parties.

As the last report came in Samajwadi Party has extended its support to Congress headed UPA. RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and LJP chief Ram Vilas Paswan have already told that they will support the UPA. NCP chief Sharad Pawar whose party has supported the third front during poll campaigns is also in talk with Congress.

On the other hand, BJP is also confident about forming the government. Along with Prime Ministerial candidate LK Advani, party president Rajnath Singh and other prominent leaders of BJP are trying to woe the small parties. Sharad Yadav headed Janata Dal United one of the major coalition parties of NDA is also expecting a major success in Bihar.

Likewise, other coalition parties of NDA are also making tall claims to form the government in the Centre. Between the lines, Left parties have also made it clear that it would not oppose the formation of UPA government in the Centre. A couple of days, the top leaders of left parties said that if there would be floor test in the Parliament due to lack of clear majority, then they would support Congress led UPA instead of BJP led NDA.

Now coming back to the point, who will form the government UPA or NDA? Based on exit polls, it can be expected that UPA will get success this time too. However, many times in the past exit polls have gone wrong. In fact, in the year 2004 the all predictions went wrong and Congress formed government with Left front.

Before the announcement of the results of the 14th Lok Sabha, NDA was expecting a clear victory. But, when the poll results were declared, Congress emerged out as a top party by winning 145 seats. BJP occupied the second spot with 138 seats, but it could not prove the majority. Most importantly, the difference of seats between Congress and BJP was only seven. But the UPA secured 218 seats in comparison to NDA’s 181 seats.
 
On the whole, we have witnessed surprising outcomes of general elections since 1996. A huge difference has been observed between predictions and final results. So, it would be not justified to say who will form the next government. Let us wait for the poll results that would be made public by tomorrow evening.

Kishanganj banks upon Maulana Qasimi for education

 

Poll campaigning in 107 constituencies of the country that will undergo voting on April 30 has come to an end yesterday evening (April 28). In the third phase of elections people of nine states and two Union Territories will give verdict to a total of 1,567 candidates’ fate. In Bihar polling will be held on 11 Lok Sabha seats that include the important constituency of Kishanganj.

 

Like other constituencies of the country, election campaigns have ended in Kishanganj district yesterday evening. Development remained the key factor for almost all political leaders contesting elections from Kishanganj. Poverty and unemployment were other issues raised by candidates during poll campaigns. However, hardly any one talks about the dismal state of education in the district.

 

Despite having an important place in Indian politics, Kishanganj is one of the most educationally backward district of the country. In fact, Kishanganj district has least number of female literate in India. Spread over an area of 2862.48 sq. kms, Kishanganj has a population of 20,08,503 including 10,38,757 males and 9,69,746 females. But, sadly only 4,55,049 people are literate that comprising of 3,26,682 males and 1,28,367 literate females.

 

Mostly political leaders while campaigning in Kishanganj talk about development, poverty and unemployment, but show least interest on talking about literacy. Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasimi contesting election with ticket of Indian National Congress is the lone candidate in Kishanganj to speak about education in Kishanganj.

 

An Alumni of Daruloom Deoband, Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasimi has made the education a main agenda in previous elections as well. Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasimi has spoken about the educational development of Kishanganj in all public addresses. The congress candidate has promised that several schools, college and technological institutes will be opened in Kishanganj, if he wins the elections this time.

 

Presently a senior functionary of All India Milli Council, Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasimi could not win elections in his previous three attempts. However, due to his zeal for education and love of the land he has opened Milli Girls School at Tarabari in Kishanganj district. With his sincere efforts, Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasimi founded the school few years back and now it is offering quality education to girls of Kishanganj. Along with girls of Kishanganj, several girls from nearby district are also getting education at Milli Girls School.

 

Of course, there are several private and government run schools in Kishanganj, but they are not enough to educate the huge population. People of Kishanganj are expecting many more such educational institutes that can’t be established without political support. If Maulana Asrarul Haque Qasimi wins election this time, it would be like a new dawn for educationally backward district.

 

Let us see, whether Maulauna Asrarul Haque Qasimi gets success this time or not. Most importantly it depends on 11, 85, 718 voters of Kishanganj to whom they select for development of the district in educational field. I think high literacy in Kishanganj will surely wipe out many social and economic problems that the people are facing now.

 

But, the bottom is line that Maulana is the lone political leader to show interest in educational development of Kishanganj and supporting the district through Milli Council since long time.

If he wins elections, development in education field will remain a top priority for him and the district can get rid of the ghost of the illiteracy.  

                   

 http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=15767684

Kishaganj Constituency: Candidates’ List for 2009 Elections

Zubair Alam

BSP Elephant

Vill. SarogoraPO. BeluaPS+Distt. Kishanganj

Tasleem Uddin

RJD Hurricane Lamp

Ward No. 28Kakorwa BasantpurPO.+PS.+Distt. Araria

Mohammad Asrarul Haque

INC Hand

Vill.+PO. Tarabari ChaukPS GarbhandangaDistt. Kishanganj

Syed Mahmood Ashraf

JD(U) Arrow

Vill. BairiyaPO. Kanhariya PS. BaisiDistt. Purnea

Tamajul Ali

BJJD Almirah

Vill. DogachhiPO. Ruidhasa PS. ThakurganjDistt. Kishanganj

Mohammad Khashiur Rahman

SJP(R) Battery Torch

Vill. SarandaAnchal BahadurganjDistt. Kishanganj

Mohammad Nissar Alam

 JMM Bow & Arrow

Vill. NadiagachhPO. Chanamana via Taiyabpur PothiaDistt. Kishanganj

Rajit Podar

ABAS Basket

Vill.+PO. ChhattargachhPS Paharkatta PothiaDistt. Kishanganj

Abdul Rajjak Urf Kal

IND Balloon

At. Darul Uloom Madarsa TolaPO.+PS. AmourDistt. Purnea

Abhinav Modi

 IND Kite

 DharmshalaRoadKishanganj

Asgar Malik

IND Letter Box

Vill. Balwat PO. BhojpurPS. TarabariDistt. Araria

Chotay Lal Mahto

IND Gas Cylinder

ChuripattiNunia BastiKishanganj

Md. Taslimuddin

IND Banana

At. PalasmaniPO.+PS. BahadurganjDistt. Kishanganj

Vishwanath Kejriwal

IND Nagara

Shivajee ColonyPS. K. HatPurnea

Sikander Singh

IND Glass Tumbler

 At. Besarbati PO. ChurliPS. GalgaliaDistt. Kishanganj

Youth Voters Crucial in Kishanganj

April 30 is the polling day for the 15th Loksabha in Kishanganj district of Bihar. Election fever has enveloped the every nook and corner of the district. Political leaders and their supporters are trying various moves to woe the voters. Development, education, employment, etc. are the key issues that are raised by political leaders and they promise to work on these areas if win. Meanwhile, few candidates have violated election model code and had been framed by the district authority.

This time 15 candidates are contesting election from Kishanganj that include 7 independent candidates. Union State Minister Mohd. Taslimuddin is the candidate of RJD, while Maulana Asrarul Haq Qasmi is contesting election with Congress ticket. Syed Mahmood Ashraf (JDU), Zubair Alam (BSP), Tajammul Ali (BJJD), Mohd Khashiur Rahman (SJP), Mohd Nisar Alam (JMM) and Ranjit Poddar (ABAS) are other candidates contesting election with tickets of registered political parties.

Independent candidates include Abdul Razzaq alias Kal, Abhinav Modi, Asghar Malik, Chhote Lal Mahto, Mohd. Taslimuddin, Vishwanath Kejriwal and Sikander Singh. However, the main battle is between RJD’s Mohd Taslimuddin and Congress candidate Maulana Asrarul Haq Qasmi.

In 2009 there are 11, 85, 718 valid voters in Kishanganj district that include 561429 women voters.Interestingly the result of Loksabha elections in Kishanganj depends on women voters. This is because of the fact that a major section of male voters are residing in various parts of the country and abroad. Kishanganj is an economically backward district and lack of employment opportunities has caused migration of lower class people. But most of the migrated lower class people have their families in Kishanganj. So, the women are making a huge number for voting.

At the same time, youth voters are also going to make a difference in Kishanganj Loksabha election. There are 286000 youth voters in Kishanganj including 11332 voters from the age group of 18 to 19 and 206785 voters between 20 and 29 year. Hence youth voters of Kishanganj can change the course of election in any direction.

For a better understanding let us have a look on the results of the 13th Lok Sabha elections (1999) when Maulana Asrarul Haque and Mohd Taslimuddin were face to face. In 1999 Maulana Asrarul Haque fetched 1,97, 478 votes, while Mohd. Taslimuddin got 2,49, 387 votes. But BJP’s Syed Shahnawaz Hussain won the election with 2,58, 035 votes. The above figures suggest that the number of votes received by the three major contenders were less than the number of youth voters in 2009.

In addition to Maulana Asrarul Haque and Mohd. Taslimuddin, Syed Mahmood Ashraf will also get good number of votes. So, this time again the major number of votes will be shared by these three leaders. Now coming to the point, if any one of these three leaders gets success in winning the faith of youth voters he will emerge victorious.

But, one interesting fact is that all the three leaders are above 50 year old, which is not new in Indian politics. We are developing in every field and going neck-to-neck with developing countries. Despite such growth, youths have no choice and are bounded to select yesteryear leaders like L.K.Advani and Manmohan Singh.

Of course, youth voters make a huge percentage in Kishanganj, but they have to choose from age old leaders. It would be not fair to say 66 year old Mohd. Tasliumuddin an old leader, because he is 10 years younger than independent candidate Vishwanath Kejriwal (76 year old). At last we can say, everything is possible in Indian politics, it depends on youths how they utilise their minds and select the good representative.

Mohammed Rafi Tu Bhaut Yaad Aaya

Legends never die, they remain alive always and their great work inspire the generations to come. Our country has produced a number of legends in various fields, Mohammed Rafi is one of them. Born in 1924, the influential singer served the Indian film industry for 40 years and even after his death the budding singers follow him. Mohammed Aziz, Shabbir Kumar and Sonu Nigam are the singers who followed Rafi Sahab and earned fame in Bollywood. In fact, today famous singer Sonu Nigam started his career by sining popular songs of Rafi Sahab for T – Series and rose to epitome of fame.

July 31 reminds us death anniversary of a great music legend Mohammed Rafi. One of the most versatile playback singers of Indian film industry, Rafi Sahab left this world on July 31, 1980 in the age of 56 in Mumbai. Exactly 28 years has passed when we lost the great singer, but even today he is alive among us. Not only our elders, but the young generation also like the songs of Rafi Sahab. On the eve of Rafi Sahab death anniversary I too remember his a lot. Here I would like to pay tribute the great singer and human being through my words.

Mohammed Rafi started his singing carrier in 1942 with Shyam Sunder. In the year 1944 Mohammed Rafi got an opportunity to sing in a Hindi film as a chorus of of noted music composer Naushad Ali. Due to his magical voice very soon Mohammed Rafi became favourite Naushad Ali and sung innumerable hit song for him. Naushad Ali provided him a good chance to sing the song “O Duniya ke Rakhwale” for the hit movie “Baiju Bawra”. The particular song changed the life of Mohammed Rafi and he became first choice for the music composer of that era.

From late 1940s to 1960s, Rafi Sahab rose to new high of success and remained at the top among the male playback singer. In his 40 years long career, Rafi Sahab sung different genre of songs like sad, romantic, happy, devotional, ghazals and many other types of songs. Rafi Sahab gave several hits with renowned musicians of that time Shankar – Jaiskishan and Laxmikant – Pyarelal. He also shared a good rapport with co-singers prominent among them was Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. Rafi Sahab’s romantic as well as sad duets with Late Mangeshkar made many movies musical hit and still those songs are very popular among music lovers.

Apart from a successful playback singer, Rafi Sahab was a humble and charming person. Due to his friendly behaviour, Rafi Sahab worked with music composers and singers of all ages, don’t caring whether he was young or old. Kishore Kumar, Mukesh soar to new high of popularity in 1970s, but Rafi Sahab maintained his unique charm without making any fuss with singers of the young era. In fact, Rafi Sahab also sung for Kishore Kumar in early days.

Kishore Kumar made a sensation with the song ‘Mere Sapno ki Rani’ for the superhit movie Aradhana in 1969. Rafi Sahab also lent his voice in the movie, sung the songs ‘Baaghon Mein Bahaar Hai’ and ‘Gunguna Rahen Hain Bhanwre’. The decade of 1970 was basically belonging to Kishore Kumar and he made a successful pair with music director R. D. Burman. But Rafi Sahab also gave a number of hits during that period. He won the filmfare award and the National Award in 1977 for ‘Kya Hua Tera Vaada song’ in the movie ‘Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi’.

In last phase of his career Rafi sung for hit movies such as Dostana (1980), The Burning Train (1980), Abdullah (1980) Shaan (1980) and Naseeb (1981). On July 31, 1980 after singing the song ‘Shaam phir kyun udaas hai dost’ for the movie “Aas Paas” with Lata Mangeshkar Rafi left for home and died same day due to heart attack.

 

Rafi Sahab’s death shocked the music industry and his fans across the world. Government of India announced two days public holidays in honour to the great human being and singer. We have lost a great legend and most versatile playback singer of film industry about three decades ago, but he will always remain a source of inspiration for future generations.

Lastly I would like to pay tribute to Rafi Sahab by the song ‘Mohammed Rafi Tu Bhaut Yaad Aaya’, a song sung by Mohammed Aziz in the movie Krodh (1990).