Congratulations Mr. Rafi. God Bless.... This should have been a very memorable moment for him.
It was written......... On Wed, Mar 18, 2009 at 8:13 AM, Gopal Srinivasan <[email protected]>wrote: > > A Rahman jugalbandi with Rafi > > For 27-year-old Mohammed Rafi and his wife Mehnaz, it was a > once-in-a-lifetime moment as Oscar > winner A R Rahman visited them at their home in Devinagar on Tuesday > afternoon to give away an > award > > PRIYANKA NAHATA AND VINESH VASANTH BETRABET > > It was an all-too-brief meeting at their home just after noon on Tuesday, > but for Mohammed > and Mehnaz Rafi it’s afterglow is something they will cherish for life as a > sepia moment. > Oscar-winning music director A R Rahman stopped by at RMV Cluster, > Devinagar, to say hello and > hand over an award to the couple, after they had won a lucky-draw contest > sponsored by a cell > phone company for which Rahman has done the ad jingles. > “Sorry I don’t have any time for bakra calls,” that was exactly what > Mohammed Rafi, an > engineer, said when he first got a call that told him of Rahman’s visit to > his house. Rafi, all > of 27-years, says, “Usually it is in a five-star hotel or an airport that > we bump into > celebrities, but today it was my own house where I hosted one of India’s > greatest musicians, A > R Rahman.” > It was on March 15 that the Rafis were intimated about the award they had > won and Rahman’s > arrival. Rafi had to postpone an important official visit to Delhi. And > with just two days left > for his arrival, there were many doubts in the couple’s mind. We were very > excited but at the > same time a bit apprehensive about our small house. We were wondering what > to do to make this > moment memorable for him, says Rafi. A lot of preparation went in terms of > security and the > whole apartment was whitewashed, he adds. > A GIFT FOR MAESTRO > Rahman, dressed in his usual attire of a Polo T-shirt, jeans and a blazer > came surrounded > by guards and the marketing executives of the company which had sponsored > his visit to Rafi’s > house. He arrived at 12.05 pm and straight away went and shook hands with > Rafi and said, “This > is Rahman. I am sure you must be Rafi.” The two had a private chat where > they spoke about each > other’s families and jobs. Rahman then went on to narrate his experience > when he visited Ajmer > recently. His eyes sparkling, Rafi goes on to say, “We offered him a > special Strawberry-Vanilla > cake. It was homemade and he appreciated its taste and complimented my > wife. I didn’t want to > indulge in any ‘official’ talk about how he felt winning the Oscars and > which are his > forthcoming films. We get enough to read about it everyday so we chose to > about work and > family.” > EXCLUSIVE PRESENT > Rafi, although not a very big fan of Rahman, knew that he was a very > religious person and > Rahman gleefully accepted the two presents which the Rafis gave him. One > was a table-top > calendar of religious symbols and the other was a prayer book in which a > few verses extracted > from the holy Quran had been inscribed. After having opened the first one > in everyone’s > presence, Rahman refused to open the other one saying that it was an > exclusive present and he > would like to keep it just for himself. “Whatever you do, may God bless you > with success in all > your endeavours,” were the words on the prayer book. > MEMORIES FOR POSTERITY > “A stage had been set up in our apartment and we were supposed to walk hand > in hand with > Rahman to the podium but that never happened,” says a slightly disappointed > Rafi. Although not > many people knew about the visit, the news soon spread fast and before no > time a crowd had > gathered. As Rehman arrived in a Benz, children and elders alike mobbed him > for autographs and > posed with him for a few photographs too. Everyone around was shouting Jai > Ho. The Rafis > couldn’t manage to ask all the thousand unformed questions reeling in their > heads but they did > ask Rehman about his nickname ‘Isai Puyal’. Pat came the answer: “It means > ‘A musical storm’.” > We did not even get a chance to hold his hand and walk down the apartment > or to sit on the > couch for an interview as planned earlier. Everything turned disorderly, > says Mehnaz Rafi. It > was a short-lived but intense moment of joy for the couple as Rahman soon > left for an ad shoot. > > > -- regards, Vithur
