Mohammed Rafi, undoubtedly one of the greatest singers of Hindi cinema, was a man of some unique talents, many of which perhaps still remain unknown to the multitudes of his fans and admirers.
While his voice never failed to stir up a stream of emotions in the listener's consciousness, not many are aware that Rafi not just sang in HIndi, a language in which he crooned most of his songs, but also English, Persian, Dutch, and the local language of Mauritius, Creole.
On July 31, Rafi's 36th death anniversary, Scroll.in ran a tribute piece for the late singer. Quoting from author Sujata Dev's biography of the late singer titled Mohammed Rafi: Golden Voice of the Silver Screen, the piece illustrates how despite being born in Amritsar with no English-language education, Rafi mastered his diction and crooned an English song.
Here is an audio clip of Rafi singing 'Although We Hail From Different Lands', a song which has the same composition as Shankar-Jaikishen's 'Baharon Phool Barsao' from the film Suraj, 1966.
While the accent may not be flawless, Rafi's voice still has the same magic.
Here, Rafi is heard singing in Creole, a song based on 'Ehsaan Mere Dil Pe Tumhara Hai Doston', again a Shankar-Jaikishen composition from the 1966 film, Gaban.
If this isn't evidence enough of Rafi's range as a vocalist, here's him wowing an audience in Dutch at a live concert.
And finally, this song where he collaborated with Afghani musicians in 1975 at Radio Kabul.
Also see on HuffPost: