Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MLA Santosh Sambre, who is a huge Mohammed Rafi fan, performed Ram bhajans at the late music legend’s Mumbai home recently. Talking about the experience, he tells us, “The aura at his home was so magical. We were at his music room that had all his awards and music instruments. I sang his famous bhajan Ram Ji Ki Nikli Sawari (Sargam; 1979) and his other bhajans and film songs. I have grown up singing Rafi sahab’s songs.”
Sambre adds that the late Padma Shri recipient’s son, Shahid Rafi, and daughter-in-law, Firdaus Rafi, were teary eyed when he sang. “Listening to Rafi sahab’s songs was the only kind of training I had as a musician. They were both so nostalgic when they heard me sing the Ram bhajans. Rafi sahab was a huge Ram bhakt and he recorded some beautiful bhajans,” says the politician-singer, who is often invited to sing “at events dedicated to the late singer but cannot pursue it do to his political commitments”.