Telecom executive steals Mohammed Rafi tribute show

New Delhi, Aug 1 (IANS) He may not be as well known as singers Anand Raj Anand or Roop Kumar Rathod, but T.S. Jyothiraman, an executive with Lemon mobiles, mesmerized the audience with his impeccable performance Sunday at a musical event marking the 31st death anniversary of legendary singer Mohammed Rafi.

Singing is just a hobby for 58-year-old Jyothiraman, an ardent Rafi fan, but his performance Sunday overshadowed established singers like Anand and Roop Kumar, who came to Delhi to perform and pay tribute to the legendary singer.

The show, organized by Mohammed Rafi Academy, started off with singer-composer Anand Raj Anand. Dressed in black and grey suit, Anand belted out Rafi's hit songs like 'Aaj mausam', 'Aane se uske aye bahaar', 'Dil ka bhanwar', 'Khoya Khoya chand', 'Main zindagi ka saath', 'Dil tera deewana hai sanam', 'Deewana hua badal' among others.

'He (Mohd Rafi) may not be between us but he is still alive through his musical legacy,' said Anand.

However, it was Jyothiraman, who stole the show. As he started to sing the auditorium packed with Rafi fans was filled with cheers, hooting and clapping. For them he was the only one who could sing in Rafi's style.

He took the audience by storm with songs like 'Mohabbat zinda rehti hai' from 1957 film 'Changez Khan', 'Tarif karun' from 'Kashmir ki Kali', 'Meri mohabbat jawan rahegi' from 'Jaanwar', leaving everyone asking for more.

One could see the Rafi fans sitting in the audience completely engrossed and grooving to the lyrics of the song as he set the mood for entire show.

'Rafi sahab had an unimitable style. It is very difficult to imitate him. I have tried my level best to do justice to the songs that I am singing tonight,' said Jyothiraman, the chief financial officer (CFO) of Lemon mobiles who has done a few stage shows before as a hobby.

However, it was after his last song 'O duniya ke rakhwale' from the film 'Baiju Bawara' that people couldn't stop themselves from giving a standing ovation to him.

Then it was Rafi's son Shahid Rafi who took the stage and entertained people with songs like 'Pukarta chala hun main', 'Badan pe sitaare' and 'Bar bar dekho'. The magic of Rafi's song was such that people couldn't stop themselves from shaking a leg .

Shahid set up the Mohammed Rafi Academy last year to teach Indian classical and contemporary music to youngsters and groom talent, mostly from the economically marginalised groups, who wanted to make music their livelihood.

Singer Roop Kumar Rathod also mesmerised the audience with melodious songs like 'Chaudhavi ka chand', 'Yaad na jaaye', 'Chahunga main tuzhe' among others.

The show, held at Siri Fort auditorium, was also attended by eminent personalities like union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, MP Shashi Tharoor and his wife Sugandha Pushkar and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Rajeev Shukla.