Mohammed Rafi

Mohammed Rafi (Playback Singer)

Mohammed Rafi was born the second youngest of six sons of Hajji Ali Mohammad at Kotla Sultan Singh, a village near Amritsar in Punjab (British India). Rafi, whose nickname was Pheeko, started singing by imitating chants of a fakir in his village. Rafi's father moved to Lahore in the Nineteen Twenties and owned a men's salon in Noor Mohalla in Bhatti Gate Lahore. It was his elder brother (Mohammad Deen's) friend Abdul Hameed who later became his brother in law, who spotted the talent in Rafi in Lahore and encouraged him to sing. Abdul Hameed later convinced the family elders to let him move to Bombay and he accompanied Mohammad Rafi to Bombay in 1944. Rafi learnt classical music from Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan, Pandit Jiwanlal Matto and Firoze Nizami.

Rafi's first public performance came at the age of 13, when he was allowed to sing at a concert in Lahore featuring K. L. Saigal. In 1941, Rafi, under Shyam Sunder, made his debut in Lahore as a playback singer in the duet "Soniye nee, Heeriye nee" with Zeenat Begum in the Punjabi film Gul Baloch (the film was released in 1944). In that same year, Rafi was invited by All India Radio Lahore station to sing for them. He made his professional debut in the Shyam Sunder-directed 1941 film Gul Baloch and the Bombay film, Gaon Ki Gauri, the following year.

In 1944, Rafi moved to Bombay (now Mumbai),The brother in laws to be took up a ten-by-ten-feet room in the crowded downtown Bhendi Bazar area. Here poet Tanvir Naqvi introduced him to some of film producers including Abdur Rashid Kardar, Mehboob Khan and actor-director Nazeer. Shyam Sunder was in Mumbai and again provided an opportunity to Rafi – who got to sing a duet with GM Durrani, ‘Aji dil ho qaabu mein to dildar ki aisi taisi…’, for Gaon Ki Gori, which became Rafi’s first recorded song in a Hindi film. Many other songs followed

In 1948, after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, the team of Husanlal Bhagatram-Rajendra Krishan-Rafi had overnight created the song ‘Suno suno ae duniyawalon, Bapuji ki amar kahani…’. He was invited by the Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to sing at the latter's house. In 1948, Rafi received a silver medal from Nehru on the Indian Independence Day. In 1949, Rafi was given solo songs by music directors such as Naushad, (Chandni Raat, Dillagi and Dulari) Shyam Sunder (Bazaar) and Husnalal Bhagatram (Meena Bazaar).

Rafi's first song with Naushad was "Hindustan ke hum hain" with Shyam Kumar, Alauddin and others, from A. R. Kardar's Pehle Aap (1944). Around the same time, Rafi recorded another song for the 1945 film Gaon ki Gori, "Aji dil ho kaaboo mein". He considered this song his first Hindi language song.

Rafi also did brief roles in movies like Laila-Majnu (1945) and Jugnu. In Laila-Majnu, he was seen singing ‘tera jalwa’ as a part of the chorus.

Rafi was highly influence by the singers of that time like K. L Saigal, Talat Mehmood and, most notably, by G. M. Durrani - on whose style he based his singing. He sung with his idol in some of the songs such as "Humko Hanste Dekh Zamana Jalta Hai (Hum Sab Chor Hain, 1956) and "Khabar Kisi ko Nahiin, woh kidhar Dekhte (Beqasoor, 1950),etc.

Rafi also appeared in two movies. In 1945, Rafi appeared on the screen for the song "Tera Jalwa Jis Ne Dekha" in the film Laila Majnu. He sang a number of songs for Naushad as part of the chorus, including "Mere sapnon ki rani, Roohi Roohi" with K. L. Saigal from the film Shahjahan (1946). Rafi sang "Tera Khilona Toota Balak" from Mehboob Khan's Anmol Ghadi (1946) and a duet with Noor Jehan in the 1947 film Jugnu, "Yahan Badla Wafa Ka". Following the Partition of India, Rafi decided to stay in India and had his family flown to Bombay. Whereas Noor Jahan migrated to Pakistan and made a pair with playback singer Ahmed Rushdi.

Stamp In Tribute Of Mohd.Rafisaab By Government Of India.

Mahendra Kapoor

Mahendra Kapoor (Playback Singer)

Mahendra Kapoor (January 9, 1934, Amritsar, Punjab, India - September 27, 2008, Mumbai, India) was an Indian playback singer.Mahendra Kapoor was born in Amritsar, but soon moved to Mumbai. At an early age he was inspired by singer Mohammed Rafi but soon he started learning classical music under many well known classical singers like Pt.Hussanlal, Pt. Jagannath Bua, Ustad Niaz Ahmed Khan, Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan, Pt.Tulsidaas Sharma. He created a style of his own and won the Metro Murphy All-India singing competition, which led to his debut as a playback singer in V. Shantaram’s Navrang in 1958, singing Aadha Hai Chandrama Raat Aadhi, under the musical direction of C. Ramchandra.He sang many hit songs of yesteryears, and the most notable ones being those for B.R. Chopra's Films (Dhool Ka Phool, Gumrah, Waqt, Hamraaz, Dhund etc.) and for Legendary Actor/Director Manoj Kumar (Upkaar, Purab Aur Paschim etc.)Mahendra Kapoor is well known as The Vibrant Voice of India. Just like Pavarotti, Mahendra too had a very large vocal range with a beautiful vocal timber. He was the first Indian Playback Singer to record music in English. He sang 'Oh Saly please Help me.. & I am Feeling Blue" both which were an amazing feat for an Indian singer to do. He was asked by the famous "Boney M" group to sing their songs in Hindi with Musarat from Pakistan & they recorded the EverHit Pop Album M-3.

One thing of Mahendra Kapoorji must be remembered on Sai Devotees. At Shirdi Sai Baba temple at Shirdi, Maharashtra.. Om Jai Jagdish Hare.. is played along with Bhupalis Utha Utha Sakalajana (Sung by Asha Bhosle) and Ghanashyam Sundara (Sung by Lata Mangeshkar, Panditrao Nagarkar) Before early morning prayers i.e., Kakad Aarti. Om Shri Sainathaya Namah is mantra sung by Mahendra Kapoorji is also continuously played at Shirdi Sai Temple.

He has sung in almost every language in India, and has sung & covered almost every verity of songs such as Patriotic, Romantic, Bhajans, Qawwalis, Naats, & the TV Serial “MAHABHARAT” title song has been the umpteenth feather in his already crowned cap. He sang the highest number of songs in Gujrati, Punjabi & Marathi movies. In Marathi he was very popular for being the voice of Dada Kondke in all his movies. In spite of being associated with Dada Kondke's colloquial style his singing for Marathi movies was not limited to Dada Kondke's movies only. His son Rohan Kapoor is an actor/Singer. He Acted in a few films in the 1980s such as Yash Chopra's Faasle (1985) and Love 86 (1986), Prakash Mehra's Imandaar and later did stage shows along with his father & is a well trained singer. He cut several Albums in India & UK.

On September 27, 2008, he died following a cardiac failure, he is survived by his wife, three daughters and a son Rohan Kapoor alias Ruhan Kapoor.

 Awards

    National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer

        1968 Won - "Mere Desh Ki Dharti" - Upkar

    Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer

        1964 Won - "Chalo Ek Bar" - Gumrah

        1968 Won - "Neele Gagan Ke Tale" - Hamraaz

        1968 Nominated - "Mere Desh Ki Dharti" - Upkar

        1975 Won - "Aur Nahi Bus Aur Nahi" - Roti Kapda Aur Makaan

        1977 Nominated - "Sunke Teri Pukar" - Fakira

Kapil Dev

Kapil Dev Formar Captain (India).

Kapil Dev Ramlal Nikhanj Born in a Punjabi family to Ram Lal Nikhanj and Raj Kumari Lajwanti (maiden name), Kapil Dev was the sixth of seven siblings. His parents had emigrated from a Kahuta village near Rawalpindi during Partition, whereafter Ram Lal Nikhanj settled in Chandigarh and into a prosperous building and timber business. Kapil Dev was a student at D.A.V. School and joined Desh Prem Azad in 1971.Kapil Dev made an impressive debut for Haryana in November 1975 against Punjab with a 6 wicket haul, restricting Punjab to just 63 runs and helping Haryana to victory. Kapil finished the season with 12 wickets in 3 matches.In the 1976–77 season opener against Jammu & Kashmir, he had a match haul of 8/36 to win the match for his team. While his contributions for the rest of the season was ordinary, Haryana qualified for the pre quarterfinals. Kapil Dev achieved his then best innings haul of 7/20 in just 9 overs in the second innings to skittle Bengal for 58 runs in under 19 overs. Although Haryana lost to Bombay in the quarter finals, his form made the nation sit up and take notice.Kapil began his 1977–78 season claiming 8/38 in the first innings against Services. With 3 wickets in the second innings, he took his maiden 10-wicket haul in first-class cricket, a feat he would later achieve twice in Test cricket. With 23 wickets in 4 matches, he was selected for the Irani Trophy, Duleep Trophy and Wills Trophy matches.For the 1978–79 season, Haryana had a repeat encounter with Bengal in the pre-quarterfinal match after a lackluster bowling season from Kapil Dev (12 wickets from 4 matches), riding on the performance of the season's leading wicket-taker – Rajinder Kaul. Kapil Dev however scored 2 half-centuries in the group stage matches. In the pre-quarterfinal match, he rose to the occasion by taking a 5-wicket haul in the first innings. Poor batting by Haryana in the second innings meant Bengal could avenge their loss from 2 seasons back by scoring the required 161 runs for the loss of just 4 wickets. Kapil Dev stood out in the Irani Trophy match scoring 62 runs coming in at number 8. He also took 5 catches in the game where Karnataka was defeated by the Rest of India XI. Kapil Dev arrived in the national spotlight with a trademark standout performance in the finals of the Duleep Trophy taking a first innings haul of 7/65 in 24 overs. Kapil was included in the North Zone squad for Deodhar Trophy and Wills Trophy for the first time. He played his first Test match in the season against Pakistan.

In the 1979–80 season, Kapil showed his batting talent with a maiden century against Delhi when he scored his career best 193. In the pre-quarterfinal match, where he captained Haryana for the first time against Uttar Pradesh, he took a five wicket haul in the second innings to advance to quarter finals where they lost to Karnataka. With Kapil cementing his place in the Indian national squad, his appearances in domestic matches dwindled.

Captain: 1983 World Cup Champions (1982–1984) :

Kapil Dev debuted as India's captain in the 1982–83 season against Sri Lanka (before the Pakistan tour) when Gavaskar was rested. His first assignment as regular captain was the tour of West Indies, where the biggest accomplishment was a lone ODI victory. Kapil (72) and Gavaskar (90) led India to a huge score – 282/5 in 47 overs and Kapil's 2 wickets aided India to restrict West Indies for 255 and a victory[21] that Indian cricketers claim gave them the confidence to face the West Indies team in 1983 Cricket World Cup.[22] Overall, Kapil Dev had a good series in West Indies as he scored a century to save the second test match as well as picking up 17 wickets (Average: 24.94).

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, a coastal town which was then part of the Bombay Presidency, British India. His father, Karamchand Gandhi (1822–1885), who belonged to the Hindu Modh community, served as the diwan (a high official) of Porbander state, a small princely state in the Kathiawar Agency of British India. His grandfather was Uttamchand Gandhi, fondly called Utta Gandhi. His mother, Putlibai, who came from the Hindu Pranami Vaishnava community, was Karamchand's fourth wife, the first three wives having apparently died in childbirth. Growing up with a devout mother and the Jain traditions of the region, the young Mohandas absorbed early the influences that would play an important role in his adult life; these included compassion for sentient beings, vegetarianism, fasting for self-purification, and mutual tolerance among individuals of different creeds.

The Indian classics, especially the stories of Shravana and Maharaja Harishchandra, had a great impact on Gandhi in his childhood. Gandhi, in his autobiography, admits that it left an indelible impression on his mind. He writes: "It haunted me and I must have acted Harishchandra to myself times without number." Gandhi's early self-identification with Truth and Love as supreme values is traceable to these epic characters.

In May 1883, the 13-year old Mohandas was married to 14-year old Kasturbai Makhanji (her first name was usually shortened to "Kasturba", and affectionately to "Ba") in an arranged child marriage, according to the custom of the region. Recalling the day of their marriage he once said, "As we didn't know much about marriage, for us it meant only wearing new clothes, eating sweets and playing with relatives." However, as was also the custom of the region, the adolescent bride was to spend much time at her parents' house, and away from her husband. In 1885, when Gandhi was 15, the couple's first child was born, but survived only a few days, and Gandhi's father, Karamchand Gandhi, had died earlier that year. Mohandas and Kasturba had four more children, all sons: Harilal, born in 1888; Manilal, born in 1892; Ramdas, born in 1897; and Devdas, born in 1900. At his middle school in Porbandar and high school in Rajkot, Gandhi remained an average student. He passed the matriculation exam for Samaldas College at Bhavnagar, Gujarat with some difficulty. While there, he was unhappy, in part because his family wanted him to become a barrister.

On 4 September 1888, Gandhi travelled to London, England, to study law at University College London and to train as a barrister. His time in London, the Imperial capital, was influenced by a vow he had made to his mother in the presence of the Jain monk Becharji, upon leaving India, to observe the Hindu precepts of abstinence from meat, alcohol, and promiscuity.Although Gandhi experimented with adopting "English" customs—taking dancing lessons for example—he could not stomach the bland vegetarian food offered by his landlady, and he was always hungry until he found one of London's few vegetarian restaurants. Influenced by Salt's book, he joined the Vegetarian Society, was elected to its executive committee,and started a local Bayswater chapter.Some of the vegetarians he met were members of the Theosophical Society, which had been founded in 1875 to further universal brotherhood, and which was devoted to the study of Buddhist and Hindu literature. They encouraged Gandhi to join them in reading the Bhagavad Gita both in translation as well as in the original.Not having shown interest in religion before, he became interested in religious thought and began to read both Hindu and Christian scriptures.

Gandhi was called to the bar on 10 June 1891. Two days later, he left London for India,where he learned that his mother had died while he was in London and that his family had kept the news from him.His attempts at establishing a law practice in Bombay failed and, later, after applying and being turned down for a part-time job as a high school teacher, he ended up returning to Rajkot to make a modest living drafting petitions for litigants, a business he was forced to close when he ran foul of a British officer. In his autobiography, Gandhi refers to this incident as an unsuccessful attempt to lobby on behalf of his older brotherIt was in this climate that, in April 1893, he accepted a year-long contract from Dada Abdulla & Co., an Indian firm, to a post in the Colony of Natal, South Africa, then part of the British Empire.

Chandra Shekhar Azad

Chandra Shekhar Azad

Young Chandra Shekhar was fascinated by and drawn to the great national upsurge of the non-violent, non-cooperation movement of 1920-21 under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. When arrested and produced before the magistrate, he gave his name as 'Azad', his father's name as 'Swatantra' and his residence as 'prison'. The provoked magistrate sentenced him to fifteen lashes of flogging. The title of Azad stuck thereafter.After withdrawal of the non-cooperation movement, Azad was attracted towards revolutionary activities. He joined the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army (HSRA) and was involved in the Kakori Conspiracy (1926), the attempt to blow up the Viceroy's train (1926), the Assembly bomb incident, the Delhi Conspiracy, the shooting of Saunders at Lahore (1928) and the Second Lahore conspiracy.

Chandra Shekhar was born on 23 July 1906 in village Bhavra in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh to Pandit Sita Ram Tiwari and Jagrani Devi. He received his early schooling in Bhavra. For higher studies he went to the Sanskrit Pathashala at Varanasi.

Azad was on the wanted list of the police. On 27February 1931, in the Alfred Park, Allahabad, when an associate betrayed him, well-armed police circled Azad. For quite sometime he held them at bay, single-handedly with a small pistol and few cartridges. Left with only one bullet, he fired it at his own temple and lived up to his resolve that he would never be arrested and dragged to gallows to be hanged.Betrayed by an informer on 27 February 1931 Azad was encircled by British troops in the Alfred park, Allahabad. He kept on fighting till the last bullet. Finding no other alternative, except surrender, Azad shot himself in the temple.

Till his last breath the soldiers were terrified of his sharp shooting skills. And this was to be the final stage of a this movement, the final scene in his life as well as the end of the revolutionaries of the HSRA. Seeing no way out Azad loaded his last bullet into his Mauser pistol, it would be the last bullet he ever fired; he would be the last man he ever killed in the struggle for Indian Independence. Chandrashekhar Azad put the gun to his temple and shot himself. He had vowed to remain Azad, meaning free in Urdu, all his life. He said that as long as he had his bumtulbukara or his pistol no one would ever catch him alive. He said that he would never be taken to the gallows tied up the way monkeys are, and made to dance by the British. His favourite couplet and only known composition is as follows: "Dushman ki goliyon ka hum samna karenge Azad hee rahein hain, azad hee raheinge!" Years of man hunt, terror, raids, assassinations and demonstrations had at last ended for the British Raj. With him all the revolutionaries were finished. The next time the British would face so grave a problem and so fierce an enemy would be 10 years later in 1941. There would be a much more developed and well organised army then lead by none other than the Netaji - Subhash Chandra Bose, an ardent supporter and sympathizer of Chandrashekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh.

Subhas Chandra Bose

Subhas Chandra Bose

Subhas Chandra Bose was born in a Bengali Kayasth family on January 23, 1897 in Cuttack, Orissa, to Janakinath Bose, an advocate and Prabhavati Devi. He was the ninth child of a total of fourteen siblings. He studied in an Anglo school at Cuttack until the sixth standard and then shifted to Ravenshaw Collegiate School. From there he went to the Presidency College where he studied briefly. His nationalistic temperament came to light when he was expelled for assaulting Professor Oaten for his anti-India comments. Bose later topped the matriculation examination of Calcutta province in 1911 and passed his B.A. in 1918 in philosophy from the Scottish Church College under University of Calcutta.

Bose went to study in Fitzwilliam Hall of the University of Cambridge, and matriculated, that is formally enrolled in the Cambridge University, on 19 November 1919. He was a non-collegiate student. He studied Philosophy for Moral Sciences Tripos, as the honours BA is known. He was awarded a third class pass in the examinations for Part I of this tripos in 1921. He graduated BA by proxy on 4 November 1922.

His high score in the Civil Service examinations meant an almost automatic appointment. He then took his first step as a revolutionary and resigned the appointment on the premise that the "best way to end a government is to withdraw from it". At the time, Indian nationalists were shocked and outraged because of the Amritsar massacre and the repressive Rowlatt legislation of 1919. Returning to India, Bose wrote for the newspaper Swaraj and took charge of publicity for the Bengal Provincial Congress Committee. His mentor was Chittaranjan Das who was a spokesman for aggressive nationalism in Bengal. In the year 1923, he was elected the President of All India Youth Congress and also the Secretary of Bengal State Congress. He was also Editor of the newspaper "Forward", founded by Deshabandhu. Bose worked as the CEO of the municipal corporation of Calcutta for Das when the latter was elected mayor of Calcutta in 1924. In a roundup of nationalists in 1925, Bose was arrested and sent to prison in Mandalay, where he contracted tuberculosis.

In 1927, after being released from prison, Bose became general secretary of the Congress party and worked with Jawaharlal Nehru for independence. Again Bose was arrested and jailed for civil disobedience; this time he emerged to become Mayor of Calcutta in 1930. During the mid-1930s Bose travelled in Europe, visiting Indian students and European politicians, including Mussolini. He observed party organization and saw communism and fascism in action. By 1938 Bose had become as leader of national stature and agreed to accept nomination as Congress president.

He is presumed to have died 18 August 1945. However, no actual evidence of his death on that day has been authenticated and many committees were set up by the government of India to investigate his death.