Memory of A Special Evening
Munaf Husain
~ Digital Film Producer, Visual Storyteller at Dancing Light Pictures ~ Art = Human Understanding
One of the nicer things about Facebook is the Memory feature. Today it brought up a post from this date exactly 8 years back, in which I related my experience on the previous evening making a special presentation to a class of Arts elective students at York University, Toronto.
Following is the text of my Facebook post on November 25, 2014.
'Yesterday evening was special.
A very ordinary event in itself but one that had a deep significance for me. It felt like some part of life coming full circle.
I gave a first time presentation as a guest lecturer for a class of Arts elective students at York University. Thank you Ravi Naimpally, for inviting me.
Some of the most beautiful vocal music I have heard in my life has been sung by a musical genius and titan by the name of Mohammed Rafi.
Some regard him as the best singer ever born on the Indian subcontinent, and while I am not inclined to descriptions of human talent in such hyperbolic terms in this case I can at least understand such regard for the singer. (In terms of the staggering facts and figures related to his musical accomplishments, one can simply look up his name on the internet.)
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As everyone familiar with Rafi knows, the major part of his work, that he is most loved and known for, is as a film playback singer. Playback singers in Indian cinema lent their voices to actors who lip-synced to them on screen. Rafi's songs made stars out of lead men who did not look all that great and some of who could barely act. What’s most remarkable about Rafi is the sheer size and range of his output in terms of genres, styles, moods, and even languages. He has sung several thousand songs in his relatively short life (he died at 55 in 1980).
I grew up listening to Rafi’s songs in Bombay, as have all of us in India spanning three generations at least. My interest went a bit deeper than most though. His songs actually inspired me to attempt to sing in public on stage with musical accompaniment, despite having no musical training whatsoever and with no record of any musicians in my family history.
The music was just so awesome. Oh to be able to sing like that. My first shot at it was taking part at the annual school music talent contest in Grade 8 (or 8 standard as we call it in India). I got the 1st place. And it was not to be a one of. It was the beginning of on stage performances with musical accompaniment that carried on to university years at various events and shows in Bombay.
But since then, with film and photography becoming my profession, I had laid aside my passion for sharing my love for Rafi’s music in public with strangers. Till my lecture at York yesterday about Rafi and his music for Hindi Cinema.
This might be a beginning. There could be more evenings with Rafi in Toronto with not just university students, but with all lovers of good music of all ages and cultural backgrounds - Rafi enthusiasts as well as those who have never heard of him before.
The heavens on November 24 were causing a bit of havoc around in the city with the crazy winds and the power outages, but were rather noticeably kind to me. A parking spot got miraculously free just in front of the building entrance as I drove up. Then, a car reversed all the way alongside me and offered me a parking slip paid for till next morning. Thus I was welcomed into the venue.'
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1yI've always been fascinated with the rich culture of India, and further, the diaspora who moved to Pakistan and east Africa. There were Muslims who were thrown out of Uganda, for one, after moving from India due to lack of acceptance, and they found their way to Europe and North America in the 1970's. Canada under PET accepted about 10,000 of these Ismaili Muslims, as documented in GG Clarkson's book "Room for All of Us". I'm always deeply grateful for immigrants to Canada, who leave their world behind and take a chance on this country. We are truly blessed to have them. I don't see the eight year old article - is it available on here? I'd be interested in reading it. Thanks for sharing.
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1yIndia is a melting pot of different cultures, we grow by learning from all cultures as every culture has some unique things to share.. Arts especially has grown by assimilation of different cultures.