GUWAHATI, Aug 2 � The 30th death anniversary of Mohammed Rafi, the doyen of Hindi playback singing, was observed with a two-day programme at the Shilpgram auditorium near Srimanta Sankaradeva Kalakshetra on July 31 and August 1.
Md Rafi Smriti Sangha, a socio-cultural organisation, organised the event.
The concluding day�s function on Sunday which featured a cultural evening drew a good audience. The main attractions of the evening were Akhtar Hussain, better known as Jr Md Rafi, and young artiste Spandan Parashar. The duo enthralled the jam-packed audience at Shilpgram with their mellifluous rendering of the late Md Rafi�s evergreen numbers. Another widely-appreciated item of the show was a live presentation on Md Rafi�s popular numbers in dance-drama style by members of the Md Rafi Smriti Sangha and other artistes. The dance drama was conceived and directed by Prapti Thakur.
The cultural evening was preceded by a prize-distribution ceremony where the winners of the contests on Md Rafi�s songs, Jyoti Sangeet and Rabha Sangeet held on Saturday were formally presented with awards. The winners also sang a few memorable numbers.
The singing contests had earlier evoked tremendous response from eager participants. The contests that started in the morning were completed late in the evening. The contests were preceded by a homage-paying ceremony in the memory of Md Rafi. Several speakers, including Nirmali Chakravarty of Md Rafi Smriti Sangha, spoke on the occasion.
The first three winners in the contests were: Rafi�s song (Jr)-Purbarag Goswami, Ellyana Gogoi, and Ankita Barthakur (all from Guwahati). Rafi�s song (Sr)-Kongkona Bhagawati, Ankurjyoti Deka, and Bitu Narzary (all from Guwahati).
Jyoti Sangeet (Sr)-Nilotpal Gayan (Nagaon), Prasanta Rajkhowa (Sonari), and Madhusmita Haloi (Guwahati). Rabha Sangeet (Jr)-Pratiksha Deka, Brasha Khanikar, and Ankita Deka (all from Guwahati). Bilkish Salim of Guwahati got the consolation prize.
