Yogesh Mishra | raisinalive@gmail.com
Rajesh Dhabre, who is currently the GST Commissioner in Mumbai, is a hardcore fan of the Indian music industry’s legendary singer Mohammed Rafi. He strongly believes that Rafi’s songs quickly shift his mood from sad to happy. Since the last 12 years, he has been doing a charity show in the memory of Rafi Saab; this year too it is planned for 24th December. In an exclusive interview with Yogesh Mishra, he spoke about why Rafi Saab is so special for him, how music helps in his day-to-day hectic office schedule, and more.
How did it all begin—from GST Commissioner to Mohammed Rafi Saab admirer and singer? How did Rafi Saab enter your heart, mind, and soul?
He came just like that, unintentionally; we can say love is pure when it happens unknowingly, without purpose, without self. He has entered my life just in that way.
At what age?
I can say when I was in 3rd standard or 4th standard because at that time we used to listen to the radio. My mother used to listen to old songs, and she used to play that radio. So, in those days, Rafi Saab songs were high in number. So that’s how I got connected to him. I became his fan, you know, in such an age where I didn’t know that somebody could become a fan or somebody could like it. So that liking was so pure, so beyond any purpose. So that’s why the love has blossomed over here. I can say that.
How does music fit into your busy schedule as a GST Commissioner with so much official work?
Music helps me a lot. Because music is a stress buster. You can say it’s a stress reliever. It’s such an effective and immediate panacea or therapy; we can say that it quickly shifts your mood from sad to happy, you know, from depression to excitement, because the song’s mood is such a powerful instrument that it directly affects your mood; it directly affects your mind and changes the emotion, so that’s why we can say music is a very powerful therapy. For any bureaucrat, because a bureaucrat is always under stress, always under burden, with some loads, some timelines that we follow, and some stressful things happening in and around. So you need some pill that has no side effect but can give you relief. That is music.
The Indian music industry has lots of legends, actually, like Lata Ji, Kishore Ji, and Mukesh Ji. Still, why is Rafi Ji so special in your life?
All of them are special, but my relationship with Rafi Saab is very special. I like all the old songs and all the singers, but as I said, that love with Rafi Saab was divine. You know, like you like someone who becomes special to you, who becomes close to you, who wins your heart. So that’s why the answer to your question is that it was unintentional love. Love without intention is a permanent kind of thing. It is eternal. So, Rafi Saab, when I started understanding his singing, his commitment, his talent, his genius, his purity, his ability, his range, and his classical command, today also, if I listen to any of his songs, it lures me more than before. With equal aggression, you can see. So that’s why, Rafi Saab, since I am in love with him, any of his songs, even a new song, the unheard song also—there are so many songs that I have not heard even today. So, if I listen to his new song, he impresses me like the first time.
When you feel low, which particular song of Rafi Saab comes to your mind?
I pick up any song, basically. I have not categorized his songs, but I generally like his songs; his singing itself is a massage, you know, so when your mood is low, I generally listen to his low songs. The rare thing is these songs, you know, like they settle your mood when you are low, when you are more towards anxiety or depression.
And in your happy mood?
For a happy mood, there are thousands of songs. Songs like the “Mai Jat Yamla Pagla Diwana” type. They lift you from your chair, and they make you dance to all the Shammi Kapoor songs. They will lift your spirit also if it is down.
In the last 12 years you have been doing a charity show in the memory of Rafi Saab. So, are you planning to do commercial shows also?
A commercial show needs a commercial face. I have not branded myself as a commercial singer, which I cannot do either. So, it goes kind of; these shows are kind of Ibaadat shows. My tribute to him. So, they are in that format only. I want people to enjoy his melody, his harmony, his melancholy, everything. So that is the concept of my show. But this particular show, the 24th of December being his birthday, will be a happy mood show.
So, no sponsors, nothing?
Sponsors will be there. Sponsors in the sense that some people will come because it is a charity. The charity directly goes to the NGO that we have, and some people, if they want some visibility, get the visibility there. So, some big sponsorship will not be there. It is a management of expenditure.
Where do you see the current generation, the so-called Gen Z’s, as far as music is concerned? Where do you find Rafi Saab among Gen Z?
If he’s not there, he should be there. And that is our responsibility to bring in Rafi Saab’s melody. What the song means, what the song rendering means. What does it mean by a song? What does it mean to express the emotion of the song? It has to be there because Rafi Saab is from the soil. He’s a torchbearer of any music in India, so he has to be there in any form. So, the other day I saw Sonu Nigam doing an AI show with Rafi Sahab’s face, and he was singing his song, so that way also, if Rafi Sahab is introduced to Gen Z, it will be a great thing because it is not only music, but it can also cure you. It can cure your mental issues also. It can make you understand what the music means and what the intensity of music means. So, it has to be there, and that’s why I personally do the Rafi Saab show so that it relives, so that music relives in this time also.
So, what is special about the 24th December show?
24th December, as I have mentioned, it is a happy birthday show. So, it’s a happy show. So, all happy songs will be performed there. More than 90% happy songs unless some people give a formation of some special number. But generally, we keep the romantic songs, happy songs, western beats, and love songs. You know, those songs are only ours; we have more in number. So that the mood is peppy, and the mood is bright and delightful.
Any message for Mohammed Rafi’s fans?
I would say that let us celebrate Muhammed Rafi, the legend’s birthday, on 24th December at Mysore Hall, Matunga East, Mumbai, so that we connect to that massiha of music and feel proud about his singing and be part of this great moment.
