Hundreds gathered backstage at the interval seeking autographs or to have a closer glance at the performers — Rafi and his troupe — as they were on a 10-day tour of the country, courtesy of Ranjit Showbiz of Fiji.

In an interview with The Fiji Times on August 13, 1974, the soft-spoken Padma Shree awardee Mohammed Rafi revealed some of his success stories.

Thirty-three years ago, on February 28, 1941, a shy and extremely sensitive 17-year-old named Rafi sang his first playback song for a Punjabi film in Lahore under the direction of the late Shyam Sunder.

Rafi came from a family which did not take music seriously, but he had been interested in the musical world since he was 10.

From 1941 onwards, his music career had been continually ascending to new heights of fame and popularity.

He sang more than 22,000 songs, of which more than 15,000 became popular hits.

According to The Fiji Times report, he said his talent was not merely a gift from God; hard work was necessary on his part.

Rafi said he preferred light classical music to today’s pop songs, which were just “passing showers”.

Old songs, he said, held a high position in his music world because they had true Indian touches to them. Rafi won innumerable trophies and certificates of merit from all over the world.

At the time of The Fiji Times report, he had four sons and three daughters, most of whom were in England.

“I have no intention of forcing my children to follow in my lines, although they take a keen interest in music,” he said.

When this report was published, Rafi had made 24 trips out of India to countries that included the United States, Africa and most Asian countries.