If you are into the movies from the 1960s to the 1980s, there can be no doubt that you have heard this name. His music sparks up the songs like Aaj mere yaar ki Shaadi hai, Mera Yaar Bana hai dulha, Babul ki Duyaen leti jaa. To think of it, you might hear these at weddings even now. Singers like Asha Bhonsle sung to his music, Tora man darpan and Sun le Pukar aai being testaments to his fame. After a long break, he appeared back on the scene, with the memorable classic Dil Ke Armaan aansuon mei beh Gaye, sung by Salma Agha.

He did not start out with formal schooling in music, far from it. He learned it the old fashioned way - listening to bhajans sung by his father as they lay in abject poverty. He taught himself all classic instruments which he could get his hands on and decided to move to Bombay in 1950. Bold move, for he would be homeless for quite some time, sleeping at the railway station of Malad at night.

His break came when Hemant Kumar signed him up for vocals, but his interest was in tweaking the instruments he had learned. After rampant success in Bollywood and a decade-long break from 1970 to the early 80s, Ravi would make a comeback.

This time, he would be Bombay Ravi, his name in the Malayalam film studios he now worked in. Winning National Awards for various singers, Ravi’s music lined up hits for movies like Nakhakshathangal. A serial winner of National, Kerala State, and various academy awards for himself as well, Bombay Ravi’s legacy could be heard by a generation of Indians in the 60s, in their marriages or otherwise.