Chandigarh, Aug 1 (PTI): Mohammed Rafi's native village Kotla Sultan in Punjab's Amritsar district paid tribute to the legendary playback singer on his 35th death anniversary.

A small function was organised in the village last evening to remember the singing sensation.

"Rafi sahab's fans thronged to pay tribute," Gagan, a fan of the singer, said.

Singing competitions are also organised in the village for the children each year to pay tribute to the "Likhe Jo Khat Tujhe" hitmaker.

Rafi was born on December 24, 1924, in Kotla Sultan village, about 30 kms from Amritsar in Punjab. He died in Mumbai on July 31, 1980. He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1967.

The first public performance of Rafi, who began singing by chanting the notes of a 'fakir', came as a teenager and the concert featured the legendary K L Saigal.

The singer later went on to lend his voice to Bollywood actors including Amitabh Bachchan, Shammi Kapoor, Dharmendra, Dev Anand and Rishi Kapoor in his career as a successful playback artist.

He had numerous hit songs to his credit including several duets with famous playback singers Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.

Working with music directors like O P Nayyar, Laxmikant Pyarelal and RD Burman, Rafi delivered some evergreen hits including "Yeh duniya yeh mehfil", "Chura liya hai tumne", "O Haseena", "Tum jo mil gaye ho" and "Aaj mausam bada beimaan".