On phone, his 62 year- old voice sounds just like any other but give him a microphone and Jaani Babu is in his zone – the specialized zone of qawwalis. His energetic vocals then enthrall the audiences. With extremely popular qawwalis like Khalli Walli and Raat Baaki Hai Baat Baaki Hai, the man has captured the imagination of masses over the years.

Here are the excerpts from my telephonic tête-à-tête with the veteran artists.

I was just 10 years old, when there was a qawwali competition in my school – two famous singers had come for that program. I was a good singer even then and used to sing a lot in the school, often using my bench as a rhythm instrument. My school- master made me sing a qawwali in that program. That day, everything went so smoothly, the sur was so perfect, that the audiences reserved their loudest cheers for me. From that day I realized that this was going to be my future.

Actually almost all the musical genres have their origin in classical music and so is the case with qawwali. The special thing is every qawwali has its own nature, its own attitude. For a religious man, it could be religious; for a romantic man, it could be romantic and for a sharaabi, it could be intoxicating. That’s the real beauty of this genre. That’s why it appeals to every listener.

I sung quite a few qawwalis in films. The Roti Kapda Aur Makaan- qawwali Mahengaai maar gayi is still popular. Big artists like Lata, Rafi, Asha and Mukesh were very cordial and genial. Rafi used to hug me every time we met. He used to fondly call me – "Mera Munna"!