Mohammed Rafi: Baiju of Modern Times
By: H.A.K. Walijah
Mohd Rafi with Naushad during recording the song "Tu Ganga ki Mauj Mein" for the film Baiju Bawra
It is well known that Rafi Sahab has never seen not smiling and to the contrary he delivered such masterpieces of grief stricken songs that makes us to feel the same level of pain as we seen on the screen characters enacted in movies. Rafi Saab the legendary singer possessed some unique characteristics like creativity, style and freshness in singing that kind of things one can see in an incredible variety, range, style and modulation in his voice for all types of actors, musicians and trends. He could very much sound like actors demonstrating their emotions on the screen, an unparallel art in which only he excelled.
Rafi Saab had never seen not smiling, a truly divine soul. From where did he borrow tears for these amazing songs! Good humans may have more insight into the human plight, as they say! It is very difficult to select the heartrending songs from thousands of songs sung by Rafi Sahab. To emphasize my statement more on positive side, I simply try to select today the most famous song mainly based on tear-jerking mood are the best popular numbers and also favorite song of music lovers. In this poignant solo song we can feel more pathos, grief, sorrow, pain, pangs of separation, regret, depression, and audible grief, expression of losing someone very dear and mourning on a perpetual loss of the beloved.
I write a brief commentary on the scenario to understand the depth & mood of the song (this will be helpful to the young generation who did not watch the complete movie as most of the songs belonged to golden era of Hindi film music crossing over fifty years or so and for those who eager to watch just the video song on YouTube) so that they can appreciate the singing legend, Mohd. Rafi Sahab in a very reflective manner. Mohd. Rafi first began scaling classical peaks, all his own, in the charismatic custody of Naushad, vocalizing for Baiju Bawra (1952):
O Duniya ke rakhwale
sun dard bhare mere naale
A colossal hit changed the fortunes of the actress Meena Kumari, bagging her Best Actress Award for the film. Bharat Bhushan playing opposite Meena shot into the big league, and the music director, Naushad swept awards and accolades for that year. This all time great lamentation song based on Rag Darbari Kanada facilitated & established Rafi Saab as the number one playback singer proclaiming ‘Saatwan Sur‘ of film music at the very age of 28 years.
Mohd Rafi with Naushad during recording the song "Tu Ganga ki Mauj Mein" for the film Baiju Bawra
Baiju Bawra is a real gem. This black-and-white classic is renowned for its amazing soundtrack, but its story is as epic and dramatic as a Greek tragedy. Baiju Bawra tells the story of a singer named Baiju (Bharat Bhushan). As a young boy, he witnesses his father’s murder by guards at the palace of Tansen. His father made the mistake of singing on palace grounds, an act forbidden by the royal singer, Tansen (Surendra). Before he dies, Baiju’s father begs his son to avenge his death and kill Tansen. Baiju’s vengeance is delayed when a kindly man (Manmohan Krishna) takes him in; he continues his musical education on his own. In the village, Baiju meets a girl named Gauri, the daughter of a boatman who becomes his best friend and, eventually, his sweetheart. The love between Gauri (Meena Kumari) and Baiju grows despite Gauri’s betrothal to another young man. That problem takes a backseat when the village is overrun by bandits. Baiju’s singing entices the bandit queen, who makes Baiju an offer: she’ll spare the village if he comes with her. Baiju agrees, leaving Gauri behind. It’s only when he’s away from Gauri that Baiju remembers his promise to his dead father. He turns his attention from romance to revenge.
Thereupon Baiju sneaks into the palace of Tansen to murder him. Tansen said he could only be killed by music, and the pain that accompanies it. “Dip your notes in melancholy and I’ll die on my own,” Baiju accordingly leaves the palace to learn “real” music. Baiju then seeks the musical training from Swami Haridas who was also happened to be the guru of Tansen. While his musical training was in progress, he was still performing riyaaz; Gauri meets Baiju and tries to convince him to return to the village so they can be married; Baiju, however, refuses, as he feels he must take revenge against Tansen. Hearing this, Gauri decides to make a venomous snake bite her, thinking that her death would bring enough grief to Baiju that he would defeat Tansen. Baiju sees Gauri’s lifeless body and goes mad, Baiju goes to the Shiva temple and sings a heart-wrenching song “O DUNIYA KE RAKHWALE”. The idol of Lord Shiva even begins to cry at Baiju’s grief.
Baiju Bawra theme offers some kind of vocal challenge to Rafi Saab to prove his vocal cord power and offered scope to create the kind of music that Rafi alone could articulate, the scale of efforts that Rafi put in during elaborate rehearsals was something to commend in this singer. The beauty of this song lies in its ultimate in playback rendition, composition, lyrics and more on the vocals of Rafi Saab classified under classical lamentation, or famously known as lamentation song, the alap in this song memerize us and take us to the period of Emperor Akbar, makes us believe that Baiju was really singing this song. This is an incredible song sung by Rafi Saab have many twist and turns, variation in every stanza both low and high pitches his singing prowess was clearly depicts the extraordinary grandeur and glory of his voice. Listening this song brings the feeling that Rafi could have been a full fledged classical singer; or he could have been equally popular compared to various Ustads or Pundits. This song is unique because it established the range of rafi Saab’s voice, the depth and height of his voice is seen in this song. We can see the fourth octave level in this song which is very rare among singers. One more thing which is noticeable is that as the pitch increases the width of the voice also increases. This is the greatness of Rafi Saab.
Naushad’s style was renowned for his ability to incorporate classical rhythms into his symphonies. He based his music upon the “ragas” that formed a basis in Indian classical music, and thus his music took on complex formations. His taste for classical music was legendary – in the musical Baiju Bawra (1952), he used actual classical singers to sing his songs. In spite of his classical tendencies Naushad’s career continued at a steady peak throughout the 1950s and 1960s, with some of his melodies being featured in classics like the Mughal period films Baiju Bawra (1952)
The golden triangle ~ RAFI-NAUSHAD-SHAKEEL have given us plethora of songs that were instant classics in its truest sense, as one can see the greatest hits of this golden triangle are very difficult to forget. O Duniya ke rakhwale is a hallmark of Indian music, which could never be matched by anyone anywhere. This is a gem of a song. But, he had so many gems. This along with other songs will never ever be matched. Being a Rafian by heart I would demand Bharat Ratna to our dear Rafi Saab and of course this song demands more than Bharat Ratna. This song is more costly and precious than rear diamonds worth crores of rupees; in fact it is irreplaceable to any other materialist thing.
To appreciate this marvelous song one need to pay attention to the lyrics too though we think the musical composition and lyrics composition were made for each other. The Hindi lyrics written by Shakeel Badayuni is clearly shows his mastery over the language of Hindustani. One can also witness this truth while hearing this song through these heartrending lyrics ~
Bhagvaan… bhagvaan…bhagvaan…bhagvaan..
Oh duniya ke rakhwale, Sun dard bhare mere naale
Sun dard bhare mere naale, Oh duniya ke rakhwale
Aash niraash ke do rangon se duniya tu ne sajaayee
Nayya sang tufaan banaaya milan ke saath judaayi
Ja dhek liyaa harjayee Oh..lut gayee mere pyaar ki nagri
Ab tho neer bahaale Oh……..ab tho neer bahaale…
Oh duniyaa ke rakhwale
Aag bani saavan ki barkha phool bane angaare
Naagan ban gayee raath suhaani pathar ban gaye thaare
Sub toot chuke hain sahaare Oh…jeevan apnaa vaapas lele
Jeevan dhene vale Oh duniyaa ke rakhwale
Chaand ko doonde paagal sooraj shaam ko doonde savera
Mein bhi doondoon us preetham ko Ho na saka jo mera
Bhagwaan bhala ho thera Oh..kismath phootti aas na tootti
Paav mein pad gaye chaale Oh duniya ke rakhwale
Mehal udhaas aur galiyaan sooni chup chup hain deewaaren
Dil kya ujdaa duniyaa ujdee root gayee hain bahaaren
Hum jeeven kaise gujaare Oh..mandir girthaa phir ban jaathaa….
Dil ko kaun sambaale, Oh duniya ke rakhwale
Sun dard bhare mere naale Sun dard bhare mere naale
Oh duniya ke rakhwale
Rakhwale….. Rakhwale….. Rakhwale….
Naushad was a genius and unparalleled music director in the history of Indian film music for giving songs to us wrapped in classical Ragas. He used to score all songs in a film so good that all used to be hit- no other music director, or his contemporaries could achieve this. As an example, film Andaaz, Baiju Bawara, Shabab and Moghul-e-azam had every single song so great. Naushad was the greatest music composer and a trendsetter that we have ever experienced in the Hindi Film Music and his association with Rafi was amazing and far more divine than others with lots of quality songs. Naushad whom he promoted later became first choice of everyone was not at all coincidence (heere ki parakh sirf johari ko hi hoti hai), actually he was the first music composer who brings the freshness to HFM with suhani raat dhal chuki.. He never sailed with the trends and norms, but was always bring forth the quality music. Naushad brings this rhythm first with Dil mein chupake pyar ka toofaan le chale from Aan (1952), Talat, Manna, Kishore, Hemant, Mukesh all were the gems but Rafi was Kohinoor. 1949-1969 known as the most melodious period and actually Naushad based the foundation of this golden era by promoting Mohd. Rafi. Naushad’s genious completely changed the mind set of every genius composer. but after that Rafi became the favorite and first choice for Roshan, Madan Mohan, S.D. Burman, O.P. Nayyar, Shankar Jaikishan and others immediately after Baiju Bawra.
I have given space in my article to those statements which I considered much relevant to the article; and very much understood that brings the color, decor and flavor to it, so I hereby express my gratitude to those writers whose thoughts incorporated in this article to suit the milieu & tempo of this article. It is my sole passion towards Rafi Saab that makes me engaged to write in many ways proclaiming his greatness in an impressive manner, keeping the language of the article simpler so that a minimum literate reader can also enjoy it. We can enjoy Rafi Saab more on the side of listening his immortal melodies than writing bundle of reams, so keep listening the singing legend immortal songs in a variety of genres that none can challenge his mastery over playback singing even by today. His unchallenged throne kept vacant since his departure to heavenly abode, being the only reason that none can come closer to his magnanimity. I request the readers to focus more on the relevance of the topic, share with your fellow Rafians the rare and interesting information or anecdotes connected with this song and any information related about our beloved Rafi Saab in a friendly and cordial environment.
This is from depth of my heart that the voice of Rafi Sahab was created by God only for singing and singing and singing……………………………………………………
I also think that Refi sahab is Bharat Ratna
In the world of play back singing Rafi sahab is the Prince of voice for ever.
I think no singer can be compared with one another I mean the singers of that era…All were great in their respective singing. We can’t state Kohinoor to any one of them but all were rare GEMS which we all missing today….
no …I said years back that bharat bhushan ji was insulted by a rickshaw wala in borivali road near national park…
no …I said years back that bharat bhushan ji was insulted by a rickshaw wala in borivali road near natiobal park…
I have been waiting for your next article on Rafi Sahab!!!!!!
Walijah saab
Thanks for sharing this wonderful article. No doubt RAFI SAHAB was the ‘Kohinoor’ for Hindi Film music.
I do not know why Indian Government do not recognize him for giving Bharat Ratna while this honour should give him many years back.
May GOD listen our voice and honour HIM.
Regards to all RAFIANS.
Thanks
walijah saab
first of all my apologies for the delayed response. but to be honest i read your article three times in succession, so happy i was to read it.
walijah saab, this article is a masterpiece and it aptly highlights the reasons why all of us are such ardent and passionate fans of rafi saab.
your article draws very interesting comparisons and examples and i thoroughly enjoyed reading it. rafi saab’s singing was truly par excellence, and it is a fact that there will never be another rafi. we all will have to accept this truth.
may you continue to give us such gems often.
warm regards
achal rangaswamy
Yes the issue of blood coming out from nose is not correct, what correct is that Naushad saab said that no singer in his lifetime could sing at that range and scale without sounding coarse. Only Rafisaab had the unique quality of sounding sweet eben at high scales. Mahendra Kapor to reached some high notes but lost the melody and lata and asha sounded like scractched records singinmg at a high range.
It is sad to read about Bharat Bhushan, s superstar in those days but suffered major looses in his production venture in 60’s, he had to even sell his villa to Jeetendra.
Dear Mr. Walijah.
Very good write up. You summed up everything in a single article. Thank you.
O duniye ke rakhwala, I always like this song since my childhood. A true classic composition composed by Naushad Saab and the wonderful rendition of Rafi Saab, an unforgettable song.
Walijah Saab,
A very well written article on one of the classic songs of Rafi Saab. Well done.
borivli the western suburb North of mumbai is a famous place for ‘baiju bawra’ and some others – ‘too’.
besides the national park there flowed a river. Now, its almost parched except for the rainy season.
The song ‘tu ganga ki mauj’ was reportedly shot here. during the shooting, meena kumari’s boat was washed away and she was miraculously saved by unit men.
mr prashant rao the celebrated anchor had also said that : an actor died on the roads ahead of national park. he was sick and pleading with a driver to take him to a hospital. A stranger noticed him and was ‘shocked’ to see bharat bhushan in a shattered state….the actor died virtually on the road said prashant rao.
according to hearsay : ” Mohd rafi saaheb while singing the high pitch song Oh duniya ke rakhwale – had blood coming out from his throat. many believe this to be true ”
naushad saaheb has said it never happened. on the contrary, rafi saaheb climbed one ladder up in the crescendo of the song – its said.
day before was passing by national park and remembered baiju bawra incidents then came across this beautiful write – up.
besides, borivli and its neighbourhood have many distinguished musicians and singers – who keep the golden era music alive – in live shows in mumbai and around.
the rafi foundation, mumbai
cell : 0 9833 250 701
Bhagchandani ji i am really moved by the devotion of the artists then otherwise it was difficult to get into the feel and passion out and you can see the outcome. really great. I have also heard that pandit nehru had enquired about the singer and called rafi saheb to his house. is it true.
I love the songs in this film, especially O duniya ke rakhwaale and the way Rafi’s voice soars higher and higher. Great movie, great songs, o duniya ke rakhwale a song every singer try to emulate even in a non hindi speaking areas, the charming bharat bhushan was fantastic and seemed to be the correct person for the movie, Meena Kumari looks lovely indeed, it was refreshing to see a fresh faced young Meena as most of what I’ve seen of her until this were from her dark depressing days.
Dear Walijah Saab,
Excellent writeup. O duniya ke rakhwale is one of my favourite songs. Thank you for presenting this magnificent song to rafi lovers. This all time classic is almost favourite song for all music lovers.
Once again thank you for posting this valuable thing.
Prem Kumar
I remember to have read somewhere that Naushad saab had fixed up early morning time (6 or 6-30 AM) for the final take (recording) of the song ‘Man Tadpat hari darshan ko aaj…’ to take place. Not only that he demanded that no one (musicians, recording staff, even Rafi saab) should come (at that early hour) for recording without taking bath. The reason he gave was that he wanted everyone to fully understand, feel and get immersed that nuance of the bhajan. Such was the devotion, the passion, the dedication of people of that era. It is because of such great persons that gems like ‘Man tadpat..’ were created.
-J.K. Bhagchandani
What a magnificent pitch in Rafi Saab’s voice. Only he could sing this song and only Naushad Ali could compose this music and not to forget only Shakeel Badyuni could write lyrics for this song. Naushad Sahib was magnificent in composing this song. Mohammed Rafi sang this song beautifully well that this brings tears in my eyes..One has yet to see the depth in voice that Mohammed Rafi had. The contribution of all three of them is beautiful that one left in guessing whose contribution was better.
His dedication to music, sang for nominal 1 rupee, the songs worth in lakhs. No singer can even come close to Md Rafi..he was really a gem for the Indian music…awesome and soothing song. He did his job above perfection. Any don’t have the words to get close to admire his performance. I am listening this for forty years, but i never felt bore. I can’t explain the condition I feel in his voice.
Dear Walijah Saab,
Very nice of you to share this beautiful article. It is one of my favorite songs. Believe me I daily at least one time need to listen this song to remember Rafi Saab. Your explanation is superb. Thanks for your article.
Regards to all rafi fans
Raja
Baiju is a mysterious figure. We know he was a real person living in India in the second half of the sixteenth century, and that he was a great Dhrupad singer, but that’s where the certainty ends. So much of Baiju’s life is shrouded in legend that we don’t even know his last name – ‘Bawra’ actually means something along the lines of ‘crazy’ or ‘mad’. Nobody really knows what it was that sent Baiju mad. Some say it was for love of a beautiful girl, some that he was overcome with religious fervour, and others that he was so wrapped up in his music that he simply didn’t follow the rules and conventions of ordinary life. In this version of the tale, it is Gauri who first calls Baiju ‘Baiju Bawra’ when he abandons their relationship in order to avenge his father’s death through music. According to the history books, Baiju was a highly skilled court musician, and possessed the power to light lamps, make rain fall and make flowers bloom just by singing certain raags. Baiju was also a contemporary of Mia Tansen, perhaps the most legendary of all Indian musicians, and is said to have defeated him in a musical duel – this battle (along with the parallel love story between Baiju and Gauri) is the main subject of both this adaptation and the 1952 film ‘Baiju Bawra’, directed by Vijay Bhatt.
I saw this movie a few years ago only for the song O duniya ke……, which ultimately made me watch the movie. But the songs? Mashallah…amazing, just amazing. O duniya! This is one of my fav you tube searches…I keep going to “man tadpat and “aaj gaawat man”. I remember reading an article when I was a boy (in the 1970s) of the biggest hits of the 1950s. There were 5 movies mentioned – this one, Mughal-e-Azam, Mother India, Madhumati and a fifth which was either Pyaasa or CID. I hadn’t been expecting much from the movie either; it was the songs that made me eventually decide to watch it.
All thanks to the man who was behind this film. I’m talking about the Producer and director of the film, Vijay Bhatt. The man who not only introduced Meena Kumari to the world but also Naushad Saab. Naushad Saab made this song memorable. Muslim singer, composer and lyricist made very Hindu theme a grand success. Also, I love all those oldies mostly for great melodious music. Amazing movie. Music alone cannot lift a movie. Baiju Bawra had superb performances by Meena Kumari and Bharat Bhushan. The songs are mind-blowing and secondly in the song, Tu Ganga ki Mauj, Thanks for the post…
The voice of Md Rafi is called the likely voice of god.Alas ! there will never be a voice which can pronounce the words GANGA and JAMANA in such a spiritually and heavenly tone as sung in the song Tu Ganga ki mauj… by Rafi in the film Baiju Bawra.Never before Rafi and Never after such a voice could be heard.Thanks to the Gramophone records, he will always be with us to entertain with his golden voice in different moods.Rafi is one of the greatest gift of God to all the music lovers of the world.
this is the greatest article about this memorable song, classical full of pathos for his beloved in rare style of rafisaab only he could do justice to this golden song..i am fortunate to watch rafisaab singing this song on stage in one of his most exciting live programme in march 1979 at netajee indoor stadium in calcutta,there was stunned silence in the hall when he was singing after he finished the song all the people stood up in appreciation for his greatest rendering..i can not forget that evening…great salute to greatest singer of millennium..mohd rafi is with us..an anmol rattan
Hi,
Excellent article, sir! I am die-hard fan of Mohd Rafi sahab and my parents too. I must have seen baiju bawra at least 20 times just for songs. All the songs are so nice and touchy that one cannot miss the melody and tragedy behind them at once.
O duniya ke rakhwale is the legend of the song itself. Nobody, except Rafi sahab, could have dared to sing this song, even in their mind. The greatest thing about this song and rafi sahab is that its not just the pitch. Today’s mindless singers can just cry in loud pitch and call themselves rockstar. This is not the case with Rafi sahab. Even in the highest of the pitch, the melody in his voice remains the same or even better. Even at times, I have seen Lata ji’s voice becoming unbearable in high pitch, but not a single instance is there when it happened with Rafi sahab. He is always soothing to the ears, no matter what song it is, what language it is, what pitch, tune or raag it is. Just pure bliss!
Sometime back, in news they said that during recording of this song, blood came from Rafi sahab’s mouth. But I believe that is just plain rumor. I have seen his live performance for this song and he rendered it as easily as it is in the movie. There will never be another Rafi! We all are unfortunate that he left us so early. A true divine soul! Hats off!
Naushad when he composed the song thought it was the best opportunity to show the world the range of Rafi’Sahabs voice. No human voice till then could dream (till today cannot dream) of singing at that range.
The recording was done in hardly few takes and the result meismerised all and continues to do so till date. Just on the basis of this song, infact its not a song but a milestone that can never be equaled.
Yes just on the basis of this one milestone Rafi sahab is the greatest singer of all times. All other singers accepted humbly after this song that Rafi Sahab is the emperor of singing.
Good article, well written.
Brilliant write up, wonderful explanation of the classic gem song.
Dear Walijah Saab,
Fantastic write up, a real good reading and most appreciated songs among Rafi Saab, it was the song that was indeed instrumental to promote Rafi saab higher and higher in the firmament of music world.
I wish you write many more such wonderful articles for rafi forum, inshallah.
Thanks and regards
A. Almas
ASA, Walijah Sahab,
Bahut khoob, congratulations for such a marvellous, mind-blowing write-up.
Waao. Khuda kare zore tahreer aur ziyada.
Long live rafi sahab,
Dr. Khaja Aliuddin
Walijah Sahab, once i started reading this fantastic article i could not stop. you have poured your heart out about the depth of this great song which could have only been sung by Raffi Sahab. You have so beautifully recognized the contribution of Naushad and Shakil Badayuni sahab in fact you have so nicely mentioned the names of all the music directors and writers of the golden era. It is indeed difficult to visualize our lives without their contribution. We listen to the songs which relate to all the aspects of our lives.Walijah Sahab once again thank you for such a brilliant article on Rafi Sahab and in fact about the one song that sends a calm thunder through the heart.
Thanks
Rashid Diwan
Dear Walijah ji,
Hats off to you for this brilliant piece. You have picked up a song that will last till eternity. You have very craftily described the nuance of the song and how just this one song is an evidence enough of the sea of talent that Rafi saab was. Not merely talent his devotion, passion, dedication is something that has no parallel.
I had read somewhere that initially magazine Filmfare initially had termed the music of ‘Baiju Bawra’ as ‘not upto the mark’. And the irony was that the film later went on to win that very award (Filmfare award) for best music in its inaugural year 1953. Award aisde, the music of Baiju Bawra remains the most treasured wealth of film music, a benchmark never equaled. Generations of music directors and singers will continue to marvel about it.
-J.K. Bhagchandani
Walijah Sahab,
This song is one of the rarest gift to the music lovers from Rafi Saab. Naushad Saab genius one can easily recognize through the composition of this song. The same kind of accolades are applicable to Shakeel Badayuni Saab whose lyrics worked like wonder for this song. Altogether a gem of song. You write very beautiful in all and all new avatar. Please accept my hearty congratulations for your brilliant article.
Thanks a lot…
Y. Sharif
Walijah Saab,
A great song in all aspects for all reasons. No one can touch this song as this is only song remain today in classic order. the ups and down in the alaap and the classical bandish of this song is unique.
I feel one of the major reasons why Rafi Sahab and his songs will never be forgotten is that his divine voice and the lyrical quality of his songs beautifully complemented each other. His pronounciation was so impeccable that even in high pitched songs, his words were crystal clear. We are truly blessed to have heard him during our lifetime, what to say about people who have seen him singing!
Walijah Saab,
A touchstone song for Rafi Saab caliber of singing. A very difficult song even upto now. Many singers failed on stage while performing this song. At the time of alaap in the third line of every stanza the stage singers’s voice torn out and they accepted their failure that it is indeed the difficult song among Rafi Saab songs.
A wonderful write up with all innovations and makes it altogether a new look. A very pleasant reading. I personally wish to congratulate you for sharing this article with all rafi lovers.
Please carry on….. never give up…..
With all my best regards
Kabeer Aman
walijah sahab! aapne bahoot sunder article likha, aur mujhe aapke article main yeh pankti bahoot achchi lagi “” all the singers (like manna day,mukesh,kishore etc) are gems but ours beloved rafi sahab is ” KOHINOOR” ” magar is baat ka bahoot zayeda khed hai ki bhart sarkar is
KOHINOOR ke liye ab tak to kuch khas nahin kar saki. unke bandar -bant ravayey aur bhai –bhatijawaad ki wajah se har saal humen nirash hona padta hai.yeh bharat sarkar ki ehsaanframoshi hai.
Mr. Walijah,
Adaab,
Thanks for the wonderful post – combination of Rafi Sahab with trendsetter Naushad Sahab. I hope to read many more from you in future. I will also share my thoughts/onservations regarding Rafi Sahab singing style etc… soon.
Rafi Sahab Zindabad,
S I Tanweer
Just going through this article and the lyrics of O duniye ke rakwale brought tears to my eyes. Three decades has gone and nobody is able to fill void created by Rafi saheb. Every time I get email from rafi website, revives my childhood memory of golden era in music industry created by Rafi, Naushad and many others. My children never heard or saw Rafi saheb, but they get mesmerised when I play Rafi songs of fifties and sixties.
I still miss Rafi voice, when I hear mediocre singers and music directors of modern era. Anybody who has computers becomes the music directors. There is no warmth, feelings and creativity in this modern era. Gone are timbres of musical instruments of fifties and sixties. The music composed on computers are lifeless and monotonoes.
Government should have awarded Bharat Ratna to Mohammed Rafi long ago.
Great Singer like Rafi can not be described in words, There is no match for him. In the Filmfare Award Ceremony held recently singer Shaan and Zaved paid tribute to Dev Anand and Shammi Kapoor by rendering Rafi’s songs and they looked like immature singers , trying to reach himalayan peak from sea level. Wonder why Government is silent about conferring “Bharat Ratna” to him- A gross injustice..
Excellent writing and wonderful article……. Rafi Saheb alive in our hearts forever
Dear Walijah Sahib
Congrats for your sharing excellent information/knowledge particularly relating to Angel Rafi Saab. I wish you a great success in for all times to come in your life.
one thing between your goodself and me is common that both of us are fans of the same legendary playback singer Rafi Saab,an angel.
kind regards
R L arora
walijah saheb,
a great sense of satisfaction and completeness grows within the reader as reads your ” dilsey ” written master piece.
after reading the facts as stated by you even a dunce/daft would realise why it is important for the award called bharat ratna be eleviated by it being decorated with the name of rafi sahab – though posthomous.
the best of naushad and shakeel were born simply because rafi sahab was there to complete the task in hand bring it to the world as immortal classic’s.
walijah saheb, i pef4ectly understand your trauma of unscrupulous people who keep writing unwarranted, unconnected things in our website and crreate disharmony in the general atmosphere prevalent.
when these very same elements read your most pious serene and divine explanation of the great rafi sahab and the people who were connected to him, their wayward behaviour will get automatically corrected.
many a time good corrects evil and changes to good. hence, do not worry, i am certain your sweet article will bring in most positive vibrations in the website and bring in greater harmony among than before.
i thank you and congratulate you writing in a very simplistic manner whilst staying very close to the subject in hand.
i also like the entire tone of the write up due to its simple fabric.
i wish you write in this style only and avoid writing long articles with too many songs and explanations.
i say this simply because – its a while since people already know about rafi sahabs great songs and they are generally repetitive in nature.
you have approached the subject line in a more wholistic manner and hence the difference.
i want you to quickly come back with yet another master pice picking from where you have just ended.
god bless you,
adaab rafi,
ramesh narain kurpad
Great to you Mr. H.A.K. Walijah for the column that tells about Rafi saahab and it is very inspiring… thank you very much! 🙂
A superb write up on classic song of Rafi Saab.
The songs of 50s & 60s especially were often referred to as the songs belonging to the Golden Era of Hindi Film Music. The great congregation of Hindi/Urdu Poets that we had once, ranging from Shakell Badayuni Sahab, Majrooh Sultanpuri- the poet who wrote both in Hindi/Urdu with ease – the Dadasaheb Phalke Award winner, Hasrat Jaipuri- whose songs are still a rage, who can forget the incomparable Sahir Ludhianvi Sahab.
The Music directors- Khaiyaam, S.D Burman, Roshan Sahab, Naushad Sahab, Ravi, Madan Mohan- all simply great, who did full jsutice to the quality lyrics… and then…
O Duniya ke rakhwale – a masterpiece of Rafi Saab song, that is why Old is Gold always.
Walijah Sahab,
I wish to congratulate you for writing this beautiful article on Rafi Saab best remembered song. I would come back to write my full comments. Meanwhile please take care and thank you.
Regards.
Man Mouji
Walijah Saab,
Excellent writing and wonderful article on one of the best loved and remembered songs of Rafi Saab. A classic rendition of Rafi Saab. Hats off to you for sharing this beautiful write up with Rafi lovers.
Thanks,
Zaheen Danish