Rafi sings for himself!
This article is written by Mr. Sivanandam
Surprised by the title of this article?! No- this is not about songs that Rafi sahib sang for himself in screen. He had very, very rarely appeared on screen . This is about the songs that , due to the lyrics, seem perfectly fit for Rafi sahib himself.
Please note these are all purely my imagination and interpretation . As it is always true when we write about Rafi, we can go on with pages after pages but with whatever limited knowledge I have, this is only a very small list. Additions from all veteran Rafi fans are always welcome….
1)Â Tum mujhe yun bhula na paaoge
Jab kabhi bhi sunoge geet mere
Sang sang tum bhi gun-gunaoge
Haan tum mujhe yun bhula na paaoge
This song may not be a very exceptional song if you compare with thousands of gems that he sang, but for the sheer relevance of the “mukhda” of the song , this comes on the top of the list.
2)Â Dil ka soona saaz tarana dhoondega,
Teer-e-nigahen naaz nishana dhoondega,
Are mujhko mere baar zamaana dhoondega
How true Rafi sahib!-hum to abhi bhi aap ko dhoond rahe hain-kaash aap hamare saath hote
3)Â Matlab nikal gaya hai to pehchante nahin,
Yun jaa rahe ho jaise ke hume jaante nahin
This is so apt for Rafi sahib during the 70’s when many of his associates started turning away from him!! Although we know that Rafi sahib never had any ill-will for any of his fellow-beings, this song appears to be as if he is teasing those who left him for a brief period
4)Â Tumhari nazar kyun kafa ho gayi, khata baksh do gar khata ho gayi
Rafi to Lata -may be after they started singing together again after their brief mis-understanding;
Lata responds to Rafi-humara irada to kuch bhi na ta, tumhari khata khud saza ho gayi!!!
As already mentioned in the beginning, this is just purely my imagination as I understand the song that they sang together after the rift was “Dil pukare aare aare..”
5)Â Meri kahani bhoolne wale,
Tera jahan aabad rahe-although we fans have not forgotten you, Rafi, this country is slowly forgetting you…however even for them you only have conveyed your good wishes by singing “tera jahan aabad rahe”
6)Â Teen kanashtar peeth peeth kar gala phaad kar chillana, yaar mere mat bura maan ye gana hai na bajana hai-this very rare song sums up the state of affairs in today’s cacaphonic music scenario. True to his nature, Rafi when he is chiding others, he is doing it with so much humility, prefacing it with “yaar mere mat bura maan”!!
7)Â Meri awaaz suno, pyar ka raag sunoo, main hun ek ful jo seene pe saja rakha tha
Uske parde mein tumhe dil se laga rakha tha, tha juda sab se mere ishq (gaane) ka andaz suno
With due apologies to Kaifi Azmi, I have just replaced one word “ishq” with “gaane” to make this song more suitable for Rafi
8)Â Badi der bhayi , badi der bhayi, kab loge khabar more Ram
9)Â Â Duniya na bhaaye mohen ab to bhula le, charnon mein charnon mein …
Sometimes I feel why Rafi sahib sang with so much emotion and feelings- like the two songs listed above that God took him away so soon……..
10) Tu kahin aas paas hai dost-the  last song he had recorded, which we now keep singing , always feeling that he is somewhere close to us only….TU KAHIN AAS PAAS HAI DOST
Rafi sahib ki awaz ne pata nahin kitne actor,md,directors ko kamzab kiya hai.koi uni jagah nahin Le sakta lekin aaj pata nahin kyun media unko ignore kar raha hai.par agar rafi sahib nahin hote to filmon men kush nahin hota.mein Pakistan sarkar ko appeal karta hun ke rafi sahib ko nishan e Pakistan do shayad fir enko kush sharam aye.sabhi ko pata hai ke unse upar koi singer sari duniya me na tha,na hai aur na hoga par sab kush Jante hue bhi ye log apne Ho kar bhi dgabaj hai.god will never forgive them
On behalf of all the rafian friends today 18th February I would like to wish a very very “happy marriage anniversary” to our rafian friend mr. prakash shah and mrs. Mallika shah.
Bhagwan kare ye jodi ta-qayamat salamat rahe !!!
Plz keep voting for “rafi sahab”…
http://www.whopopular.com/Mohammed-Rafi
rajkumar akela
i object to the 4th point strongly. I dnt knw if others are appreciating it but the Lata rift was caused by Lata’s greed and arrogance as time has told us. RS never had any KHATAH so no way he is saying that to lata. a better song can be Muqaabla humse na karo, and we all know that MDs started replacing lata but not RS.
Ref Post 10
Dear Javed Ansari Sahab
I was most impressed by your observations about how Rafi Saheb seems to be ignored by the media while Kishore is recognized.
I think the suggestion from Post 21 is a good one. I mean, it is ridiculous that Aishwarya Rai can get an award that Rafi Saheb has not. With all due respect to beautiful Aishwarya, is there any comparison? Rafi Saab had the voice which made the careers of almost all indian heroes (and even comedians) at one time. His greatness is unparallelled. The Bharat Ratna would not affect his greatness but it does make a difference to us his fans. So yes, we do need to do something – and I would also urge all those who are able to do something about it, to please do so. To at least start a movement towards this end.
Nice!!! Great work!! Just one correction.. Probably many didn;t notice
“Tumhari nazar kyon khafa ho gayi….
Lata – “Hanara Iraada toh kuchh bhi na tha TUMHARI KHATA KHUD SAZAA HO GAYI’
I am afraid Rafi fans would be offended by that last line. It’s like Rafi Saab suffered because of the rift between the two. I am sure the auther didn’t mean that… Just an observation 🙂
Very Nice and unique Article…………….Many songs are just like that as mentioned by Mr. Sivanandam……………
Keep it up…………..
Regards,
-Imran-
Hi all: Please add one from me:
Chheda mere dil ne
Taraana tere pyar ka
Jisne suna kho gaya
Poora nasha ho gaya
M V Devraj
Sir Javed Ansari
no one can ignore Mohd Rafi not only Star TV or song TV ignore and also there was programm on Zee Tv long time ago on KK if am not worrg was Yoodllle Kishore buy KK son Amit and his younger brother and Amit Kummar tried to sing mohd rafi but he was not able to sing that song and people at programm said him to sing it again but he was not able and he said some other time but never sang it again.
Mohd Rafi in our heart and I request to my Pakistan fan to force there gov’t by media to give Mohd rafi the histest award in Pakistan to open eyes of indian gov’t for barat Ratna award,
media was not able to ingore Mohd rafi in 1970’s the tried there best from in 1970’s but we all know that they was not able.KK himself was Mohd rafi fan,once from media asked him that better singer than mohd rafi the KK answer was you don’t know about Music,I am Mohd Rafi fan,after mohd rafi deid on his stage programms star his first song sining Mohd rafi song and said M Rafi was my friend
To all fellow Rafi fans,
Thanks to all for your kind words on this article. I am overwhelmed by your appreciation –the full credit goes to Rafi sahab himself for being such an inspiration to all of us. I am sure there would be many more songs which I have missed out, which many of our friends have mentioned in their posts.
Your kind words give me the encouragement to be of some use in spreading the name and fame of our farishta.
If I may be permitted (In Rafi sahab’s own language through his song-Gustakhi maaf), with reference to post #18, I can take the song “Wadiyan mera daman, raaste meri bahen, jao mere Siva, tum kahan jaoge” as the song which Rafi sahab addresses to me as I am known by the short name Siva. Sorry for this ‘gustakhi’ again–as I am nothing in front of him and this is just one more wishful thinking from a devotee to his God.
Hello Rafi fans, how about the song from Dilips’ Mela: Yeh zindagi ke mele duniya mein kum na honge afsos hum na honge. And in response to comment # 10 to the new generation a song again from Dilips’ Deedar: Meri kahani bhool ne wale tera jaahan abad rahe.
One more :
Wadiyan mera daaman raaste meri baahein
jaao mere siwa tum kaha jaaonge
good article, siva ji. I’d like to point out one more song in this genre. The lyrics are by asad bhopali and the music is composed by ravi.
sau baar janam lenge, sau baar fanaa honge
aye jaana-ye-wafaa fir bhee, hum tum naa judaa honge
kismat humei milane se, rokegee bhalaa kab tak
in pyaar kee raahon mein, bhatakegee wafaa kab tak
kadamon ke nishaan khud hee, manjil kaa pataa honge
ye kaisee udaasee hai, jo husn pe chhaayee hai
hum door naheen tum se, kahane ko judaayee hai
aramaan bhare do dil fir yek jagah honge
Mr. Sivanandam,
Very beautiful article . Thankx for this . Aankhen ( Eyes ) Nam ho gayee article padkar . Rafi Sahab aap kyon hum sab ko chhodkar chale gaye ? If God will ask me what is ur wish , then I only say : Mohammed Rafi Sahab ko phir se hamare paas bhej do HAMESHA KE LIYE . Really hum unko kabhi nahin bhula paye hain aur na hi bhula sakenge aur aaj tak unko dhoond rahe hain .
from
Prince Lalit Bhambhani
[ Atlanta , Georgia ] ( U.S.A. )
princelalitbhambhani@gmail.com
Congrats for a very nice, thoughtful & apt article. Rafi Sahab was truely an Aasman se aaya farishta, Pyar ka sabak sikhlane! Rarest of Rare Personality. Has sang songs for a token of Re 1 too when the music director was gaining a foothold or when Rafi Sahab liked a particular song! Hue sham un (Rafi Sahab) Ka khayal aa gaya…..
Great Write Up
Great Sense of Humour. Please Keep it up.
Sivanandan ji, Article achha hai but I would beg to differ on song # 4, agar isko ‘chand mera dil’ se replace karde to kaisa rahenga
Very nice article,,,but mere Ishq k andaj suno,,,,,is better than Mere Ganne ka andaj suno,,,
Reasons: Rafi sahab was so much humble and egoless or had sacred Faith in God that he hardly used word like mera etc for his voice,,,,so what is “mera” for ordinary people is God`s blessings to Rafi sahab`s understanding,,,,this is what make rafi ji Peerless n different from other singer,,he was even uncomfortable even for asking forcefully money for his songs.
And Ishq,,what else is singing for rafiji,,other than Ishq!!!!
Anyway,,wonderful article,,,grand imagination,good job,well done Mr. Sivanandam.
I would like to add One more…
Zindagi to bewafa hai ekdin thukrayegi
Maut mehbooba hai apne saath lekar jayegi
Marke jeene ki ada jo duniya ko sikhlayega (apni gaayki ke zariye)
Wo muqaddar ka sikandar Jaaneman kehlayega
Lovers of Rafi sahib have a good opportunity to express their thoughts about the man and his great talent on this blog, which is highly commendable. But have you people ever wondered why Rafi is very deliberately blacked out by the Indian media?
I am writing from Karachi, Pakistan, therefore I don’t have the correct picture of all your TV channels and print media but on the two channels that we get to watch here – Star Plus and Sony – one can clearly see that Rafi is ignored all the time. In fact, the new generation has simply no idea about who Rafi was while they all recognize Kishore. For instance there was quite a popular singing contest on one of these channels titled ‘K for Kishore’. The show was avidly watched in Pakistan because we regard Kishore to be a great singer as well.
In my humble opinion, Rafi too deserved a show of the same stature but it has not happened. One is also aware of the effort that Sonu Nigam has made in producing an album of Rafi’s greatest songs (‘Rafi Resurrected’) in his voice, in collaboration with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and other orchestra’s in the UK. However, I have a feeling that the Indian media have not given this endeavour the kind of attention it deserved because Sonu Nigam has rendered the Rafi classics very well.
Let’s all please come together to promote and project Muhammad Rafi by building pressure on the Indian media. Any good ideas, anyone, on how to do this?
an interesting point raised by mr sivanandam i can
recall a song as follows
ek banjara gaye from jeene ki raah
if one listens to the lyrics attentively we will realise
as if rafi saheb is actually teaching all human beings
hum sab jeene walon ko jeene ki raah batlaye
sundeep newdelhi
Ref. post No. 4,
Biman Baruah ji,
The song from “Jugnoo” in which Rafi Sahab acted is a comic song “Wo apni yaad dilane ko ek ishq ki dunya chhorh gaye”. Rafi Sahab’s voice is used on Dilip Kumar and Rafi Sahab on screen.
This is a brilliant song and can be seen on following link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45xBD0g1KOs
Thanks and best regards.
Anwar-ul-Haque
anwarhq25@yahoo.com
Dear Sivanandam ji,
Superb imagination and what an article on that. Simply awesome!!!
Many many congratulations for writing on a very very unique topic.
You remembered me the beautiful song “Teen keneseter peet peet ker”. What a song that is. Just listen the sweet voice of Rafi Sahab in these lines:
“Bhool geya tu Tansain ki taan yahin par goonji thi
Sur ke jadugar Baiju ki shaan yahin par goonji thi
Mar ke amar hai Sehgal us ka har koi diwana hai”
Rafi Sahab made his voice more sweet during singing these lines; showing us that he is the REAL Taansain, Baiju or Sehgal…
Thanks and best regards.
Anwar-ul-Haque
anwarhq25@yahoo.com
Wow, bahut hi Kamaal ka imagination hai aapka.The first song has been for long in my mind too for the same reason that it suits Rafi Sahab himself. I felt so very touched when I read about the third song !
Great article, I enjoyed reading it. Thanks !!
Very true, Sivanandam,
You have made a very good compilation of the songs that apply to Rafi himself.
Rafi’s goodness in real life can be seen in his voice itself. Only a person with pure heart can sing with so much conviction. His voice came from his heart.
Rafi was not just a singer – he put a great amount of philosophy in listener’s minds – not that others did not sing philosophical songs, but when Rafi sings we think, he is expressing his thoughts. Equally , it applies to his classical songs and fun songs( the mischief involved in the voice itself). What about his songs of DRUNK heroes – though Rafi was a teetotaller, no one could sing a DRUNKEE’s son as good as Rafi. Shows that he was a good actor too.
RESPECTED SIVANANDAM JI
AN EXCELLANT WRITE-UP ON A VERY RARE TOPIC. I WOULD LIKE ADD SOME OTHER IMMORTAL SONGS LIKE : “SAU BAR JANAM LENGE” FROM USTADON KE USTAD, “YAAD NA JAYE, BITE DINO KI, JAKE NA AAYE JO DIN, UNHE DIL KIYO BULAYEE ” FROM DIL EK MANDIR, “GAR TUM BHULA NA DOGE” FROM YAKEEN, “KOUN HAI JO SAPNON MEIN AAYA” FROM JHUK GAYA ASMAN, ETC.
In addition to Laila-Majnu, Rafi Saheb forcefully acted films like “Jugnu” and “Samaj Ko Badal Daloo” in small roles in late 1950s. But I have no idea about songs picturised on Rafi Sahab in that two films.
with warm regards
biman, assam
Yes Mohammed Rafi has also playbacked for Mohammed Rafi himself.
The film was “Laila Majnu” which was released in the year 1945 and the song was “Sakhi kee khair maayee baba kee khair taree” which was sung by Rafi Saab, Shivdayal Baatish & Khan Mastana. This song was picturized on Rafi Saab who had enacted a small role of a fakir accepting alms from Laila.
Unique and very intersting write-up. Congratulations! Long live Rafi Sahab
With regards,
Dr. Khaja Aliuddin
Sivanandamji good article, straight from your heart. You have listed some of the songs very aptly to suit rafi sahab’s personal feelings, if it could be said so. you have also given us sufficient room not to criticize you when you say that these are simply your thoughts and imagination. but we tend to agree with you on most counts, hence no question at all for any such feelings from any quarter. your language itself is superb and it is good to see article after article coming on this website with such regularity, surely no other playback singer can match the fan following with utmost sincerity that rafi sahab is endowed with. and all this only because of the humility with which rafi sahab carried himself throughout his career. keep writing sivanandamji and bring us more of your thoughts.