Tu Ganga ki mauj Main Jamuna ka dhara
This article is contributed by Mohan Flora.
Rain came to the city as budding singers sang the melodious songs of Mohammad Rafi set to the music of maestro Naushad in the preliminary competition organised Yaadgar-e-Rafi society at Bal Bhawan on Saturday. It was a good feeling to hear old and familiar numbers sung by young hearts, says Nirupama Dutt
In times when the young are grinding out guttural numbers like Dum-dum ashiqui hai teri a la Himesh Reshamiya, it comes as a surprise indeed when suddenly a young and with-it boy gets up onto the stage and starts singing: Tu Ganga ki mauj, Main Jamuna ka dhara… vintage Baiju Bawara. But this is just what happened at the preliminaries organised by Yaadgar-e-Rafi Society at Bal Bhawan of Saturday in preparation for the gala Rafi Memorial Nite to come later.
Melody makers
It was a most pleasant return of melody hearing some great songs that tend to feature these days only in Bhoole-bisare geet kind of antiquated programmes. These were some great numbers like Na toofaan se khelo na saaheel se khelo, O door ke musafir hum ko bhee saath le le re, Madhuban mein Radhika nache re and many more belonging to an era when melody was queen and Naushad and Rafi with some others had played a major role in giving her this queenly status.
Bishambar Das Sharma of the Yaadgar-e-Rafi Society says, This year we lost Naushad who was the greatest music director that Indian cinema had ever seen. So this year we have narrowed down to only the songs Rafi had sung for Naushad in tribute to the great maestro. In fact, the city has had the privilege of having Naushad preside at a Rafi nite some years ago. And to the society goes the credit of keeping Rafi’s songs on young lips.
Dynamic duo
Naushad was already a name to reckon with having moved from Lucknow and then succeeding in towering over Mumbai film music, when Mohammad Rafi, a lad born in Kotla Sultan Singh near Amritsar arrived on the scene. Naushad was quick to recognise the mettle in Rafi’s voice and what followed was sheer magic. The magic was cast in Baiju Bawra (1952) and as critics say that it was Rafi’s thematic rendering of the ragas introduced into the film by Naushad that made a mediocre actor like Bharat Bhushan a star overnight.
Together they made some wonderful music in films like Shabab, Mela Amar, Kohinoor, Mughal-e-Azam, Ganga-Jamuna, Saaz aur Awaaz, Dil Diya Dard Liya, Palki, Mere Mehboob and many others. While Naushad gave a break to many singers his favourites were Lata Mangeshkar and Rafi. On Rafi’s demise in 1980, Naushad cried out, The messiah of music has left this world.
Songs live
A winner of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for his contribution to Indian Cinema, the last film that Naushad composed music for was Akbar Khan’s Taj Mahal: An Eternal Love Story (2005). He passed away in Mumbai on May 5, 2006 of cardiac arrest.
One is reminded of a famous song by this duo: Yeh zindagi ke mele duniya mein kam na honge, Afsos ham na honge. But they are very much there in our midst because people like Naushad and Rafi never die. Their songs live forever and we can hope to hear them sung again by many a young talent in the months to come.
I love you & your Golden voice i love to you
Dear Mohan Floraji,
In fact I am very thankful to u for the excellent contribution and I owe my hobby of singing to the BELOVED RAFI SAB. Now I am in the 2ndyr eng college but proud to say that self n our group friends are crazy after the old melodious vintage music especially our own Rafi sabs evergreen innumerable songs.
For many years I have received awards due to the selection of songs of Rafi Sab which I as a female had to practice very hard to get the right notes.
My father Narayanan also happily acknowledges the glorious and informative articles on the LEGEND.
KINDLY KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK N LET US SPREAD THE MELODY OF THE BYGONE ERA WHICH STILL RULES IN OUR HEART N MIND AND MAKE US SING…………TUM MUJHE YOON BHULA NA PAOGE…….