24^th December 1924-31^st July 1980

We all know that Mohammad Rafi was one of the most versatile singers , who could sing any genre of song . There is one more unique aspect that many would be aware at the back of their mind but might not have given much thought about it. This blog is an attempt to showcase that .

Whenever I used to listen to his songs like ‘Mein rickshawalla’ , Mein hoon albela tangewala’ or Sar jo tera chakraye , I used to wonder for how many ‘ occupations ’ or one can say street vendors  he might have lent his impeccable vocals ?! I was pleasantly surprised to note there are quite a few  songs that I could dig out! The sheer variety is simply amazing. From selling ice cream, insurance, chaat, paan, massage service, driving a rikshaw , a tonga, even offering marriage brokerage service, he has not left out any occupation!

These songs may not be the best in terms of musical quality , but I would say that they are still quite enjoyable. It must have been his innate humility to sing for any actor on screen, any music director , any banner /producer with the lowest budget that must have  resulted in such a huge variety of songs.

Readers may find an overwhelming number of articles on Rafi in my blogsite. I have so far covered many artists from Hindi & Tamil films and would continue to cover hundreds of them in future , but Rafi would always be appearing in between as he is always closest to my heart!

There is one more topic that is in my mind-we find many cities appearing in Rafi’s songs. One day I may publish that also , though I may have to do some digging to check how many cities have been covered! With Rafi there is no dearth of topics!

So here we go! My selection of 20 songs arranged in chronological order based on year of the film. I have mentioned the  commodity or service  that is being sold or offered  in the song and then the song , film, year, music director and lyricist.

1. Toy seller: Tera khilona toota balak-Anmol Gadi-1946-Naushad-Tanveer Naqvi

Although Rafi was singing from 1944 and must have sung around 40 songs till 1946,  it was this song from Anmol Gadi that made everyone notice a new singer on the horizon. That film was totally dominated by songs from other legends like Noor Jehan, Shamshad Begum , Suraiya etc , with Rafi getting only this single song. Singing for a toy seller , Rafi slowly but firmly started his ascent to the great heights in his career . Note the antara that is unique and sung almost breathless with primitive recording techniques prevalent during 40’s.

2. Fruit Seller Main Mali Ka Chhokra Mera Bagh Hai Jamuna Paar-Sarkar-1951-Pt Gobind Ram-Qamar Jalalabadi-Duet with Shamshad Begum

I could not get any link that has the visuals but from the audio it appears Rafi is selling fruits and Shamshad Begum , vegetables! Pt Gobind Ram was a popular and successful composer in the 1940’s . It is interesting to note that in 1951 , one could get Kashmir Apples -4 for one rupee!!

3. Balloon seller: Le lo gubare humare pyare pyare-Bandish-1955-Hemant Kumar-Raja Mehdi Ali Khan

In this 1955 film also Rafi had just this song, picturised on the noted comedian Bhagwan selling balloons. Hearing Rafi in a Hemant Kumar composition is quite rare. Notice the difference in the singing style of Rafi from the 1946 ‘Tere Khilona’ to this in 1955. He is more confident and does the all the variations in his typical style. I found a strange thing-all the videos that have the visuals are just around 1.5 minutes! And so I have posted two links-one to just to show the visual selling of balloons and one that has only audio but the complete song.

4. Barber: Mera naam phataphat mera kaam jhataphat-Shahzada-1955-S Mohinder-Tanveer Naqvi

Unfortunately I could not get any video that has the visuals but the lyrics proves it is picturized on a person assuring he shall give a good and fast haircut! This film had two music directors-Nashad and S Mohinder with almost 3 songs composed by each.  S Mohinder had composed some very good songs in Hindi films but went on to focus more on Punjabi films and became immensely popular there.

5. Perfume seller : Jungle ghooma basti ghooma ( Le le mera ittar)-Badshah Salamat-1956-Bulo C Rani-Shafiq Kanpuri

This is an absolutely hidden gem , with Rafi going all out and creating the typical intonations ( note in how many variants to that Le Le!)  that a street seller normally does while selling his wares. Once again I failed to get a video link that has the visuals and only we can imagine how it would have been on screen! A word about the  music director of this song: Bulo C Rani , many may erroneously  think it is a name of a lady but he was a male music director ,  born, Bulo Chandiram Ramchandani and was a  popular composer in the vintage era but later on faded out , not able to withstand the competition from many stalwarts of the golden era and it is sadder to note that at the age of 73 he was supposed to have committed suicide .

6. Masseur (Tel Maalish): Sar jo tera chakraye-Pyaasa-1957-S.D Burman-Sahir Ludhianvi

Among the many songs that Rafi sang for different “ on screen” occupations this  one must the most popular. In an otherwise serious film that had Rafi’s epic Yeh Mehlon Yeh Takhton and Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind Par Who Khan Hai,  we can only admire the great singer’s versatility . The way he sings this , it sounds exactly as if Johnny Walker singing for a road-side oil masseur.

7. Panwala: Aana O bhai jaan khilaoon pan lagake chuna -Taxi Stand-1958-Chitragupt-Majrooh Sultanpuri

It is sad that we do not get visuals of most of the songs . There is no limit to the variety in Rafi’s singing. Just note the change in tone -he sings one line in straight manner and immediately in  the next line he changes it to that of a typical panwalla!

8. Vegetable seller (Sabziwala): Muliram aur bhindiwala ka nikala-Dulhan-1958-Ravi-S.H. Bihari

Ravi seems to have scored maximum number of songs for Rafi in this particular niche genre. There are 6 songs composed by Ravi out of   20 songs I have listed here ! When we hear this song we can understand why Rafi seems to have been the favourite of almost all music directors for such songs. I do not think any other singer would be able to demonstrate so much of variations.

9. Chatwala: Baaman ho ya jaat -Kaarigar-1958-C Ramachandra-Bharat Vyas-Duet with Chitalkar

Composed by C Ramachandra superbly with a  Bhangra and Lavani  style , this is one more hidden gem I discovered. When you hear this , you will definitely get a feel having a great chaat on the famous Chowpati beach in Mumbai! This song is also a foodie’ s delight as the three stanzas cover the most popular chaats: Ragda , Bhel puri and Paani Puri!! Chitalkar ( C Ramachandra) &  Rafi singing together is one more rarity to be enjoyed.

10. Photographer: Dilbar pe ho na kaboo photo kheenchalo Babu-Pehli Raat-1959-Ravi-Majrooh Sultanpuri

There was a time when Johnny Walker always had one song picturized on him in every film , with Rafi singing for him. In this he is providing his professional touch for getting a nice photo and even enacts how to pose for a pic!

11. Rickshawallah:Mein Rickshawala, Mein Rickshawala-Chhoti Bahen-1959-Shankar Jaikishan-Shailendra

One of the most popular songs in this genre, picturized on another comedian, Mehmood, for whom Rafi has sung so many hit songs. The great lyricist Shailendra was truly a genius -he could write simple lines to convey great philosophy even in a song like this. The last antara is typical of Shailendra…

Raat din har ghadi ek sawaal, ek sawaal

Rotiya kam hain kyun, kyun hai akaal, kyun hai akaal

Kyun duniya me kami hai ye chori kisne ki hai

Kahan hai sara maal, kaha hai sara maal

12. Bangle seller:Le Lo chudiyan-Ghar Ki Laaj-1960-Ravi-Rajendra Krishan

Once again we have Johnny Walker , this time selling bangles on street. Observe the way Rafi says “ Chudi….chudiwala” ..he sounds exactly like a street seller! That was his exceptional skill!

13. Insurance agent: Babu insurance kara lo-Kala Admi-1960-Dattaram-Hasrat Jaipuri

Today we have a bombardment of sales pitch from various insurance companies in all media, social media , through pesky calls on our mobile phones ! We are totally frustrated with the unsolicited  calls we get on our mobile phones. Wish someone can make a pitch in a funny way  like how Rafi does in this song!

14. Cucumber seller (Kakadi) : Laila ki ungliyan-Ghar Ki Laaj-1960-Ravi-Rajendar Krishan

In the song Muliram aur Bhindimaal ka nikala diwala he was selling all types of vegetables; this one is a specialization ! He goes on to extoll the virtues of the humble cucumber and compares it with  a lady’s finger!

15. Ice cream seller: Zindagi hai kya sun meri jaan-Maya-1961-Salil Chowdhury-Majrooh Sultanpuri

Salil da was inspired from the legend Charlie Chaplin’s composition called Terry’s Theme which was the theme music of his film Limelight. It fetched Chaplin his only competitive Oscar for Original dramatic score well after two decades ( the film was made in 1952 but was released fully in the USA only 1972 as his film was banned earlier in that country due to his “ supposedly communist leanings”).

Salil da , whenever he takes some excellent tunes from western music creates wonders and full justice to the composition. One of the most melodious songs in this list, Rafi’s vocals match Dev Anand so well . One melts like an ice cream while listening to the line ‘ zaban mein meethi karoon aa yahan.’

16. Tin Plating of Utensils (Bartan kalai):Bartan kalai kara Lo-Girls’ Hostel-1963-Ravi-S.H Bihari

Today many would not even know what is ‘ tinning of brass and copper  utensil.’ This is something unique to our country as we cook many acidic or alkaline food that may react adversely with brass and copper and may be harmful for the body. So a thin coat of tin is applied inside the utensil so that it provides a safe barrier. Rafi has not left out even this relatively obscure occupation. The mukhda starts off with  a parody of the famous song Hum Bekhudi Mein Tumko Pukare Chale Gaye that was also sung by Rafi , composed by S.D Burman for the film Kala Pani.

17. Tangewala: Goda Pishori mera , tonga Lahori mera (Mein Hoon Albela Tangewala)-Pyar Ka Bandhan-1963-Ravi-Sahir Ludhianvi

Although O P Nayyar might have composed most of the songs that had that typical horse-hoof beat rhythm, I could not find any song that  suited this theme. So we have a relatively leisurely-paced horse driven by Raj Kumar that is typical of Ravi’s rhythm pattern  . One more very popular song in this category , and Rafi does a superb job of singing for a tangewala played on screen by Raj Kumar!

18. Home guard: Mein albela Home guard-Johar in Kashmir-1966-Kalyanji-Anandji-Indeevar

Who could have ever imagined a song with a theme of Home guard! I.S Johar was a sort of rebellious actor who mostly acted in comical roles in Hindi films but was one of the few Indian actors to have acted in internationally acclaimed films like Lawrence of Arabia and Death On The Nile . He produced & directed in a series of films that had his name in title like Johar Mehmood in Goa, Johar Mehmood in Hong Kong etc.

19. Street magician: Beta  jhamoore keh de duniya ko -Biradari-1966-Chitragupt-Prem Dhawan – Duet with Manna Dey

Although the premise for the song is that of a street magician , the song’s lyrics are more philosophical and written so well by Prem Dhawan. When two legends sing together , Rafi & Manna Dey then it has to be a superb song! Very rarely heard composition of Chitragupt.

20. Marriage broker :O dilwalo matwalo humse shaadi karwalo-Taqdeer-1967-Laxmikant Pyarelal-Anand Bakshi

Long before online matrimony sites , dating sites had come into our world there used to be a marriage broker who ‘ arranged’  marriages. Rafi has a song for them also! Picturised on a lesser-known comedian Johnny Fernandes , this film had very melodious & famous songs like Jab Jab Bahar Aaye , Aaiye Bahar Ko Hum Bant Le . Rafi’s excellent versatility is fully evident . Only he can do full justice to an  intensely emotional  Jab Jab Bahar Aaye  and in total  contrast,  this comical one for a marriage broker in the same film.

I will try to come out with such off-beat topics with Rafi’s songs in future. With Rafi, there can never be a dearth of theme!

Acknowledgement & Disclaimer 

I sincerely thank the publishers of following blogsites & Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:

1. You Tube
2. Wikipedia

The songs mentioned are from the popular, public domain and have been embedded here   only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. The photograph is taken from the internet, duly recognizing the full copyrights for the same to the  original creator or the site where they were originally displayed .This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.