24th December 1924-31st July 1980
Just like the way in which Rafi could elaborate a particular word or phrase in multiple ways in a song, we can write about his songs by looking at them from different aspects. That is why there cannot be any limitation to blogs on Rafi. I keep writing about various artists throughout the year but when it comes to 24th December and 31st July, it always has to be about Rafi.
On his 45th death anniversary , I thought of looking at some of his songs that are written beautifully and with his exceptional singing he elevates these songs to an even higher level . Rafi sahab must have sung around 5000+ songs and the number of music directors who had composed these runs into hundreds with equally hundreds of lyricists who wrote them. Among the most prolific lyricists who wrote the songs of Rafi are : Majrooh Sultanpuri, Anand Bakshi, Rajendra Krishan, Hasrat Jaipuri and Shakeel Badyuni. One day I may write a blog taking up the best songs from these and few other lyricists. Even for some obscure lyricists , he had made their songs immortal by his exceptional singing ! For this blog, I am not applying any criteria and just selected ten songs that came to my mind due to their inherent lyrical beauty and Rafi rendering them in a brilliant manner.
Rafi’s uniqueness was in his dedication to give his best to each song , irrespective of whether they were for big banners or lesser-known banners. Also, his diction was always superb , with no difficulty for us in understanding the words of the songs. Crystal clear pronunciation of Hindi and Urdu words was his strong point. Added to the clarity, he used to add his special touch , emphasizing few words, singing the same phrase in different ways in different stanzas , even rendering the entire song in a tone that suits the emotion of the song.
This blog is specifically about those songs , in which Rafi sahab enhances the beauty of the song by the way he picks up few words and phrases and embellishes them in his inimitable style. I have restricted myself just to ten such songs that are purely my personal favourites. Of course in all these songs one common factor is that the lyrics are also outstanding.
The songs listed her are mainly my personal likes; I am sure any other Rafi fan would have an entirely different list ! One more important note that I would like to add is that many of his top songs that became epics for having some of the best lyrics ever written , like Jinhe Naaz Hai Hind Par and Yeh Mehlon Yeh Takhton ( Sahir Ludhianvi for Pyasa), Bichde Sabhi Bhari Bhari( Kaifi Azmi for Kagaz Ke Phool) , Caarvan Guzar Gaya ( Neeraj for Nayee Umar Ki Nayee Fasal) etc were already covered by me in an earlier blog “ Few extraordinary songs of Rafi sahab” . Those were songs, which if anyone else had sung would not have made any impact . Since I had covered those songs elaborately in that blog , I am not including them here.
The songs are listed in chronological order of their film’s release with details of song viz, Lyricist -song title-film-year- music director mentioned in that order. Giving the entire lyrics for each song would make the blog too lengthy and so I have tried to highlight the best part of the song or the best part where Rafi sahab had enhanced the lyrical value of the song to the best of my ability.
Many songs in YouTube that have visuals sometimes have an issue of not enabled for playing in an embedded form and so in such cases, I have linked only the audio version of the song.
- Kaifi Azmi-Jane Kya Dhoondti Rehti Hai Yeh Aankhen-Shola Aur Shabnam-1961-Khayyam
Kaifi Azmi wrote some of the most memorable songs , immortalized by the sheer singing power of Rafi sahab. In his early days, Khayyam composed some of his best songs with the help of Rafi .
Aarzu jurm, wafa jurm, tamanna hai gunaah
Ye wo duniya hai yahaan pyaar nahin ho sakata
Kaise baazaar ka dastur tumhe samajhaaun
Bik gaya jo wo kharidaar nahin ho sakata
Starting off with a leisurely pace , Rafi goes to the high notes at the end , conveying the softness of the lyrics in the beginning and the frustration towards the end. How superbly he breathes life to the hard-hitting lines of Kaifi Azmi with “bikh gaya jo wo khareedar nahin ho sakta ”in a way that only he can do.
2. Raja Mehdi Ali Khan-Mein Nigahen Tere Chehre Se Hataoon-Aap Ki Parchhaiyan-1964-Madan Mohan
Madan Mohan & Raja Mehdi Ali Khan were a great team. And if we add a romantic song , rendered by the master in that genre , then what else do we need! RMAK wrote many such beautiful ghazals for Madan Mohan.
Just that one word ‘ tauba tauba…tauba taubaaa’ is enough to make this song immortal. And in the line “tujhse nibh jaayegi, mein inse nibhaoon kaise” , one can sense the helplessness in his tone.
3. Sahir Ludhianvi-Mehfil Se Uth Jaane Walo-Dooj Ka Chand-1964-Roshan
Sahir is the superstar among lyricists and it is very difficult to choose one song written by this genius. As I had mentioned in my introduction, I have already covered his landmark songs. Mehfil se uth jaane walon is a hidden gem, not heard much and is one of the best by Rafi among the hundreds of songs that he had rendered in an ‘ intoxicated’ manner ( figuratively – everyone knows he was an absolute teetotaller , but rendered the best songs for an on-screen sharabi!!). Watch out for that ‘Mere Sathi’ each time he sings – it is sheer delight to listen . Also the hollow laughter after “ achha khasa khel raha” , which he repeats again in the last stanza. Rafi’s mastery lies in adding these special touches with a razor-sharp precision: a more-than-required exaggeration will make it over-powering and anything less would not make any impact. He knew exactly how to do those ‘ harkats’!!
Do din tumne pyaar jataya , do din tum se mel raha
Achha khasa waqt kata aur achha khasa khel raha
Ab us khel ka zikr hi kaisa, waqt kata aur khel tamaam
4. Shailendra-Aaj Kal Mein Dhal Gaya-Beti Bete-1964-Shankar Jaikishan
Long back, I had written about this song for a different blogsite dedicated to Rafi sahab and that was my very first blog! One of the best lullabies ever sung by a male playback singer, Shailendra’s mastery was in conveying profound philosophy in simple words that even a common man could understand.
Shankar- Jaikishan create a soulful melody and Shailendra’s imagination is at its height:
So gaya chaman-chaman, so gayee kali-kali
So gaye hain sab nagar, so gayee gali-gali
Nind kah rahi hai chal meri baahen thaam
Note how Rafi brings his voice almost to a whisper in the line ‘So gaye hain sab nagar, so gaye gali-gali’
Again, in the last stanza, the sorrow in these lines is so beautifully brought out by Rafi in a way that only he can.
Kaun ayega idhar, kiski raah dekhe ham
Jinaki ahaten suni, jaane kisake the kadam
5. Hasrat Jaipuri-Yeh mera prem patra padhkar -Sangam-1964-Shankar Jaikishan-last few lines by Vyjanthimala
Hasrat Jaipuri wrote some of the best romantic songs in Hindi film music and this could arguably be his best ever. The very beginning of the song shows the class of Hasrat:
Mehrbaan likhoon, Haseena likhoon, Ya Dilruba likhoon?
Hairan hoon ke aapko is khat mein kya likhoon?
Rafi’s special touch: In the very first line, he comes out with a softer ‘ ya dilruba likhoon ‘ , and at the end ‘ is khat mein kyaa likhoon , he perfectly conveys the dilemma of the hero as to what he should write to his lover! In many songs Rafi did almost 90% of the job of the on-screen actor!
Watch out how he goes to a high note till the word ‘bhatkegi’ in the line Agar mar jaaun ruh bhatkegi tere intezaaar main and then rapidly glides down in a silky tone with ‘ tere intezaar mein ’.
6. Majoor Sultanpuri-Janewalon Zara Mudke Dekho Mujhe-Dosti-1964-Laxmikant Pyarelal
The film Dosti had unknown actors, but had one of the best ever scores by Laxmikant Pyarelal for whom this was a major springboard to fame. What great songs Rafi had rendered-wish I could include all of them here! Majrooh weaved magic with his immortal compositions in all the songs.
Can there be any other better way of conveying the emotions of a differently-abled person than these lines?
Is anokhe jagat ki main taqdeer hoon ,
Main widhaata ke haathon ki tasveer hun, ek tasveer hun
Is jahaan ke liye, dharti maa ke liye
Shiv ka waradaan hun, main tumhaari tarah
Throughout the song one can hear how Rafi conveys the earnest plea of a differently- abled person asking the society to consider him as one among them only and not different from them. And his special touch comes with those subtle variations every time he sings “ mein tumhari tarah”
7. Gopaldas Neeraj-Aaj Ki Raat Badi Shok Badi Natkhat -Nayee Umar Ki Nayee Fasal-1966-Roshan
Gopaldas Neeraj was a well-known Hindi poet long before he entered the film world. Roshan immortalized him in the hall of fame with his masterpiece Swapn Jhare Phool Se Meet Chube shool se. I rate this as one of the best ever lyrical composition in Hindi film music. However as I had already covered this song in an earlier blog, I have picked up one more hidden gem from the same film. Dripping with romance , Neeraj’s sublime description of the hero’s lover is brought to life with Rafi’s vocals that seem to be drenched in honey. Though the entire song is a masterpiece in poetry, the last stanza is something magical! Note how Rafi renders the “ aur bezaaar” and also that special tone he lends to the line “ Ho…aisi rangeen ghazal raat na phir gaayegi”.
The last stanza lyrics goes like this:
Raat rani ki yeh bheeni si nasheeli khushboo
Aa rahee hai ke jo chan chan ke ghani dhalon se
Aisa lagta hai kisi dheet jhakore* se lipat
Khel aayee hai tere uljhe hue baalon se
Aur bezaar….aur bezaar na kar mere tadapte dil ko
Aisi rangeen..ho aisi rangeen ghazal raat na phir gaayegi
Aaj to tere bina neend nahin aayegi
Dheet jhakore meaning-a stray or wanton gust of wind
8. Shakeel Badayuni-Kal Raat Zindagi Se Mulakat Ho gayee-Palki-1967-Naushad
Naushad and Shakeel Badayuni are inseparable. While there are many articles about the great lyrics of Sahir, Shailendra, Kaifi ( absolutely no doubt they richly deserve that and I am myself a great fan of their lyrics ) but Shakeel is somehow is not talked about much. He has written some of the best Urdu shayari that were immortalized by the venerable Naushad and when Rafi teams up with them , it is sheer magic.
The tune is simple and more so the orchestration is minimal like most of Naushad’s songs. At around 6 minutes, this song is quite an unusually long song with just three stanzas only. Each stanza is lengthy and note how Rafi breathes life into each and every word, emphasizing few here and there. The basic idea of my blog is to showcase such songs, which sound so great due to the sheer power of the lyrics and how Rafi renders them to a perfection.
9. Prem Dhawan-Allah Hi Allah Kar Pyare Bhai-Pavitra Papi-1970-Prem Dhawan
Everyone must be aware of the anecdote about the young Rafi , who as a child used to be enthralled by a fakir’s singing in his village and he used to just follow him . It is my own imagination that he might have remembered this fakir when he sang this song and one can get the feel as if a fakir is singing it.
Prem Dhawan is one the rare artists who could compose music , lyrics and he was also a choreographer-truly multi-faceted artist. The song appears in the film at various situations and Rafi has sung this in a totally different tone.
This particular stanza seems to have been written for the farishta Rafi who has given us so much pleasure through his immortal songs :
Kabhi kabhi is duniya mein yaro
Aise farishte bhi aate hai
Kisi ko apna sab kuch deke
Khali hath chale jate hai
Jaise sukh ki chhaya deke
Jaise sukh ki chhaya deke
Badal jaye bikhar pyare
Bhai allah hi allah
Allah hi allah kar pyare bhai
10. Anand Bakshi-Mehbooba Teri Tasveer-Ishq Par Zor Nahin-1970- S D Burman
The song that is most popular from this film Ishq Par Zor Nahin, is Yeh Dil Deewana Hai . But in this song , Anand Bakshi, well known for his romantic songs, comes out with superb poetry to describe the hero’s mehbooba ( lover) and her beauty.
Observe how Rafi plays with the words “ Kis tharah” , and an ‘extended’ “tasveer” and that special touch to that “ suna hai” in the line tere jaisa koi kahin dekha na suna hai.
Acknowledgement & Disclaimer
I sincerely thank the publishers of following blogsites & Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:
- You Tube
- 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.
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