Jalwo Waqat
Sunday, April 13th, 2008This article is written by Ms. Asha.
Aisa ghazal woh gaate rahe, aur hum sunte rahe. Truly, there are some songs that make you just stop and force you to pay attention. Ghazals belong to an era long gone by. The intensity and pure mastery required for this ghazals are sadly not present in today’s music. But true ghazal lovers will know that there is so much more than what the film industry has chosen to popularize - this is one medium which can do justice to romance, heart break and anger. (more…)

(Rafi & Suman Kalyanpur - A Compatible Pair) Rafi Saab’s duets with Suman Kalyanpur have one unique characteristic. Both the singers seem to be completely at ease with each other, for Suman Kalyanpur always knew and accepted that she was singing with a distinctly superior male singer. This was so unlike the Rafi-Lata recordings, wherein the high ego of Lata often used to make the recording room intensely tense!
Rafi Sings For Kishore. We will continue the topic of Rafi Saab’s duets with other male singers in the subsequent parts. But, today, let us take up another theme! The one thing that puts die-hard Kishore Kumar fans instantly on the defensive is the fact that MDs had made Rafi Saab sing at least 6 songs for Kishore Kumar’s acting! This is quite a remarkable occurrence considering that Kishore too was an accomplished singer!
We all know the famous song, “Saranga Teri Yaad Mein” from film:Saranga (1960) sung by Mukesh and composed by Sardar Malik, father of the present day’s leading MD:Anu Malik. But, not many of us are aware that there is also a shorter version (1:04) of this song, “Saranga Teri Yaad Mein” in the same Film:Saranga(1960), sung by Rafi Saab in a somewhat modified tune.
We all know many pairs of songs that are somewhat similar in tunes either in the Mukhda or in the Antara, in many cases because both the songs in the pair were based on the same classical Raaga. But, we do not come across very often pairs of songs that are almost identical in tune both in the Mukhda and also the Antara. Today, let us deal with two such pairs, keeping others for a later date.
Out of years of my personal experience, I have come to learn that Rafi Saab is just not “Chaudhvi Ka Chand Ho” or “Din Dhal Jaaye Haaye Raat Na Jaaye” or “Aayi Hai Bahare Mite Zulmon Sitam” or “Yeh Chand Sa Roshan Chehra” or “Badan Pe Sitare Lapete Huve” or “Aaja Tujh Ko Pukaare Mere Geet Re” or “Haaye Tabassum Tera” or for that matter, any of his well-known and popular songs running into hundreds! Rafi Saab, according to my estimate, has almost as many rare and lesser-known diamonds as his well-known and popular gems. 


