Ishq Ki Garmiye
This article is written by Ms. Asha specially for: Ishq Karne Walon Ke Liye.
What do boys in love do nowadays to profess their love? They go to a card shop and pick up something “mushy”, or they go and pick up a bunch of roses, soft toys are a very popular choice for many. But the easier ways are doing it online or on the telephone. It is truly sad to se that romance is dead and buried. Even for those who claim they are in love, time and money are too important and they wait for a chance when they are free. Well, no one said that girls were easy and though diamonds are a girl’s best friend, they go weak in the knees when someone opts for something truly romantic.
So may be there is a lesson that songs of the past can teach our Romeos. Not only film songs, but albums that were created for the sole reason of creating great music. Ghazals rank high when it comes to talking about love and romance. They have a special charm and manner through which they communicate the same sentiments and feelings that you yourself can’t put into words.
Mohd Rafi
“Ishq ki garm ye jasbaat kise pesh karoon?” is one such ghazal that is perfect for such a situation. It is a song where a lover asks his fair maiden what he should do with his feelings and the love that he feels for her. He sings of her melodious and magical voice that has stirred unmanageable feelings in his heart. Gently professing his love, he calls her his ghazal and says that he can sing nothing else ever. Reaching out to her, he talks of his longing for a soul mate- one that only she can satiate.
Sahir Ludhianwi has created the lyrics for this serenade and only one who finds himself in a similar predicament will be able to understand the true significance of his words. Beautifully laced together, the words manage to emote so much in such a brief period. There is no better way to say it.
Mohd Rafi with Sahir Ludhianvi, Jaan Nisar Akhtar, Madan Mohan, Minoo Karthik during the recording of a song
The soulful music has been given by Madan Mohan. Full of old world charm, it conjures up a vision of a man coaxing a beauty on a moonlit night from below her balcony. The music literally flows with the song- as the intensity of the words increase, the music swells. The use of violins is prominent in the song, which carries forward the feeling of a serenade. A very good accompaniment for beautiful lyrics.
Rafi Saab is at his best yet again and carries off the song with aplomb. You can actually sense the tension, frustration, love and need in his voice. There are very few who can emote through their voice and that pack is led by the famed Mohd. Rafi.
The best part about the song is that it does not go on forever- it is delightfully short and yet manages to say everything it is meant for. This makes you go back for seconds and thirds too.
April 6th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
hvg ,
v.shortly i will sending u your desire one.ok.
April 1st, 2008 at 8:49 pm
When we hear each song of rafi saab we feel he is not only
singing but living with that song.the way he is playing with
the words by imaging the actor,giving sweetness,high pitch,low
pitch,voice control.This is really more than magic.It is all due to
the dedication to his profession.We cannot imagine any other singer
other than rafi saab.If we go through his music it is a wonder.was he
a human being to have such qualities? above all he maintained a
worshipful personality.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:54 am
i wanna listen anysong
March 28th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Hello all Rafisaab lovers,
My view is that God is divine and he can always be felt even if you cant see him likewise god of singing Rafisaab’s voice might have a changed a bit but still the soul,the effort,sincerity,feelings,adaayaagi everything remained the same..I always take heart from rafisaabs performance in late 70’s which shows that he was the best and no matter few artists or music directors played politics to write him off but he came back much more stronger..I worship him like millions and dont like to accept anything jo rafisaab ki shaan mein gustakhi ho…
Long live rafisaab and god bless all rafi lovers
March 27th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Ref. post #37
That rough-feel is there in many songs of Laila-Majnu, however it’s pretty much intentional and it enhances the beauty of the song.. personally, “kehna ek deewana….” is the zenith when it comes 2 male play-back/ light singing…
March 27th, 2008 at 8:13 am
Vicky,
At one point I had listened to that song 5 time straight (only Rafi Sahab’s part) just because I had similar suspicions as you. I found out…
POOR SOUND SOURCE e.g. youtube, musicindiaonline, etc.!
Because i heard the song in multiple sources. And the best source, did not have that rough soundingness to it. Rafi Sahab’s voice was clear! Same thing with Tumse Door Rehke. I will have to hear that part again.
There is more I wish to say on this but for later.
March 26th, 2008 at 11:15 pm
hi
just went thru the article n the commnts posted here i dunno abt the cold issue but there r a few songs whr rafisaabs voice is a bit screechy (for just one moment or so) the immediate example wch comes to my mind is the song from amar akbar anthony ‘humko tumse ho gaya’ whn he sings for akbar in the starting 2 lines a bit of ‘kharash’ is evident whn he shouts’khuda gawah’!!
the other song is from brahmachari ‘muhabat ke khuda hum’ in this song once again at the start thrs a bit of ‘kharash’ in his voice!!
but im still to come across a song whr rafisaab suffered from cold or somethng like tht the voice always remained soothing n honey like!!!!
March 25th, 2008 at 6:13 am
i am a lover of great artist of voice rafi sahib .i never listen the songe of this silki voice.i feel that he is the only singer in the industry who ger every avard.
March 20th, 2008 at 11:44 pm
Post 34 :
azam khan saheb: rafi songs are always a “gem” - no doubt over it.
this vocal magic remains “unconquered” to this day and will remain
so for ever it’s felt.
let’s all celebrate rafi saheb songs - every second saturday of the
month in our homes or in small and big assemblies - officially and
this is the rafi foundations call to every rafi lover.
binu nair.
the rafi foundation., mumbai.
9833 250 701
March 20th, 2008 at 4:51 am
Cold or not cold! A singer of Rafi sahab’s caliber can make any song magical. With cold, the voice only gets slightly nasal but it does not take away all the other feelings that a song would require. The more I think about Rafi sahab the more surprised I get.
March 18th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
Ref post #25, post #8
Rafi sahab’s voice, to me, never really deteriorated in the 70s, rather it assumed a slightly different characteristics somewhere in the mid-70s. The voice became a bit heavier and hoarser (eg. ‘Hai agar dushman…’, ‘Bahon mein there …’, ‘Aaja theri yaad aayi…’). However it went back, surprisingly, to its 60s mould (or even lighter than that) towards the late ’70s. Please correct me if I’m wrong.
As Raju Korti saab says, Rafi sahab’s voice was both strong and soft ( a unique combo) and this is the reason why it’s impossible to copy it and this is also the reason why Rafi sahab could do all those modulations and improvisations with the voice (eg. super-soft for gazals, slightly coarse for quawwalies, energetic for the funky songs, powerful for Dharam, subdued for Rajendra Kumar, heavier for Raj Kumar)
March 12th, 2008 at 8:03 am
Shirishji,
I am extremely sorry that i wrote Mr.Shaileshji, but it was Mr.Shirish Kulkarniji. I apolozise for the mistake. Plz, accept this.
March 11th, 2008 at 9:48 am
rafi ji is “soulfully yours” always with cold or without a cold. more,
he had the musicians interest in mind, their daily wages and hence
would rarely cancel his recordings.
nice that rafi fans could see through the splendid voice and say
rafi ji indeed had a cold four decades back… pls. see it positively
and observe how keen a rafi lover is as an “observer” of his songs.
it has been confirmed by raju korti ji my friend and the best rafi
historian - by far….
keep up the “spirit” of inquiry in to rafi ji songs…. the discussion
and the rafi splendour will never “end”.
binu nair.. the rafi foundation…. mumbai..9833 250 701
March 10th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
i am amazed we discuss issues like rafisaab’s songs sung when he had cough and colds. i mean, don’t we all suffer from it — and umpteen times in our lives? how can anyone, least of all rafisaab with all the precautions he must have taken to maintain his tonal gold, be an exception. normally, singers avoid recording when they have a throat problem. the disciplinarian that he was, rafisaab seldom cancelled his recordings. and he always came to the recording room with his homework well done. anyway, now that we are on the subject, i must inform interested rafi lovers that the singer indeed sang one song when he had cold. and i came to know this from the late hemant kumar in a fleeting statement during an interview. this was the do dil song “tera husn rahe mera isq rahe, toh yeh subah yeh shaam rahe na rahe”. but here too rafisaab is soulfully your’s with a rendition that has his unique stamp on it. watch the words “mai behekne laga hoon sambha jara, mere pass hi reh kahi door na jaa”.
March 10th, 2008 at 8:33 am
Of course, some times it appeared as if Rafiji’s voice was not the same in 70s as it was earlier. But whenever, you thought so, Rafiji came out with masterpieces like Boonde Nahin Sitare, Aise Na The Hum, etc. listening to which one always felt that Rafiji had not lost any charm till his last.
March 10th, 2008 at 8:33 am
On Saturday, 8th March in Naushad Hall, there was Rafi Magic Programme and conducted by rafi foundation, naushad foundation and another one. there was lot of rafian fans and i was one of them. Really the programme was splendid. there was some singers who sang rafi’s songs above that Mr.Nanji (who sang chorus with K.L.Saigal & Mohdrafi) and also a musician in those days, he came and gave us blessings. I was person who took his blessing and he asked me why u dont sing, i just told him that if i get a chance i will sing and another one was Playback singer Mohd Aziz with his ustad. It was like a mehfil, good fun and really enjoyed. I request Mr.Kakaji, Binuji and others to give me an opportunity to sing a song of rafisahab which i can contribute something of his great treasurise songs. Mohdrafisahab left us but he kept lot of memorable treasure to us where we can contribute in this programmes. I really thanks to Binuji and shaileshji also calling me for this great programme. i will also contribute something to rafisahab’s songs also next time.
shashank_72@rediffmail.com
March 10th, 2008 at 8:29 am
It may not be the ‘cold’ factor after all in some of the songs that were not of rafi-class. more, it could be due to the mediocre lyrics and composition. i am yet to come across even a single song which comes to be called rather an ordinary song of rafi sahab due to such reasons as ‘ill-health’ or ‘cold’. on the contrary, i found many of the very ordinary songs made a memorable day only because the voice behind them was that of rafi sahab. ‘kamal ke phool jaisa, badan tera chikna chikna’ and others fell under the ‘ordinary’ category more due to the hurriedly pieced together lyrics and worst of all the ‘mediocre’ composition rather than the singing. rafi sahab brought life to even ‘lifeless’ songs, and which other singer did not contribute ‘very bad’ lot of songs ?? rafi sahab would have given the playback to even the very ordinary compositions only to encourage the lyricists and the music directors, but has done more than 100% justice to all the songs rendered by him till date. no compromise on this score. we all agree that rafi sahab was not commercial minded even a wee bit, hence his singing even when not well or having ‘cold’ doesn’t jell with me. he would not sing a song if he was not happy with his own output, rather than be seen to have given the maximum number of songs. rafi sahab was ‘different’ in attitude even on matters of this nature. asmurty2@rediffmail.com
March 10th, 2008 at 3:52 am
it is one thing for the voice itself to decline, it is separate matter for a different factor like a temporary cold to influence the performance.