This article is translated by Ms. Chitralekha

Hi all, I finally managed to translate part of that Gujarati article about Rafi sahab. Posting it on here for everyone to read.

The article “Budhvar ni Bapore” is humorous article published every Wednesday. This week it was about two singers - Rafi Sahab and Jagmohan Mitra. I have traslated the part that was about Rafi sahab.

Regards,
Chitralekha

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From Gujarat Samachar (http://www.gujaratsamachar.com/gsa/20030730/guj/supplement/bapor.html)
Author: Ashok Dave.

Translation:

Mohammad Rafi has become postal stamp…!

Tomorrow, on the 31st, it will be 23 years since Late Rafi sahad big us farewell. Imagine 300 years instead of 23, even then my great great grand-son or grand-daughter will also be paying tribute to Rafi sahab in the year 2303 in exactly same way.

Can we really pay tribute to Mohd. Rafi? Is there a way to bring peace to his soul because we pay the tribute? It is not because of our competence but the prominence of the late… do we pay tribute to Shri Ram or Shri Krishna, Allah or Jesus? they are all worshipped…! Indira ji or Rajiv ji are paid the tributes… then the photos are in newspapers…! In Rafi sahab’s case, on every 31st July, we have to remember his evergreen songs, which are like little adorable children rallying. We have to sing with all our heart “mere geeton ka singaar ho tum, jeevan ka pehla pyaar ho tum”, which melodious song was sung by Sahab for whom is the Late Bilkis Begam. We wouldn’t have known or believed this today if she had not told us about the fact that Rafi Sahab’s last song of his life was no filmy song but a “Kaali Pooja” bhajan in Bengali. The chest pain had started for this celestial being and was unable to record the “Kaali Pooja” album because of his bad health. But because the recording team doesn’t have to come all the way from Kolkata, he accepted it and at his own home did the rehearsal of Kaalimaata’s bhajan. He had a heart attack while recording. That was it… “raaz-e-dil unn se chhupaya na gaya”…

Do you know what was Rafi Sahab’s biggest hobby? Flying kites. While recording, in the half an hour recesses he would come home and go directly to the terrace and fly kites, but if the kite is cut off then he would be upset like a little kid…! Like Begam Bilkis Banu says, we go to movies with “Sahab” and our seven children, but apprehensive with publicity, Rafi Sahab will enter the theater after the film starts and will leave before it ends. Children would get mad.. but after coming home, he would sing seven different favorite songs of each of the children… doesn’t matter if the song is sung by Kishoreda or Mukesh bhai! Don’t know why, but he only watched ‘Sholay’ thrice. He loved it. Do you know, who was his most favorite hero? No… Not Dilip Kumar or any other Kumar… He adored Shammi Kapoor and Dharmendra. He used to play badminton with Shammi Kapoor almost everyday. Whenever he had to sing a song for Shammi, he would be in such a jolly mood. But his all time favorite song sung by himself was from film “Dulari” “suhaani raat dhal chuki”. But Begam Sahiba liked his non-film songs more. Specially, “mere liye, to bas yehi pal hai haseen bahaar ke, tum saamne baithi raho, main geet gaau pyaar ke” and “tuma ao, rum-jhoom karti, paayal ki jhankaar liye”. Begam Bilkis died on March 4, 1998.

There are many songs which were Begam Sahiba’s favorite but if you want to see all colors of life then listen to these non-film songs of Rafi sahab. You will absolutely fall in love with them.
1. shaam ke deepak jale, man ka diya bujh gaya
2. shyaam se neha lagaaye, radhe nir bahaaye
3. paar nadi ke deep jalaaye, baithi koyi baanwariya
4. do ghadi baitho tumhara roop aankhon mein basaa loon
5. hansa gagan beech roye
6. paagal chanda mere mann ki
7. gazab kiya tere waade pe aitbaar kiya
8. meri mohabbar qubool kar lo
9. paagal naina sagari raina, teri baat nihaare
10. kya yaad tumhe hum aayenge
11. tum geet ho solahve saawan ka
12. main kab gaata mere mann mein pyaar kissi ka gaata hai
13. iss dil se teri yaad bhulaayi nahin jaati
14. tere bharose hai nand-laala
15. more shyaam pal pal more mukh se nikle nisdin tero naam
16. paanv padu tore shyaam brij mein laut chalo
17. main gwalon rakhwalo maiyaa maakhan nahi churayo
18. suniyo araj hamaari
19. shaukh har rang rakibe saro sama nikla
20. dard minnat kashe davaa na hua

Today Mohd. Rafi has become a postal stamp just like this three mates Mukesh, Kishore and Hemant Kumar. Indian Govt. has brought all four of these to our tongue from our ears. I didn’t even like it when they made a postal stamp of Mahatma Gandhi’s photograph. The govt. makes a stamp of everyone we love… postman uses all the strength he has to stamp their faces black with the ink and we tear apart the envelopes with the faces of these great personalities. And even the pieces of those photos are brutally thrown away… “ek dil ke tukade hazaar hue, koyi yahaan gira koyi wahaan…”

I have already talked to God-Allah and Jesus. In next birth, don’t bring me back as Mohd. Rafi but please give me the same life of a Rafi-fan.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 30th, 2003 at 4:55 am and is filed under Meri Awaaz Suno. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.