True Voice – Mohd Rafi
The following article was brought to my notice when Sharad posted it on MAS. The article has been trimmed down a bit keeping afloat Rafi details. However, anyone interested can go visit the source at http://tfmpage.com/forum/4980.6302.04.57.19.html
I am Swaminatha Iyer and I am 78 years old. I hail from Tiruchi and I am a part of music associations in Tiruchi, M’as as well as in West Bengal and Maharashtra.
I think it is wrong to condemn music or artists on either side of Vindhyas. Our Indian music is one of the few which has not been cleaned off by the western music though there has always been a influence. It speaks a lot of the richness of our music. Sometime back director of MTV had said that MTV westernized the music wherever it went but in India , MTV had to be Indianized for it to be accepted. A lot of this credit goes to the Indian film music.
I have been fortunate to have close personal association with Rafi, Sirkali, TMS, Dr. BMK, Kishore, SPB & KJY, PS, Mannadey and the one and only Lata Mangeshkar.
Comparisons are bound to come, but almost every artist or I have met considers Lata to be beyond comparison. Her talents are beyond anyone’s reach. Even Sirkazi used to talk of her singing like a die-hard fan as do countless others.
Now coming to the Rafi-SPB discussion. It might be difficult to convince an South Indian to believe Rafi is the better and at the same time Rafi crowd will never believe any other male singer comes anywhere nearer. There is one more mobile crowd, which is well conversant with Hindi and some south Indian language. Majority of them tilt to either Rafi or Kishore.
During one of my stays in M’as I had stayed with SPB. While talking of true voices he said, I don’t feel like half a singer when listening to Rafi. True voice is not a tech term but many in circle use it. Perfect example would be lata, but to understand consider our own PS who within her range is superb. People who do not have such true voices can never do justice to original. They generally underplay many parts of the song or fake it with bass/superficial singing. True voices make people like Sirkazi, Nusrat Fateh Ali khan, Lata… Inimitable. However since Sirkazi and Nusrat did not have the filmy voices their “real” following is limited to their local arena.
In addition to the true voice if the singer has a very good voice then in “most” cases he/she can better songs of others. It is this combination which makes Rafi stand out among the other male singers. There are many here who seem to have mistaken notions on a good bass and also on high pitch.
Bryan Adams does not require a monster bass in “Summer of 69″ to sound real manly. It is the punch which gives that feel and that is decided only by the comfort level in most ranges (that is by what your throat can support). This you CAN never disguise with bass. Since people have talked about lack of manly voice viz. a viz. Rafi it was necessary to bring this point out. I have had the fortune of listening to most singers in studio and some times without a mike, practicing with MD’s.When Lata or Rafi do, the level is so high that people hesitate to even hum. It felt silly to sing in their presence (and it feels silly when someone says his voice isn’t manly).
In RD’s tribute when SPB sang “Aaja Aaja mein hoon” or “Chaand mera dil” it sounded only sweet and lacked punch if you compare with Rafi’s original.
Yesu once told me God has been partial to Rafi. He said “god gift term anavasyamaa romba common aa ippo use aardu”.. but idu Rafi kee thaan 100% porundu”. This person could sing “as intricately as a lady without sounding thin”, “cover any mood”, “versatility odey perfect example Rafi”. Yesu said most important is the comfort level over ranges which makes you feel God has been partial to Rafi. (But Of course in Rafi’s early career (1950’s) the voice was relatively feeble).
To people exposed to Rafi’s talent, these or any amount of praise can only seem less. I just wish he was alive and you people could get a live chance to hear him. Probably you can get hold of the DD album for the Geet Gaata Chal series where the first four episodes were dedicated to Rafi. Rafi is on camera singing “O Duniya Ke Rakwaaley” and many other songs. If you see and hear the last part you will realize why SPB said “impossible”. I think particularly those people who have talked about scales w.r.t Rafi should see this album. Its a known fact in industry that Rafi ruled high pitch and there is no male singer better in switching notes so easily. There are artists who can go beyond but then they sound strained or they don’t have pleasant voices when they venture into those territories.
Many singers of today are his compulsive followers. But they end up inheriting only part of his quality. Md. Aziz ended up with a sad voice. Mahendra Kapoor with a thick nasal voice. Anwar with a nasal voice. Sonu Nigam with a feminine voice. Rafi neither had a soft voice nor a heavy (bass) voice he had a good voice. Importantly did not strain at high notes, and voice if at all only became better at higher notes. If you see him singing it will remind you of Janaki. However diff the song is or the note is he will be smiling and singing. It is unthinkable that he cannot sing something.
There seems to be lot of talk about “Shankara Bharanamo” song. SPB has sung many a great numbers and things being said about this song in this forum are rather amusing, particularly b’cos 3 out of 4 people who can be called as singers will be able sing it and at least one out of 10 will sing it with the same effect. There are lot of other songs of SPB where this great singer has played with songs in total control. You will find most south Indian singers who have had a good exposure say that it is beneficial to learn Hindustani as it gives better breath control and improves expression.
Rafi was not only able to glide over a song, the important thing was that he could express each word/sound when singing. It is one thing to hold your breath, start and reach a crescendo (high note), as like in “Shankara”, “Anbey (Yennai kaan villaye)” it is different ballgame if you have to do it from low notes or suddenly switch notes. With practice the former can be done, latter requires a special gift. Rafi had a natural ability to do the latter. In “Tum joh mil gaye ho” there is such a transition in the “karwaan mil gaya” part. I have never seen anyone do justice to most of his songs in my life time. In “parda hai parda” quawaali the similar part is “kar doon to, Akbar mera naam”. In fact most of his songs will have these specialty as it was his natural ability to sing freely in a wide range at the same time giving that extra expression.
Whereas SPB takes us to heavens with “Idu oru pon maali”,”Ilaya nila” “bisiladarenu”(kannada), when he sings Rafi’s song it lacks the punch or expression, though it has the bass. But at least most agree that SPB does some justice to original, whereas most others murder the original.
One trivial point I would like to add is that singing in Hindi is harder. There are more “JHA”,”CHA”,”HA”,”THA”, “KHA”,”JA”,”FA”. These take away the breath faster. The more expressive you are the more air you are using up. Just singing from Nabhi will not help, your throat also needs to do a lot, for singing in Hindi, Bengali etc. SPB makes you fall in love with his south Indian songs but same cannot be said about his Hindi songs. If you just glide through words having these sounds, you will never be expressive. Doing this as well as reaching high notes is not easy. Rafi had this gift and that’s why it is difficult to imagine anyone else in his shoes. Song “Chalkaaye jaam” has so much expression that it is unthinkable how anyone can sing it. When Rafi switches to a high note with “Mitwaa” in the song “Chaahunga mein tughey” you cannot replicate it with bass. Most others will sound as if they are shouting in such cases. That man’s throat had the ability to freely sing at such levels.
Versatility is not just the ability to sing in various styles, more important is how good you are singing in those styles. You have lot of Ghazal singers today but when Rafi sings a Ghazal you will sit up and take notice. You don’t have to be part of the Ghazal listeners crowd. This is one important aspect. Whatever style you sing you should be able to pull the common man to listen and not just a particular crowd. Pick “parda hai parda” or any qawalli and it will stand tall among other qawalli’s.
Variety is amazing :
songs of Guru Dutt’s Khagaz key phool or songs like abhi naa jao chod key, Aaja teri yaad aayi, Aaj kal mein dhal gaya, Aaj kal terey merey pyaar, Aasmaan sey aaya farishta, Dil ney pyaar kiya hai, Deewana mujh saa nahi, Din dhal jaaye, Duniya paagal hai, Jaane walon jara, Dil joh na kaha saka, Dil key jharokon mein, Dil kaa bhavar, Chalkey teri aakkhon sey, Kar chaley hum fida, khilona jaan kar tum, Woh jab yaad aay, Woh hain jara khafa, Vaadian mera daaman, Pathar key sanam, Chaand mera dil, Main zindagi kaa saath, Mainey poocha chaand sey, sun sun jaalima, Koi jab raah na paay, hum to chaley pardes, badan pey sitaarey, laal chadi maidaan, Tum jo mil gaye, O meri shaahey, Sau baar janam lengey, Tum mujhey yoon bhula, Tumney mujhey dekha, Terey merey sapney, Tumny pukaara hum chaley aay
Name a situation/mood and Rafi’s song will be there on the top.
Swami
June 30th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Prabhanjan ji – 1899
I think you have mis interpreted & blown out of proportion my earlier post which you referred. I had only stated as passing reference with reference to the “comparison factor” and in that context made a passing reference to the earlier discussion in this forum i.e. Shri Ghantasala vs. Rafi and there is no intention on my part that these two legends should be compared. My intention was that when it comes to healthy comparison factor let it be there. But the issue was do not compare and if comparison had to be made, make it in a appropriate way. When comparison was made in appropriate way again same thing came up – do not compare. Is this not confusing. So in that context, the comment in earlier post was only a passing reference. Hope the mis-interpretation clears.
July 3rd, 2009 at 5:48 pm
Friends:
Pl. listen to Rafisahab singing ‘jinhe naaz hai hind par…’ in a live concert.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TM30DAQb9KU
And here’s a live concert version of “duniya ke rakhwale”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7NSjtDt7Ho
July 3rd, 2009 at 6:45 pm
please stop to compare,
if you want to compare Mohd rafi with a singer there is only one and called MOHD RAFI for sad songs or MOHD RAFI ROMANTIC SONGS or ……….endless
MOHD RAFI Vs MOHD RAFI also it is not be possible because Mohd Rafi was the greatest in all Mood
July 4th, 2009 at 4:13 pm
dear rafians,
we should appreciate the kk fans who are jelous with rafi saab
since i think it is our energy to keep rafi saab and his songs
alive.these rafi haters had no time to listen good music but
only spread bad things.great singers like mannadey,yesudas,
mahendra kapoor,talat mehmood,s.p.bala subrahmaniyam etc.
were praising and admiring rafi saab and these people who do
not know abcd of music simply guessing something.even lataji
once told ( i have the cd with me) she is lucky that she could sing
most number of songs with rafi saab.according to her even
people who do not understand the language in which rafi saab
is singing used to appreciate by saying “wah wah” and singer like
rafi saab will not come again and again.
July 6th, 2009 at 1:46 am
Hi to all Rafians
When I read comparisons of singers like kk with the greatest singer ever Rafi Sahab, many emotions simultaneously come forth. First comes anger, then after a while laughter on how someone can show a candle (kk) to the sun (Rafi Sahab) and then go on to proclaim that the candle shines brighter.
But the emotion that comes last and remains longest is pity, pity on the ignorance of such people who have remained devoid of pure bliss one can have while listening to so many real gems of songs by the maestro, how they never got to know this bliss and now when they have blocked their hearts and souls by their own venom, they might never get to know it. I feel like challenging all of them, to have a session with open hearts and minds, and listen to the songs, like the ones refered by Murthy ji somewhere in this site as “Forgotten gems” or something similar. If these crusaders are honest with themselves, they will never ever attempt a comparison again, and they will also become part of the ocean of millions and millions of rafi lovers.
July 8th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Rafi sahab was such a person n singer ,whom no one could remain without prising,,,but he was not only greatest `coz of other`s praise,he never bothered about such silly thing,,for him singing was worship,,,jelousy factor remain present everywhere,,,as hardly anyone could retain simple or pure heart like Rafi sahab,,,Lata Mangeshkar had no option other than praisng Rafi sahab as she was eclipsed in many song followed by genious Rafi sahab`s version in the same movie,,,,,,On the Royality dispute,,It was clear to lata ji that how much Rafi sahab was dedicated to singing as he could never sing being money minded,,she moved apart from him n also came to him for song dil pukare with flowers,,n rafi sahab unmoved as nothing ever happened as if he has no grivances,,,,yet recently Lata said singers like Rafi or mukesh(keeping both of them on same platform) sings good,,but she hinted with passive form that they are not good with every song,,,,instead she always praised Kishore kumar over Rafi sahab,,,for if Kis kum is best Male playback singer she being recognised better than Kis kum,,,becomes best play back singer male or female,,,but If Rafi sahab remains best playback singer,,she can no way become best,,,,,,Every rafian admire lata mangeshkar as best female voice,,as rafi sahab used to feel the same,,,,,This was honesty of Rafi sahab`s heart,,but,,,Lata promoted the story otherwise,,she is in industry approx from begin`ng,,,she would `ve listened kishore kum`r from 1948`s ziddi till mid 80s,,kis kum` best phase was only for a decade,,however Rafi sahab,,,best was from very first song till last song,,he recieved national award 2 years before his death,,,Yet lata ji saying,,,Rafi is good with some song but Kishore is best with all song…lataji being such a honured person if retains distance with rafi sahab what could be expected from others,,,,,,,,,,,,,!
July 9th, 2009 at 6:11 am
the MadanMohan album has been released — containing 16 (rafi 7, lata 3, asha 3, kk 1, talat 1, mm 1) unreleased MM songs. Rafians can listen to the songs by clicking the link:
http://www.bollyexclusive.com/album/2683/Madan-Mohan–Tere-Bagair.html
July 16th, 2009 at 1:59 am
In a rare song from film Shararat, Mohd.Rafi sings for Kishor Kumar as actor:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOUw8AnSBPo&NR=1
Rafi sings for Comedy Actor Kishore’s song – Apni Aadat Hai Sabko Salaam Karna from Film: Pyar Deewana and both are at their best as singer and comedian respectively – a must for all Rafians:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_ZNZf6WMiM&NR=1
July 16th, 2009 at 11:22 pm
Rediff is providing good coverage of Rafi Saab’s death anniversary. You will find bunch of links. the comments on those links show his popularity even today.
July 17th, 2009 at 7:06 pm
wHILE COMPARING KK AND rafi sahib, what dev anand (one of the few artist who used both singers and then switched to kk) said :
Veteran actor Dev Anand came up with two demands during this birthday of Rafi sahab.
In a press conference he said (Source Times of India)
1. Rafi sahab shud be awarded Bharat Ratna immidiately and govt shud preserve his works before it is too late.
2. When I compare songs sung for me by Kishore and Rafi sahab, I realize that Rafi sahab was far ahead.
July 18th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
dear yogender vyas ji, please let us know if you are the son of poet bharat vyas. friends, if that is true, we have among us the son of a poet who wrote the lyrics for more than 100 songs of rafi saab, including the unforgettable “kahe do koyi na kare yahan pyarâ€.
July 20th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Lata paying tribute to rafi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LX271XYTUtw&feature=related
However, can this be termed as a tribute!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdYLDJhMrY4&feature=related
July 21st, 2009 at 10:41 pm
udit paying tribute to rafi and udit’s first song, a duet with rafi :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swr_e6RDFYI&NR=1
July 25th, 2009 at 8:50 am
Rafi to come back to life on August 8,,,,announced by National Film Archives of India,,,,,,,,,,To commemorate the diamond jubilee of the organisation, Films Division
has completed making a film on the legendary singer that would give a
comprehensive view of Rafi’s life, struggle and accomplishments,that is to be released on August 8,,,following punyatithi,of the legend…
The documentry is named,,,,,,’Rafi, we remember you’ ,,,,,,,,,,
July 27th, 2009 at 11:06 pm
I am not a poet but these are the feelings of mine that converts into some ’sher’.
mere jazbon ki zabaan jab samajh na paey koi
ek na ek sher ki soorat mein woh dhal jaate hain
aur
mere jazbon ki sadaaqat ka imtehaan na le
hum hain insaan nahi mausam jo badal jaate hain
rafi saheb ke liye mere jazbe hi meri unse muhabbat aur sadaaqat ka bayaan hain, apne tamaam rafians ki nazar rafi saheb ki shan mein arz karta hoon
uska kirdaar hai shaffaaf aaine ki tarah,
jo bhi dekhe ga usay khud mein sanwar jaega…
uska chehra bhi dil aawez hai sooraj ki tarah,
jis taraf dekhle woh noor bikher jaega
July 29th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
May God that unfortunate 31st july of 1980 would not have ever come,,,,,as this day our Rafi sahab left us with the tresures of his divine voice with us,,,(“roothey hain na jaane kyun mehmaa`n wo mere dil ke”,),,…..but this day is also important as this is the day,,after which,,our beloved rafi sahab became eternal,,,,,surpassing all the limits of deadly human body,,,,,,lets remember him this week ignoring all the critics n lets talk only about rafi shab,,,leaving all the disturbing visitors with their destiny,,,,Rafi sahab is always with us like,guardian,,for some like me as a God,,for many like mehboob and for all like friend,,,,,,
“tere aane ki aas hai dost sham fir kyun udash hai dost,,,mehki mehki fizaa ye kehti hai,,tu kahin aas paas hai dost,,,tu kahin aas paas hai dost!!!”
July 30th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
shamma-e-rafi ke parwano!
aaj ek baar phir wohi maqaam aaya hai jisse guzarna hamaray dilon pe khanjar chalne se kam nahi, wohi manhoos 31 july,wohi din jis ne hum se hamare sooraj ko chheen liya aur music ki duniya mein taareeki phailadi. sach kahoon to ab mausiqui ki duniya mein sewa andheron ke aur kuchh bhi nahi aise mein kuchh hai to is andheron ke parde ko chheerti hui wohi noorani aawaz hai jo aaj bhi apne naghmon ke zaria hamare dilon ke andhere door kar rahi hai. kaash aisa ho paata ke allah hum jaise chund logon ki zindagi ke aiyyaam bhi rafi saheb ki zindagi mein jod deta,to aaj hum uss farishte uss aawaz ke khuda se mahroom to na hotay. naghmon ka safar to aaj bhi jaari hai, lekin woh raah-numa ab kahan??
kahan se laaoon woh woh lazzat gayi baharon ki…
tumharay saath gayi roshni chiraghon ki,
aayen hum sab uss paak rooh ki taskeen ke liye milkar dua karen kyun ke ab hamare haathon mein sewa dua karne ke aur kuchh bhi nahi jo us shakhs ko nazar kar saken.
tere geeton mein baaqi ab talak woh soz hai lekin
woh pehle phool barsaate thay,ab daman bhigote hain
mohd.rafi…..
hum tujhe yuuun bhula na payengay
jab kabhi bhi sunengay geet tere
sang sang hum bhi gungunaengay
jawaid naseem
09836540639
August 5th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
Hi Folks,
Just listening to the great combo of Rafi Sahab and most versatile duo of all time Shankar-Jaikishan, i wonder not much is written on this combo here in this site despite the fact that S-J gave many evergreen numbers to Rafi Sahab, i am eager to know the Rafians take on Shankar-Jaikishan duo, please share your views here in this section, let’s discuss this combo and other Rafi-MD combos too, in details
On the ending note, here goes a great S-J-Rafi number, beautifully penned by Shailendra
Humne Jafa na seekhi, unko wafa na aayi ….. sublimity at its best:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERTsUl3b-e0
August 6th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
Post 1914: SAVITA JI : THIS DOCUMENTARY IS AVAILABLE at FILMS DIVISION office at Peddar road.
it has already been screened and again there will be multiple screenings of the same. it will be screened at the goa film festival too.
this video is 70 minute duration and is available at f.d. in vcd format and in dvd format .
binu nair, mumbai
August 11th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
One aspect of Rafi’s singing that is usually ignored is the singing of alaps (preludes).I know of no other singer who has sung so many alaps and with such masterful melody.I give just one example.There is a beautiful song : zindagi bhar gham judai ka hamein tadpaye ga,har suhaana mod teiri yaad le kar aayega.This song begins with a prelude and what a great beauty it is!
ujada to aise ujada kuchh rangei gulsitaan, ik phool par bahar hai ik phool par khizaan.
There is another but I have forgotten its wording.It is a prelude to the song:Mohabbat zindaa rehati hai mohabbat mar naheen sakti.
Will someone throw more light on Rafi’s preludes which alongwith other virtues make Rafi a very special singer for me,in fact the best of all.
August 14th, 2009 at 9:46 am
Lata’s heartfelt tribute to Rafi:
One very good way to remember Rafi Saab is by singing/humming some of his bhoole-bisre geet. You start singing any one of his great songs, then the others will automatically come to your lips. Thanks to the high quality of his voice. To Indian Cinema, he has given songs that are superior to one another! On the eve of his Punyathidhi, Swara Samragni, Lata Mangeshkar is paying her homage in her own words:
‘Rafi Saab is the biggest playback singer of all. In India, there was no such big playback singer. After K.L. Saigal, no singer had such an impact on listeners as Rafi Bhaiya had! His Voice had magic in it and he had the versatility to sing any and every type of song. I had sung duets with all famous male singers-Talat Mehmood, Manna Dey, Mukesh, Hemant Kumar and Kishore Kumar–but, the pleasure of singing with Rafi Saab was altogether different. Rafi Saab used to precisely understand the exact way in which the Music Director wanted a song. And it sounded as if the actor/hero himself was singing the song!
Very few people may know this. During mid-forties, Rafi Saab played even a small role in a Film called Jugnu! He probably wanted to be an actor too, but got settled as a great singer. His song, “Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki” in Film:Dulari, under Naushad, had made him very popular. By the end of forties, he started establishing himself as a very talented, popular and successful singer. Actually, the songs of Aan (1952) starring Dileep Kumar were to be sung by Talat Mehmood, but Naushad had made Rafi Saab sing those immortal melodies. In fact, Naushad is the first MD who really noticed the full talent and range of Rafi Saab. Rafi Saab had sung many great songs under Naushad. And within no time, he had become very popular among playback singers.
Gradually, even other MDs such as SJ, OPN, Madan Mohan, etc. also have started using Rafi Saab for most of their songs. Initially, SDB used to utilize Talat Mehmood, Hemant Kumar and Kishore Kumar, but from Nau Do Gyarah-1957 onwards, he increasingly shifted to Mohammed Rafi.
I remember very well one interesting anecdote of those olden days. For Film:Tere Ghar Ke Samne(1963), Rafi and I were to sing the title song, “Ek Ghar Banavunga, Tere Ghar Ke Samne”. I was actually feeling very nervous. The reason is that Rafi Saab was singing one of the lines, “Main Bhi Kuch Banavunga”, so excellently (with that unique Rafi-brand Ada)! Dada had understood my problem and had requested Rafi Saab to somewhat tone that Sangat/Ada down! Rafi Saab had burst out laughing! With that, I became normal and less nervous. Such was Rafi Bhaiya!
If I do not make a special mention of my duet with him from Film:Professor, “Aawaz Deke Hame Tum Bulavo” composed by SJ, it would be highly inappropriate. On the 29th Punyathidhi of Rafi Bhaiya, I am recalling many incidents realted to both of us.
Simultaneously, I remember this duet, “Teri Duniya Se Door, Rahe Hoke Majboor, Rafi Bhaiya, Behana Ko Yaad Rakhna, Jahan Bhi Ho”
August 14th, 2009 at 9:52 am
Dear Kapil ji,
I’m sure you are enjoying the tamasha going on in the other forum. Even Kishore da would have enjoyed the comedy. The pompous ass is going on and on, but even after holding onto his sacred thread and chanting “Hari Om” a thousand times, can’t deliver a single line. Calls himself a classical vocalist trained in Ustad Amir Khan’s gharana!
August 14th, 2009 at 11:19 am
1922
Why envy & criticise – when in the other kishore kumar forum true interesting discussions are going on at the musical and technical level. If competent, why don’t you also put your arguments with classical musicians.
August 14th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
@ P Haldar Ji:
I do not understand why you are wasting ur time in a topic which deals with kishore kumar’s devotional songs :S
and besides that, there is no point wasting your times with a cretin like Lalit
August 14th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Hello P Haldar Ji,
Thanks for posting the Tribute – Post 1921.
August 14th, 2009 at 9:58 pm
Hello Haldar Ji,
Yes, everybody can enjoy that, by the way i know you are among the veteran Rafi fans so don’t use “Ji” after my name, i am into my 20’s only, by the way, we have interacted many times earlier also, and we share the common passion for the song “jinhe naaz hai hind par wo kahan hain” ..
Thanks for posting that “tribute” by the way.
Mr. Myk,
You have posted somewhere a nice tribute by Lata Ji to Rafi Sahab, yes, that from 80’s, why don’t you post it here also.
Thanks
August 15th, 2009 at 3:28 am
P. Haldar –thanks so much for sharing Lata’s tribute to Rafi Sahab. The majority of the greatest musical luminaries have hailed Rafi Sahab as the greatest ever, and the great Lata is further reinforcing Rafi Sahab’s status. I will actually recommend and request you to create this as a separate post of its own instead of it being just a comment. This really deserves to be a separate post. It’s the great Lata after all who has paid such a rich tribute to the greatest of all singers…
August 15th, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Haldar Sir, Kapilji:
I’ve seen the ‘thamasha’. It’s indeed one; there is nothing solid, logical or even new in the fellow’s arguments. He’s trying to show off with highly irrelevant jargons. As it happens with such theoriticians, he has to resort to lies, half-truths and contradictions. I see that Haldar sir has pointed out one factual error about Rafisahab’s ‘Gharana’; that alone would put a lot of the fellow’s arguments off-rails- he’s basing his thesis on the lack of true ‘nada shudhi’ of that particular ‘Gharana’ and its over ornateness.
I’m not sure whether I should be discussing it here, but cannot help pointing out certain other lacunas of the theory in question. The chap says in one post that classical vocalists find it tough to replicate KK songs (which itself is a plain lie) because those songs and the singing breaks every rule they know. In subsequent posts he makes a lot of effort to prove that KK is indeed technically very good and satisfies the criteria set by classical musicians for good singing. Can there be a more glaring contradiction? Or ‘adhering to rules by breaking them’ is the new age slogan? It doesn’t end there; about Rafisahab he says Rafisahab had ’solid grasp of ‘taans’, ‘aakars’ et al’ and highlights the training that he underwent but then concludes that Rafisahab was all ‘obvious meends’ and a crooner without dimension.
He goes ga ga over KK’s tone, timbre etc. which is actually a joke. The grainy, booming tone (very appealing during the hippie/ angry young man era) has run its course and is going out of vogue everywhere, even from the HFM and HCM and the soft, velvetty, robust elastic tone is what is here to stay.
Another lie which’s being propogated is that all classical vocalists are in love with KK while they have misgivings about Rafisahab. The truth is that there are certain (very much in the minority group) classical exponents who have reservations about Rafian mode of singing. But then they have no reason to have such reservations about KK; simply because KK has never trespassed their territories and no one compares them with KK when speaking about good singers. It’s like a gymnastic competition. An athlete who performs well within him/herself restricting him/herself to what he/she knows best sometimes scores over the one who stretches him/herself to difficult maneuvers and ends up making miniscule errors. It all depends on the judges.
And what if the judges happen to be competitors as well? This happened with Rafisahab. Which classical singer would like the scenario of going to a party and being told ‘your interpretation of xyz raga was good, but nothing compared to Rafi sahab’s in abc song’? Manna Dey explains the frustration (Please note I’m not using this term in a negative manner, I know Manna Dey is a great human being and he is someone I absolutely adore) in his interviews.
August 15th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
post 1926
Dear Kapil,
I always knew who you were; just didn’t want to expose you in front of other people. I thought of saying that Kapil might be very young but has the wisdom of Kapil Muni, but then I thought you might not know people to know about your infamoust(!) past. There are very few people I know who love the music of both Anil Biswas and R. D. Burman.
August 15th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Dear Friends,
I’d be remiss if I don’t mention where I got Lata di’s tribute from. The original Hindi version came out in Hindustan Times, but I found the English translation in Hamara Forums. I think the translation was done by our old friend venkat ji, whom I haven’t seen in this forum in a long time. Some of you might recall his and my theories about lata di; it’s good to hear about her insecurities from her own lips. Remember such things are human; it happens in every field whether it’s music, sports or acting.
I’d also like to tell my friends on this forum that whatever problems might have happened between them, lata di always had the highest regard for rafi saab. Her comments may have been guarded at times but she has always maintained that “after Saigal’s death, Rafi never let people feel the void”. After Rafi saab passed away, a visibly shattered Lata di had this to say: “We were like two wheels of the same chariot.”
The Maya incident had always bugged me. All of us had our own theories but we were not sure if they were true. If it were not for Sandeep Nadkarni saab, we would not have known the real truth. But even Nadkarni saab did not explicitly specify Lata’s role in the incident, but reading between the lines, I could connect the dots. Please do not mistake my attempts at getting information about this incident for digging up dirt. Sir Salil’s account (as reported by Raju Bharatan) was so unbelievable that I knew from the start that there was more to it than meets the eye. For that reason, I tried to engage in a conversation with Nadkarni saab, which was frequently interrupted by pests from the other forum.
August 16th, 2009 at 10:36 pm
FACTS R FACTS & HUMAN FOLLIES R Redeemable :
Let’s enjoy sweet immortal yesteryear golden music.
But, before registering off i would like to state what i read in an interview with lata ji on the demise of mohd rafi immediately after :
said she ” we were the same wheels of a train ” in the film industry. after rafi passing away i could not sleep for six weeks and my doctors gave me medicines for the same.
i always knew that the mangeshkar’s had the highest esteem for rafi saaheb and her comments now ( very very lately published – is nothing new ) like those of millions of rafi fans everywhere.
both are immortal to music – in any century – frm now on.
binu nair, rafi foundation, mumbai : binus2000@hotmail.com
August 16th, 2009 at 11:12 pm
Kapil-ji, below is the other beautiful tribute by Lata-ji to Rafi-saab, on your request. This was published in the October 1980 issue of Film Sitaare Magazine.
Haldar-ji, Thanks for posting the other wonderful tribute, it was a treat to read.
Cherian-ji, excellent analysis of the nonsense discussion going on at the other forum. We should not waste our time with such bigots who bring up foolish theories and discussions. No one takes them seriously, and they can only publish that crap on their forum and no where else.
Below is the tribute:
——————–
“Mera favourite gulukaar kaun hai ?. Yeh mere liye shaayad duniya ka
sab se aasaan sawal hai, jis ka jawab dene ke liye mujhe ek lamhe ke
daswe hisse ki bhi zaroorat nahin. Is ka seedha, saaf aur sirf ek hi
jawab hai, Rafi sahab, ek baar nahin hazaar baar. Rafi sahab aur sirf
Rafi sahab !. Aur yeh main is liye nahin keh rahi hoon ke woh ab
hamare darmiyan nahin rahe balke yeh mere dil ki awaaz hai, mujhse
sote main bhi koi pooche to mujhse yehi jawab nikle ga.
Haan mujhe is baat ka afsos hai ke main yeh mazmoon unki zindagi main
kyun nahin likh saki. Shaayad main is tarah us azeem fankar ko khiraj-
e-tehseen pesh kar sakti. Rafi sahab khush to kya hote kyun ke woh in
choti choti baaton se bala-tar the, na tareef se khush hote the aur na
burai se ranjeeda, albata itna tha ke meri yeh tehreer dekh kar unhein
yeh andaza ho jata ke mujhe bhi ache bure ki kuch parakh hai aur main
un ke fun (art) ki azmat ko kuch kuch samajhane main kamyab rahi hoon.
Afsos ke main kahli karti rahi aur aaj woh azeem hasti hamare darmeyan
nahi rahi, ab yeh lines main us mahaan kalakar ki yaad main
shradhanjali ka taur par pesh kar rahi hoon, un ke karoron fans ki
tarah main bhi un ki aik adna si fan hoon aur un ke fun ko aur un ki
kala ko salaam pesh karna chahti hoon, yeh mere dil ki awaz hai.
Main bachpan se hi Sehgal ki badi qayel thi, badi hui aur gaane ka
shaukh hua to Begum Akhtar aur Noor Jahan se impress hui. Us waqt main
ne socha bhi nahin tha ke main film main geet gaoon gi. Movies main
aayi aur Rafi sahab ko sun, unhain gaate dekha, un ki lagan, kala ke
liye un ki tadap aur un ka khuloos dekha to bas un ki garveeda ho
gayi. Fun ke liye apne aap ko waqt kar dene, khud ko sangeet ki lehron
main gharq kar dene ki baat main ne Rafi sahab se hi seekhi.
Rafi sahab mujh se aik saal pehle filmi singing ke maidan main aa
chuke the aur un ke ek do geet bhi famous ho chuke the, bahut purani
baat ho gayi koi tees batees saal ho gaye, ab yeh to yaad nahin ke un
ke saath pehli baar kab gaya tha aur woh konsi film thi magar yeh yaad
hai ke pehli hi mulaqat main, main un se impress ho gayi thi. Woh bade
sada dil the, woh bila-takalluf hamare ghar aa jaate aur hum ghanto
sath sath rehersal karte rehte. Un dino hamara ghar Nana Chowk main
tha aur Rafi sahab Bhindi Bazaar main rehte the. Un ke sarparast aur
bhai Hameed the. Woh Rafi sahab ko le kar aksar hamare yahan aate, din
bhar rehte, khana khate aur baatein karte rehte, mujhe ab tak yaad hai
ke meri maan ne ek baar gold ka button banwa kar Rafi sahab ko gift
kiye the.
‘Baiju Bawra’ pehli film thi jis main hamaari jodi khoob jami, hum
dono ne kai do gaane gaye, yeh gaane mulk bhar main bahut maqbool hue
aur aaj tak logon ki zuban par hain, “Tu ganga ki mauj….” aur
“Jhoole main pawan ke…..” jaise geet aaj bhi jawan hain aur main
samajhti hoon ke is long lasting pasandeedgi main Rafi sahab ki
zindagi se zyada bharpoor awaaz ka bada hissa hai. Phir to hum ne
hazaron geet sath sath gaye. 32, 33 saal saath raha, duets ka sehi
count batana to mumkin hi nahin.
Rafi sahab ke saath gaye kuch geet to aise hain ki main unhain bhoolti
hi nahin, e.g. ‘Dulari’ ka geet “Raat rangeeli mast nazare……”,
‘Andaz’ ka geet “Yun to aap sa main bigadte hain…..”, ‘Kohinoor’ ka
geet “Do sitaron ka zameen par…..”, ‘Taj Mahal’ ka geet “Paon chhoo
lene do……”, ‘Ganga Jamna’ aur ‘Leader’ aur taaza tareen misaal
hain ‘Sargam’ ke gaane.
Hum dono ki awaaz ka acha istemaal Shankar-Jaikishan, Roshan aur L-P
vaghaira ne kiya magar jitna khoobsurat istemal Naushad sahab ne kiya,
jaise geet unhon ne gawa diye woh unhi ka hissa hain. Rafi sahab bhi
Naushad sahab ki bahot respect aur badi qadar karte the.
Main khud gulukaar hoon is liye Rafi sahab ki sehi qadr-o-qeemat janti
hoon, un ki sab se badi khoobi (jis se doosre sabhi gulukar mehroom
hain) yeh thi ke woh har qisam ke geet easily gaate the, qawwali ho
bhajan ho, ghazal ho pakka gana ho, halka phulka geet ho ya phir
Shammi Kapoor style ka zordaar gana, sab kuch gaa lete the. Aur jis ke
liye gaate us ke honto pe apni awaaz jaise chipka dete. Un ki stage
range itni thi ke bahut kum gulukaron ki hoti hai, woh sur kitna hi
ooncha uthate awaz bhurrati nahin thi. Us ki mithaas aur loch baaqi
rehta tha, yeh ek aisi khudadaad salahiyat thi jo sirf Rafi sahab ko
mili thi.
Rafi sahab ke saath mere bade ache relations the, woh hamesha mere
saath taawun karte rehe, lekin budqismati se ek baar un ke aur mere
darmeyan kuch ikhtelaaf ho gaya, do teen bars hum dono ne saath saath
nahin gaya, phir Jaikishan-ji ne hamara milan kara diya aur hum ne
Saira Bano ki bhai Sultan ki film ‘Palkon Ki Chaon Main’ ke liye ek
duet record karaya. Main darte darte recording ke liye pahunchi ke
pata nahin Rafi sahab kis tarah paish aayen, magar un ke raviyye main
to koi farq tha hi nahin, woh mere liye phool le kar aye the. Bas
baatein shuru ho gaye, wohi un ka meetha meetha dil ko moh lene wala
andaz, jaise kuch hua hi na ho. Aaj sochti hoon to sharmindagi hoti
hai, is saare maamle main ghalti meri hi thi warna Rafi sahab jaisa
shareef insan aur kisi se ikhtelaf ! sawal hi peda nahin hota.
Unhein doosron ki bhalai ki fikr har waqt rehti thi, hasad aur jalan
ka maada to un ki under tha hi nahin, unhon ne kai baar Talat Mehmood
ki sifarish kai maosiqaron se ki, Mahendra Kapoor ko aage badhane ke
liye badi koshish ki, naye logon ki hamesha himmat afzai karte rehe,
woh chahte the ke sab mil jul kar rehain, kahin koi ranjish na ho.
Ek baar Shankar (Jaikishan) ke saath meri kuch un bun ho gai aur main
ne un ke liye gaana band kar diya. Main gaati to sirf Jaikishan hi
music dete, Jaikishan-ji guzar gaye to Shankar-ji par kaam kum ho
gaya, tab ek din recording ke maoqa par Rafi sahab ne mujh se kaha
“Lata, Shankar-ji ache aadmi hain, tumhein un ke liye gaana chahiye”
aur mujhe Rafi sahab ki baat ke aage sar jhukana pada.
33 bars ka saath hai, kitni yadein hain, suhani, madhur aur ab rula
dene wali. Kis kis baat ka zikar karoon. Yeh meri khush qismati hai ke
Rafi sahab ne apni zindagi ka akhri gana bhi mere sath hi gaya, yeh
gana film ‘Aas Pas’ ka tha jo un ki wafat se do din pehle record hua
tha.
Rafi sahab bade mazhabi aur khuda tars insan the, un ke under funkaron
wali masoomiat thi, main ne kabhi un ke munh se kisi ke liye kabhi
bura lafz nahin suna, har ek ki baat maan lete the, chalaki jasi cheez
se to jaise un ki shanasai hi na thi.
Rafi sahab se doosre teesre din mulaqat hoti hi rehti thi, kisi sound
studio main, kisi taqreeb main, kabhi un ki kami ka ehsaas na hone
paya, kya pata tha ke woh itni jaldi chale jaayenge aur woh bhi
hamesha ke liye, abhi un ke jaane ki umar bhi to na thi.
Woh to phir se jaawan hue the, ‘Sargam’ se phir unho ne apni puraani
bulani hasil ki thi, khushi is baat ki hai ke woh jis shan se aye the
usi shan se gaye, warna aksar kalakaar gumnami ke andheron main khone
ke baad badi takleef-de maut marte hain.
Un ki maot ki khabar mili to pehle kano par bharosa na hua. 31 July ko
koi 11 baje raat ko mere doctor Rajiv Varma ka phone aaya. “Didi bahut
buri khabar hai, Rafi Sahab nahi rehe”. Suna to laga jaise jism ka koi
bahut aham hissa cut gaya ho. Teen din tak to main so na saki.
Afsos! ab main kis ke saath gaon ki, meri awaaz se awaaz kaun milega,
Rafi sahab nahi rehe meri awaaz ka rafiq bichhar gaya, mera saathi
mujh se door chala gaya, sach to yeh hai ke ab duet gaane ka lutf jata
raha.
Kisi ke chale jaane se duniya ki anjuman main koi kami nahi hoti,
chand din ka sog hai, phir geet gaye jaayenge nay log aayenge, magar
Rafi Sahab ki jagah pur na ho sakegi.
Rafi, Rafi the, koi doosra un ki jagah nahin le sakta, koi aur Rafi
nahi ban sakta !. Doosra Rafi ab peda nahi ho sakta, is liye yeh jagah
ab hamesha hamesha khali hi rehe gi.”
August 18th, 2009 at 10:42 am
True words, Binu sir. Hope the younger sister also admits to her follies and tells the world what she ‘really’ thinks of Rafi sahab.
Thanks for the compliments; Mykji. Nice to see you back. I was missing you and I believe many others were, too.
Kapilji, You sure know I know who you were…
August 18th, 2009 at 10:13 pm
myk,
Great to see you here and thanks for that tribute! We really need well informed Rafi lovers like you, here in this forum.
By the way, you know that how much i am listening to Ravi these days, Ravi used to work under hemant as an arranger, and of course, his own music too had the great arrangements and pretty much different from rest of the greats, take “Sau bar janam lenge” for example,music and arrangements of that song alone takes you out of this world, forget other Raf-Ravi songs, don’t you think Ravi was too good and melodious in 60’s, as good and versatile as S-J?
By the way, no one can beat S-J in preludes and interludes music, their prelude and interlude pieces were as good as their compositions, check out the quite long but great prelude by Jaikishan in “Ye mera prem patra ” from “Sangam”.
Anil Ji,
Your views on Ravi will be appreciated, i always find your posts too knowledgeable, and of course! Younger sister will too admit the truth(Aameen!) but first, Let her enjoy her time under the sun to ad nauseam, after all, she suffered a lot living under her didi’s shadow for 40 years(In Haldar Ji words)
Thanks
August 18th, 2009 at 10:53 pm
Anil Saaheb : Chote sister bhi bahoot khoob insaan hai. akele me woh kehti hogi, wah rafi ji ke kya khoob gaane hai. woh unko sunkar bahut, bahut anand bhi leti hogeee.
par jab royalty ke baat aati hai to unka dhyaan udhar aur chala jaata hogaa.
is liye rafi saaheb ka naam nahi leti hogi….
it’s a commercial world anyway and good sense will prevail someday.
binus
August 19th, 2009 at 10:55 am
Veeraan mera dil hai, dil ki bahar aaja …… a beautiful duet by Rafi-Lata, tonal quality of both the singers at their best for sure …. and of course great tune by mighty CR and great lyrics by Rajinder Krishan, one of my most fav Rafi-Lata duets …Enjoy folks, though quality of video is not that great..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNnd7yjc2do
October 23rd, 2009 at 3:28 am
By putting fans first he essentially denounces his celebrity and affirms his every-man status. ,
December 1st, 2009 at 3:10 pm
everry songs is verry verry good