This article is written by Raja, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in sites like lyricstrans.com and ibollywoodsongs.com etc then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
The last two weeks of December are usually relatively busy weeks for me. I say “relatively” only in the context of the rest of the year for me, which is reasonably relaxed. My generally lazy nature gets a thorough jolt and wake-up call, in these last two weeks.
The main reason for this is that my family, including extended family, wherever located around the globe, tends to converge at this time in India. Obviously not everyone can make it, but we usually manage to get a group together.
It is, of course, wonderful to meet, even if only for a few days. Whatsapp, skype and all that jazz, are great tools to help keep in touch, no doubt, but there is no substitute for actually meeting face-to-face.
But why am I discussing all this here?
The main reason is that this results in my spending less time on the blog than I’d like to. Not that I spend a lot of time otherwise, but especially when it comes to writing posts, the distractions make it just that little bit more difficult.
(This also just further highlights how amazing it is that Atul manages to write and post SO many posts every single day, year after year. Hats off to him! I get a few distractions – and I’m looking for excuses already!
But, inspite of all the distractions, there’s one specific reason to somehow find time to do one specific post during this period.
And that is a post on Rafisaab.
It is his birth anniversary on 24th December – and I make it a point to write a post, however brief or disjoint, on the occasion.
It’s the least I can do for him.
For all that Rafisaab has given me, through his divine voice, if I cannot even write a post on his birth anniversary to remember him and pay tribute to him, phir to “laanat” hi hai mujh par.
So here’s the post on the occasion. Please excuse me if it’s not upto your desired standard, but the sentiment behind it is meant for Rafisaab. And that’s what matters most.
When I think of Rafisaab’s contribution to my enjoyment of music, it is like “tere bina zindagi se koi shikhwa to nahin..tere bina zindagi bhi lekin, zindagi to nahin”. One of my favourite Kishore-Lata duets from the 70s, but a sentiment that suits Rafisaab’s role in my life very well.
Sure, I love a lot of non-Rafisaab songs. In fact, I like a wide variety of songs by various singers, old and new. Each singer has his/her quality and I don’t get hung up on any one. Or any one genre either. It often depends on mood.
So, in a sense, I could technically live a life of music without Rafisaab. But could I love such a life? Maybe I’m spoilt now but it’s difficult for me to say, without having some doubt, that I could love a world of music in which Rafisaab doesn’t exist at all. Maybe I’d get used to it, but let’s just say that it would be more than a minor inconvenience.
I’ve often written about how Rafisaab came into my life with “o duniya ke rakhwaale” one fine afternoon, at a time when I was all “Kishore, Kishore, Kishore”. Those were the 70s – and boys my age were largely Kishorified. I was no exception. I will not repeat the whole story here.
I’ll just say that since then I’ve also jumped onto the Rafisaab fan bandwagon. It must be a pretty sturdy bandwagon, seeing as it manages to accommodate several million people.
There’s no need for me to discuss Rafisaab’s career or life – what I know is in the public domain already, so I wouldn’t be adding anything of value.
I’ll just say that another big reason I am a big Rafisaab fan is that, towering over his singing quality, if ever it was possible at all, is his quality as a human being.
There was a time when Rafisaab was THE go-to singer for composers. Actors insisted they wanted his voice only for playback. It would have been SO easy for Rafisaab to have become arrogant, or selfish or greedy.
Even at that time, he remained the same soft-spoken, humble, generous, grounded person. He didn’t let fame or success go to his head. He would sing songs for new, or not-so-famous, composers for a token fee. Even on the royalty issue that caused a misunderstanding between him and Lata, his stand was to stick by the composers and not demand more. Maybe not financially smart, but that was Rafisaab in a nutshell.
How often do you come across somebody with so much capability in his profession AND being such an amazing human being? Not very often.
These are the thoughts that come to me today as I remember Rafisaab and pay tribute to him on his birth anniversary. He was one of a very rare kind – the world desperately needs more people like him.
So Rafisaab, thank you SO much for everything. For enriching our lives. You are long gone from here now and have no idea of what your legacy means to all of us here. Let’s just say, you will NEVER EVER be forgotten by HFM lovers.
Now, to the song for today.
I have picked a duet of Rafisaab and Asha Bhonsle. It is a fun song that I happened to hear a while ago. And as usual, I fell in love with it the first time I heard it. It is a lively song – the type that used to sung by Geeta Dutt but this time has Asha opposite Rafisaab.
It is from the film “Kya Yeh Bombay Hai” (1959) picturised on Maruti and Nishi. I haven’t seen the film Looking at the cast of the film on imdb, it would appear that they play the lead roles. Lyrics are by Noor Dewasi, with music by Bipin Dutta. So it looks like a classic B-film of the time.
We already have two songs from this film on the blog – both of which are enjoyable. Seeing as this one also is a fultoos timepass song, I think this film could be worth watching just as a light-hearted comedy.
I’ve seen a few films of Maruti and Nishi – and I like them both. That’s one reason I picked this song. Anyway, I wanted a Rafisaab fun song for the occasion.
And this song fits the bill perfectly. Add to it the catchy tune and Maruti caper, and it is a delight to both listen to, and watch. Nishi matches Maruti, step for step.
It’s the type of song one associates with Johny Walker, but Maruti does a terrific job here. In fact, I think Maruti might have been under-rated as a comedian in his time. I’d heard of him vaguely in my childhood more for his dancing skills than anything else.
Here the scene looks like a picnic scene. The song would suggest Maruti has been sent by Nishi and her sahelis to get lunch for them all. He returns, with the lunch – but late. Nishi pretends to be upset. He then proceeds to pacify her. All typical for the times, and good fun.
Let’s now enjoy this song. And once again, pay tribute to Rafisaab. A word of mention for Asha Bhosle too. She complements Rafisaab really well here – as she almost always does.
Song-Zara back ke chalna (Kya Yeh Bombay Hai)(1959) Singers-Rafi,Asha Bhonsle, Lyrics-Noor Dewasi, MD-Bipin Dutta
Lyrics
Zaraa bach ke chalna
Zaraa hat ke chalna
Ye shaahi khataara
Chala aa raha hai
Zaraa bachke chalna
Zaraa hat ke chalna
Ye shaahi khataara
Chala aa raha hai
Lagi hai bhookh humko
Bajey hain paune baarah
Ye aaloo bukhaara
Lo ab aa raha hai
Kya baat hai
Lagi hai bhookh humko
O rang birangi
Niraali chidiyon
Tumhaare vaaste main laaya daana paani
Na phadphadaao
Yahaan to aao
Na rakho apne dil mein koi bad-gumaani
Aha
o ho
Hey hey hey
Dekho ji dil na todo
Ye chhed chhaad chhodo
Tumhaare roothne se
Mazaa ja rahaa hai
Lagi hai bhookh humko
Bajey hai paune baarah
Ye aaloo bukhaara
Lo ab aa raha hai
Zaraa bachke chalna
Hamen banaaya
Hamen sataaya
Nibhegi khaakh jo hameshaa late aaya
O meri mainaa
Tera kya kehna
Ke gusse mein shabaab aur muskuraaya
Aha
Hehe
oho ho
Uthha hai tera fatka
Kya bheja tera khatkaa
Jo khaamakhaa ki bakbak
Kiye jaa raha hai
Zaraa bachke chalna
Zaraa hatke chalna
Ye shaahi khataara
Chala aa raha hai
Lagi hai bhookh humko
O dil ke kaale
Khataare waale
Yakeen kaise tujh pe aaye
Ye bataa de
Le khaana khaa le
Le paani pee le
Kasam hai meri
ab zaraa to muskuraa de
Aha
oho
Ahahaha
Karega phir jo tikdam
To hoga kaam bigdam
Abhi to maaf tujh ko
Kiyaa jaa raha hai
Zaraa bach ke chalna
Zaraa hat ke chalna
Ye shaahi khataara
Chala aa raha hai
Zaraa bach ke chalna
yeah aha
