A song of Mohammad Rafi

Mohammad Rafi was a genteel person. Every musician, researcher, film-personality, whom I've had the privilege of meeting, says the same thing.

Every photo of this singer shows him smiling shyly. Every video-footage of his reveals a body-language of unobtrusiveness. Every sound-byte of his (there aren't many) makes the listener infer that he was exceedingly unassuming... almost to a fault.

Often, singer's 'gayaki' is a reflection of his/her personality. When Mohammad Rafi croons in some songs, one can correlate the self-effacing enunciation with his personality (just as Talat Mahmoods's soft style of singing mirrored his elegant Lakhnavi tehzeeb).

There are, however, songs in which Mohammad Rafi's vocal throw has such a beautiful blend of tunefulness & assertion, that it takes one's breath away... and makes one marvel at the magical transformation from the shy & reticent personality to a 'champion' in front of the microphone.

I had the privilege of meeting Shailendra Singh at a friend's place (the music enthusiast, Anand Desai). In that relaxed ambience, he had a similar story to narrate.

"Rafi-saab was standing about six feet away from Asha-ji & me & was singing into his microphone. On several occasions I had to turn my head to check if Rafi-saab was singing, because he was barely audible.

Then, as we gathered around the console to hear the final output of 'teri rab ne banaa do jodi'  (the boisterous dance song from Suhaag), Rafi-saab's voice wafted across, rich & clear. itnaa soft-spoken insaan... aur aisi zordaar gayaki!..."

Shailendra Singh' admiration was for a recording during a period when Mohammad Rafi's  singing abilities were not at par with his luminiscent form of the mid 50-s to the mid 60-s (my favourite phase of his career).

Here is a song of Mohammad Rafi from a movie of 1965 to underline my viewpoint. (The tonal quality indicates that the song may have been recorded a few years earlier).

The melody has phrases of Raag Hameer. Since this raag is uttaraang-pradhaan (i.e, most of its notes dwell in the upper half of the octave), the singer has to ensure that the voice does not appear strained due the sustained use of high notes. Mohammad Rafi's rendition is amazingly restrained & yet carries that magical punch which impresses the listener from the very first note.

As the song progresses into the antara, the melody reposes on the upper tonic (the 'sa' of the upper register). Then, for the cross-over line, it touches the upper gandhar ('ga') and eases back in the mukhda with Mohammad Rafi effortlessly transitioning into his silken timbre.

A brilliantly executed song. Small wonder that a technically accomplished singer like Manna Dey thought so highly of his atristry.

The composers, Lala-Assar-Sattar were probably the first music director triumvirate of the industry. (Lala Gangawane, Assar Mohammad Khan and Sattar Khan). Lala & Sattar were musicians while Assar was an assistant to some composers.

As in several other songs, Mohammad Rafi's innate benevolence was always evident when he sang for rookie composers.

Song: main to tere haseen khayaalon mein

Movie: Sangram (1965)

Music: Lala-Assar-Sattar

Lyrics: Aish Kanwal

This note is a humble tribute to this seminal singer on his 42nd punyatithi...

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P.S. I have used the phrase 'shy & reticent personality' for this singer. Here is a short video-clip to substantiate my hunch. :)

The clip starts with composer O.P. Nayyar crafting the song 'mohabbat ka haat jawaani ka palla' with lyricist Qamar Jalalabadi. Then the singers, Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle are rehearsing.

The video cuts to another song-recording. Probably the 'final take' of 'aaye hai door se' (Tumsa Nahin Dekha), with the same combination of composer and singers. (Lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri in this song)

In both the situations, Mohd. Rafi's body-language is the epitome of affability. :)

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