I am writing this post for Valentine’s Day which is an annual festival to celebrate romantic love, friendship and admiration. Every year on 14 February people celebrate this day by sending messages of love and affection to partners, family and friends. Every person may have individual experiences of unconditional love and attachment. It can be wrong to pressure yourself to find true love; if you have yet to experience a genuine connection with another person or feel a sense of comfort with them. The song koi sone ke dilwala, koi chandi ke dilwala implies that love is fragile, it isn’t strong.

कोई सोने के दिलवाला कोई चांदी के दिलवाला,
शीशे का है मतवाले तेरा दिल,
महफ़िल ये नहीं तेरी दीवाने कहीं चल.

There’s someone who’s heart of gold, some other’s heart is of silver, my heart is of glass (fragile). This song is shot in a party. The hero of the song says this party does not belong to him he consoles himself by saying dear crazy mind let’s move on. Lyricist Majhrooh Sultanpuri wrote this song for film Maya (1961) sung by the great Mohamed Rafisab, composed by Salil Chowdhary and filmed on Dev Anand. This is one of the superhit songs and remains timeless. This song will never die. Generations will listen to it. Long live Mohd. Rafi Sab.

Sone ke dilwala means someone who is exceptionally kind, generous, and compassionate, someone who is loyal with a willingness to help others without expecting anything in return.  And, silver hearts represent a romantic heart, someone who is deeply in love with something, or a person. A heart of glass means someone who is easily hurt or emotionally fragile, like glass which can break easily, suggesting that their feelings can be shattered quickly by a minor setback, one who gets disappointed; it describes a person who is highly sensitive and prone to emotional pain. 

While many would ideally choose “heart” over “money,” in reality, when faced with a difficult decision between following one’s passion (love) or pursuing financial stability, people often tend to prioritize money due to the practical need for security and necessities, even if it means sacrificing the love of his/her life.

The word love has depth.  We don’t love easily. Love is not a universal experience; some   people might feel an immediate attraction as falling in love quickly, for others, developing deep love takes time and getting to know someone well. This means there’s no single answer to whether someone “gets love easily” as it varies greatly from person to person depending on factors like inner personality, character, outer personality, intelligence, earnings, attachment styles, and life experiences. 

Every person who falls in love experiences variety of pains and pleasures of love. Each person has his/her own character and personality; they have different backgrounds and conditions. So, there is no set of rules that applies equally to everyone. Also, whom a person dates also is a matter of personal choice. No one has any right to intrude in anybody’s private affair. The youngsters say, not even their parents have any rights.  But our heart and gut do give us signals about the right or the wrong person. Do we hear to the signals?

Because people often lose all objectivity when they fall in love, it is said ‘Love is blind’.  The song koi sone ke dilwala, koi chandi ke dilawala’s last stanza says that this party isn’t really my vibe, I think it’s time to head out because I am not enjoying it any longer. I should get out of here.  This means the hero feels like he doesn’t belong to that gathering, and it would be better to leave and seek out a different social environment that aligns more with his interests or personality.

How a person experiences pain is unique to each one. Attraction and affection don’t stay the same, and love can feel different for each person. Love too has a lifecycle – introduction, development, growth, maturity and in some cases decline. A person may experience and express love differently from another person. Some people have intense feelings that they are unafraid to express, while others take time to open or prefer to show love in subtler ways.

Also, people demonstrate their love for others in various ways. Whether through acts of service, physical touch, quality time, words of affirmation, gift-giving, acts of kindness, sacrifice, or support, the key is to find the expression that resonates most with your loved ones. Essentially, “everyone’s pain is different”, “everyone’s experience of love is different”. Listen to this beautiful song.  Happy Valentines Day!

Mohammed Rafi could sing a ghazal, bhajan, a whacky composition, romantic song, soulful song effortlessly. He had a distinctive ability to adapt his voice with the screenplay and characters. He rendered his voice to almost all heroes and character artists in the golden era. Try to remember the phenomenal song “Sar Jo Tera Chakraye” featuring Johnny Walker. It seems Johnny Walker felt as if he himself is singing the song because Rafi managed to adapt and acclimatize Walker’s onscreen personality perfectly into his singing. The song is composed by SD Burman which apart from advertising the benefits of a head massage, is also Walker’s loving call to his audience to shed their worries and relax while taking a head massage. Jhony Walker sings the song gleefully advocating a carefree lifestyle.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjlFiCD1Vgc

Few songs from the golden era of Bollywood movies are so soulfully sung that everyone craves to listen to them. Today I am going to present few songs created by Mohamed Rafi and O.P.Nayyar. Most of the songs created by this duo are simply marvellous which you feel like listening again and again. This singer-composer duo broke all records in the industry. Some of the most popular songs from this playlist are Lakhon Hain Nigahon Mein; Roka kai bar meine; Muze dekhkar aapka muskarna; Hamdam Mere; Dil Ki Aawaaz Bhi Sun, and the list goes on and on.

It would certainly not be an exaggeration to say that some of the yesteryear heroes are known more for enacting/lip-sync Rafi’s songs rather than their performances like Bharat Bhushan – “Zindagi Bhar Nahin Bhoolegi Woh Barsaat Ki Raat” or Biswajit’s – “Pukarta Chala Hoon Main,” or Joy Mukherjifor “Banda Parwar, tham lo jigar,” and Pradeep Kumar for “jo wada kiya hai, nibhana padega.”  

Yasmin who is daughter in law of Rafi writes in her book “My Abba a Memoir” that Rafi sang almost all the songs of O.P. Nayyar for around 27 years! Only in a stray case here or there, did others, including Mukesh and Kishore Kumar, get a chance to sing under the baton of Nayyar.

Nayyar-Rafi bond is not the only notable inclusion in Yasmin’s lucidly written book. She gives a nice insight into the mind set of Shankar-Jaikishen too by revealing that the famed duo always used Mukesh as the voice of Raj Kapoor, used Rafi’s voice when they worked for other banners. So much so they used his voice in Barsaat in 1949 and later in Ek Dil Sau Afsaane too. Interestingly, Shankar-Jaikishen used Rafi’s voice for the Kishore Kumar starrer Shararat. Rafi’s song ‘Ajab Hai Dastan Teri Zindagi’ was picturised on Kishore Kumar!

Interestingly, for all those who thought Rafi gave off his best for some heroes and music directors, Yasmin has a revelation. She says, “Abba had his individual style when preparing his songs….when he sat down to practise a song, his hands and feet would keep rhythm to the soft murmur of his voice. The key to the effectiveness of his singing was that he would shoulder the entire responsibility of his songs. Nothing else matters; not who the song was picturized on, whether the music director was a giant or a newcomers, the name of the lyricist, or even the film.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ0TgHmObxA

The singer’s versatility was unmatched. There was hardly an artiste who did not sync his lips with Rafi’s voice. Kishore Kumar, another doyen of the times, held him in very high esteem. Rafi sang twice once in movie Ragini where Rafi crooned “Man Mora Banwara” to O.P. Nayyar’s music and in movie Shararat when Shankar Jaikishen composed “Ajab hai dastan teri hai zindagi”, it was Rafi who sang for Kishore.

The trademark of the notable singer was that he had great humane values as well. When Laxmikant Pyarelal embarked on their musical journey, Rafi just accepted Re 1 as token money for his first rendition under their baton, while wishing them a bright and musical future. Many of his philanthropic activities came to light post his demise as some of the beneficiaries went to his home to pay their respect. Every singer has clones but no one could ever imitate him completely because of his high rigorous standards. Even at the peak of his glory, he always rehearsed before going to the recording room.

There was a time when Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar had differences over the royalty issue, sending the entire industry into a panic mode. Shankar Jaikshen, the top most composers of the time, who also provided music for innumerable Lata hits, chose to side with Rafi when it came to recording duets. Lata was replaced by either Suman Kalyanpur or Mubarak Begum. But to everyone’s relief, the dispute was short-lived.

Rafi sometimes didn’t take his professional fees when he got variety to sing; in 1965 Rafi sang for Firoz Khan in the film ‘Oonche log’. Majrooh Sultanpuri wrote an evergreen number: Jaag dil-e-deewana, rut jaagi, vasle-yaar ki. When Rafi got to know that it was to be picturised on an anglicised and philandering Firoz Khan, he asked him, ‘Miyaan, bada rangeen gaana hai. Zara apna andaaz dikhaiyega’ (Man, it’s a very romantic song, display your charm onscreen). When the composer Chitragupt offered him Rs. 4,000 for the song, he said, ‘Shukriya. Rooh ko sukoon mila. Mujhe aur kuchh nahin chahiye’ (The soul got satisfaction. I don’t want anything else).                       

His generosity was legendary. A friend recounts that when a beggar asked him for money, Rafi gave him all the money he had. “Don’t you count the money before you give it,” asked the friend. “When God doesn’t count what he showers on me, why should I count what I give others,” he remarked.

Mohd Rafi was humble, a teetotaller, virtuous and family man. He was a role model to many upcoming singers of that era like Mahendra Kapoor, Shabbir Kumar, and Anwar etc. He was the best male playback singer of his generation and still remains the best Hindi male playback singer of all times.

Mohd Rafi ruled the film industry for almost 36 long years. He was most regarded singer; he never ever played foul with any singers, he never used his power with composers to sabotage the career of any promising and upcoming singer. In fact, he would encourage them to give their best. Rafisab used to love eating, he was foodie. He enjoyed playing badminton and carom.

I pay my heartfelt tributes to him forever.  

When it comes to musical scores of a movie, it is the music director and singer who get much of the credit for the songs. The lyricists hardly get noticed for the success. One song which is haunting and is rich in life’s philosophy is “kabhi khud pe, kabhi halat pe rona aya” from the movie Hum Dono (1961). We get so immersed in our journey of life that we hardly get time to look at other’s problems.  When it comes to discussing our problems, we do it with magnifying glass, making our problems look bigger.  

Music director Jaidev initially worked with Navketan Banner, he got a scope of working with SD Burman also. His debut with Chetan Anand’s film Joru Ka Bhai, 1955, gave him opportunity to compose independent music but he got recognition with the film Hum Dono in 1961.

Jaidev always preferred Sahir Ludhiyanvi’s poetries to compose. In this song Kabhi khud pe kabhi halat pe…..Sahir has managed to portray the feelings residing in heart of man which are mix of pain and loneliness; no one can control the incidences taking place in life.   Mohamed Rafi has sung the song by pouring emotions in it; he was gifted with vocal range hence he excelled with his pitch of singing. In this song in the last stanza he has poured the anguish we all face in life……kaun rota hai kisi aur ke khatir aie dost…….. The song comes straight from Mohamad Rafi’s heart.

Sahir Ludhinavi’s verse, hinting at our selfishness of life, has made the song immortal. Sahir was a people’s poet and yet a poet’s poet. Every lyricist, past or present, wanted to imitate his skilled ease with which he turned out lines, which were simple and yet wove a web of delicate meanings. As a poet, he never restricted himself to just themes of love. He could turn his hand at every topic and on both sides of an argument.

The song is set in raga named Gara which is not a very popular raag….it is loved by musicians who could experiment with ragas.  Gara often is not understood by listeners. There is a good reason for this because Gara, is not the exclusive name of a well-defined melodic entity. Gara is, in fact, an independent raga, which is used in two variants and when not properly used, it creates confusions. It also is popularly used in semi-classical songs; the notes initially sound off-beat, but when used methodically are very sensitive and emotive to bring the tender emotions of listeners. There is a lot of debate about the timing of this raga. Many musicologists say it is a late morning raga, while others put it into the late evening slot.

This song is an example of what a talented musician as Jaidev could achieve when he lays hands on an outstanding poem of Sahir Ludhiyanvi “Kabhi khud pe kabhi halaat pe rona aya.” Mohamed Rafi has sung the song par excellence. His emphasis on individual words, his manner of taking pauses and stretching the words shows his deep appreciation of the underlying meaning of the poetry. A singer can do justice to the song only when he/she understands the poetry.

On screen Dev Anand sings the song by pouring emotions of vulnerability to core. Dev Anand on screen, Mohamed Rafi’s velvety voice, Sahir’s pensive poetry and Jaidev’s unique craft has made the song immortal!!! Listen to it word by word.