In Search Of A Lost And Forgotten Song By Rafi

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 23 December 2023 "A voice that left a permanent void with its departure....." Filmmaker Satyajit Ray on Rafi's demise on July 31, 1980 Muhammad Rafi (File Photo) ----- Have you come across the word serendipity? It means 'a chance discovery.' I had this when I was looking for Muhammad Rafi's rarest of rare film songs and non-filmi Ghazals. By the way, Rafi sang 231 non-filmi Ghazals, whereas you find only 40-odd Ghazals sung by him on YouTube. In 2008, I was in Lahore in search of Rafi's lost songs. I almost finished my task but was still not fully satisfied as I didn't get a few film songs anywhere. One day, I was at a barber's shop in Lahore getting a haircut. The suave hair stylist asked me in impeccable Urdu: Janaab, Aap Kuchh Samaat Farmayenge? (sir, would you like to listen to some music?). I told him that I listened to only Rafi and Mehdi Hasan and no other singer ever appealed to me. He then started playing Rafi's film-songs on a gramophone (on LP records). All the songs were not just rare but were tasteful to boot. Then came a song I was looking for: Tum Poochhte Ho Ishq Bala Hai Ke Nahin (Film: Naqli Nawab, Lyricist: Kaifi Azmi, Music: Babul not Bipin Dutta, wrongly mentioned on the YouTube video/Babul teamed up with Bipin Dutta but they eventually split). This film hit the marquee in 1962 and bombed at the box office because of the very high class Urdu. Picturised on Manoj Kumar, Rafi considered it as one of his best film songs. I listened to it years ago on the BBC, Urdu Service aeons ago but didn't find its details. I jotted down all the details and profusely thanked the hair stylist. Then I wrote to Manoj Kumar in Urdu. Abbottabad (NWFP, Pakistan) born Manoj Kumar cannot read and write Hindi. He was pleased as punch when he got to know that someone found this rare song by Rafi which was picturised on him (Manoj Kumar). He wrote to me to contact him when I'd be in India. I met him after coming back to India. Rafi and Manoj Kumar were very close friends. Rafi called him Goswami Tulsidas because Manoj Kumar's surname is Goswami. Before singing the song, Rafi met Manoj Kumar and said, "Goswami Tulsidas Ji, Ekdum Heroine Ki Jaanib Dekh Ke Gaiyega" (Goswami Tulsidas ji, please lip-sing the song looking intently at the heroine, Shakeela) because Rafi was aware of Manoj Kumar's habit of not looking at his heroines! The song was loved by the connoisseurs but it didn't appeal to the masses. Manoj Kumar told me that All India Radio, Urdu Service, Delhi, Vividh Bharati, Bombay and Radio Ceylon had the LP records of this song but it was hardly ever played because listeners were simply not aware of the existence of this song. I wrote about it in many magazines and approached the radio stations. Yet, it was uploaded very late on YouTube (in 2014). It was Shakeela's favourite song along with the hauntingly beautiful, 'Sau Baar Janam Lenge...' (Film: Ustadon Ke Ustaad, Lyrics: Asad Bhopali and music by Ravishankar Sharma known as Ravi, 1963). Some songs like Tum Poochhte Ho Ishq Bala just fade into oblivion despite being so euphonic. Listen to it. You'll concur with me and let me know whether you listened to it before? Mohammad Rafi's 99th Birth Anniversary falls on December 24 ----- A regular columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/search-forgotten-song-rafi/d/131367 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism