Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs

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.

It is that time of year.

Another year comes along, another 31st of July comes along – and once again, we remember, and pay tribute, to the one and only Rafisaab on this date.

37 years ago, on this day in 1980, our beloved Rafisaab left our midst.

Since then, Hindi film music has never been the same. Many have tried to fill the void – and they have been good singers too – but somehow, the void has never been filled.

For it is no ordinary void – because Rafisaab was no ordinary singer. His voice and his rendition were in a league of their own. So it is absolutely no disgrace to any singer trying to sing like Rafisaab if he falls just a bit short.

As for me, the 31st of July is a date that always fills me with emotion. As it is, not a single day goes by when I don’t listen to a Rafisaab song. It just happens – whether I’m looking for a song myself, or am reminded of a song by someone else. Thankfully there are many of his songs out there – just as there are millions of his fans out there too.

Yes, that is the legacy of Rafisaab – the wealth of music, the absolute treasure-trove of music, he has left behind for all of us. Everyone has to go sometime, however much we might wish otherwise. What matters is the legacy and memories the person leaves behind.

And Rafisaab has been amazingly generous in this regard. Not only leaving behind his legacy in the form of songs but also leaving behind very sweet memories with those who were fortunate enough to meet and interact with him. I never had that good fortune – but those who did, have nothing but kind words to say about Rafisaab.

And why not? After all, Rafisaab himself was one of the kindest and gentlest souls in the industry. Given his huge stature for most of his career, he could easily have put on airs, or thrown his weight around. He could have dictated terms to composers and colleagues, he could have exploited his popularity.

But then he would not have been the Rafisaab we all know and love so much. He would have been at best a great singer, with a divine voice. That is very important, no doubt, and would have ensured him a place in posterity anyway. But the place Rafisaab has in many hearts today is at an even higher level. It goes way beyond what just singing ability could have managed.

And that is because, above all, he was a very good person. An exceptionally good person. And that earns you respect and admiration beyond just your professional ability.

For me too, this is one of the main reasons I am such a big fan of Rafisaab. Of course, I love listening to his voice. I get lost in his voice. When I hear “tum bhi the khoye khoye”, it is like Rafisaab talking to me. 🙂

But the fact that he was such a kind and gentle person, never hurting or exploiting others, that makes me feel so very warm towards Rafisaab, the person, not just Rafisaab, the singer.

Stories abound about Rafisaab’s kindness and his helpful nature. I will not go into them now – many of them are narrated by those who interacted with him and can be found in videos on the net, and from other sources.

Rafisaab himself never blew his trumpet. It is said that he used to point upwards whenever someone complimented him on a song. In effect, saying “I have done nothing, it is all due to Him”. Such a humble soul he was!

I consider myself a reasonably big Rafisaab fan – but I am very humbled (and actually secretly overjoyed) when I come across other fans who are even bigger Rafisaab fans. 🙂 That’s because for me, it’s not a competition. 🙂 In fact, I might get to learn of new songs of Rafisaab, or new anecdotes about him.

If nothing else, I get to discuss more about Rafisaab – something I never tire of doing anyway. Forget being tiring, talking about him has the opposite effect on me. 🙂 If I’m tired, I just have to think about Rafisaab, listen to a song of his – and I suddenly feel much better. 🙂 There are many songs of his I just tune in to – “deewana hua baadal”, or “pukaarta chala hoon main” or “tum jo mil gaye ho”. These are just three examples – there are many more.

I have spent hours listening to Rafisaab songs. I have spent entire nights watching Youtube videos of Rafisaab songs and videos about him. When at 4.30 a.m, I feel “maybe I should just grab a couple of hours of sleep so that I’m not a complete zombie the next morning”, I actually still feel fresh, and good enough to go on. It is more a reluctant acceptance of physiological demands on the body than a desire to call it a day (or night, as the case happens to be). So I consider this time well spent. 🙂

In fact, only a few days ago I did an all-nighter, watching a whole lot of videos on Rafisaab. The Doordarshan show on him, where DD had invited young singers from all over India to pay tribute to Rafisaab. Then some videos from Pakistan, where Pakistani singers were paying tribute to Rafisaab. Followed by videos with Rishi Kapoor, Jeetendra, Shailendra Singh, SP Balasubramaniam and others talking about Rafisaab. And so on.

I went on and on – everytime a video would appear on the “suggested videos” list, I would not be able to resist. 🙂

In fact, I’d seen some of these videos earlier too. But so what? Like I said, I’m never tired of listening to, or listening to talk about, Rafisaab. 🙂

All of them were good fun in their own way – in particular, I would recommend watching the tribute to Rafisaab by SP Balasubramaniam. This video should give you an idea of what a big Rafisaab fan he is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcJxGgn4g2U.

By the way, what I find very heartening is that it is not just oldtimers who are fans of Rafisaab. Many of today’s youth too, in their 20s/30s, appreciate him. I know quite a few in this age group who are diehard Rafisaab fans.

Just a few days ago, on Twitter, there was a tweet from a young Rafisaab fan to his followers, saying “please tweet me your favourite Rafisaab song”.

The response to it was amazing. In no time, SO many people tweeted SO many songs, it surprised me. What made me particularly happy was that many of these responses seemed to come from young people. This reassured me that Rafisaab’s legacy continues. Not that I doubted it, but it’s always good to see evidence that reassures you.

I can go on and on about Rafisaab – I’ve written many posts on him here, but I will stop this one here for now, and move on to the song for today.

This song is from Shaayad (1979).

Full credit for this song appearing in this post must go to our own Avinashji. He sent me the link to this song a few days ago, with a request to post it on Rafisaab’s death anniversary.

Guess what? I had never even heard this song before! Avinashji himself was shocked – I think I must have fallen several notches in his eyes now as a Rafisaab fan. 🙂

Apparently this song is fairly well-known, it has also been sung in programmes by Sonu Nigam and Shan Mukherjee. (It is composed by Shan Mukherjee’s father, Manas Mukherjee, so it makes sense that Shan has sung it in programmes).

Anyway, I hadn’t heard it before – but when I listened to it the first time, I was struck by not just Rafisaab’s voice, but also the beautiful lyrics by Nida Fazli. They’re simple lyrics, but yet so powerful!

I then got down to watching the film, so as to get the context of the song.

In the film, Saroj (Naseeruddin Shah) is suffering from cancer. His wife, Sudha (Neeta Mehta), puts on a brave face but is totally shattered within. They have a young daughter (role played by Baby Manisha Munshi?).

Naseeruddin sings this song to his wife and daughter. Later, after his death, his daughter sings a few lines.

The male version is sung by Rafisaab The few lines in the female voice are sung by Sagarika Mukherjee, daughter of the composer Manas Mukherjee. ( I believe this was her debut song, she must have been barely 8 or 9 then).

The song talks about dying, but in a way that is very comforting. It says, “I am not a flower that I will wither away, I am that fragrance that will linger on. In every season that comes along, I will come to you too”. How beautiful and comforting a thought is that!

Right through the song, while listening to it, I felt as if Rafisaab is singing to me. As if he is telling me that he is a fragrance, not a withering flower. That he can be found in every bud that blooms, in every manifestation of nature.

And then the lines

Jab bhi meri yaad sataaye
Phool khilaati rehna
Mere geet sahaara denge
Inko gaati rehna
Main andekha taara bankar
Raah dikhaoonga

That’s Rafisaab talking to us. Right there.

Today, Rafisaab is not physically in our midst – but he is very much with us in spirit, in our hearts.

And his songs are the fragrance that will live on forever.

Video (partial)-Rafi version

Audio (Full)-Rafi version

Video-Sagarika Mukherji version

Song-Khushboo hoon main phool nahin hoon jo murjhaaoonga (Shaayad)(1979) Rafi/Sagarika Mukherji, Lyrics-Nida Fazli, MD-Manas Mukherji

Lyrics

——————————
Male version (Full audio version)
——————————
Khushboo hoon main
Phool nahin hoon
Jo murjhaaoonga

Khushboo hoon main
Phool nahin hoon
Jo murjhaaoonga aa aa
Khushboo hoon main

Jab jab mausam
Lehraayega
Jab jab mausam
Lehraayega
Main aa jaaoonga
Main aa jaaoongaa aa
Khushboo hoon main
Phool nahin hoon
Jo murjhaaoonga aa
Khushboo hoon main

Meri soorat koi nahin
Chehra mera chehra hai
Bheega saawan
Soona aangan
Har aaina
Mera hai
Jab jab kali khilegi koi
Jab jab kali khilegi koi
Main muskaaoonga
Main aa jaaoonga aa
Khushboo hoon main
Phool nahin hoon
Jo murjhaaoonga aa
Khushboo hoon main

Shaam ka gehra sannaata jab
Deep jalaane aayega
Mera pyaar
tumhaari sooni
Baahon mein ghabraayega
Main mamta ka aanchal ban kar
Main mamta ka aanchal ban kar
Lori gaaoonga
Main aa jaaoonga aa
Khushboo hoon main
Phool nahin hoon
Jo murjhaaoonga aa
Khushboo hoon main

Jab bhi meri yaad sataaye
Phool khilaati rehna
Mere geet sahaara denge
Inko gaati rehna
Main an-dekha taara ban kar
Main an-dekha taara ban kar
Raah dikhaaoonga
Main aa jaaoonga aa
Khushboo hoon main
Phool nahin hoon
Jo murjhaaoonga aa
Khushboo hoon main

Jab jab mausam
Lehraayega
Jab jab mausam
Lehraayega
Main aa jaaoonga
Main aa jaaoongaa aa
Khushboo hoon main
Phool nahin hoon
Khushboo hoon main
Phool nahin hoon
Khushboo hoon main
————————————–
Female version
————————————–
Khushboo hoon main
Phool nahin hoon
Jo murjhaaoonga aa
Khushboo hoon main
Jab jab mausam
Lehraayega
Jab jab mausam
Lehraayega
Main aa jaaoonga
Main aa jaaoongaa aa
Khushboo hoon main
Phool nahin hoon
Jo murjhaaoonga aa
Khushboo hoon main
Khushboo hoon main
Phool nahin hoon

———————————————————
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Ashwini Scrapwala)
———————————————————

पुरुष स्वर (आडियो पर आधारित)

खुशबू हूँ मैं
फूल नहीं हूँ
जो मुरझाऊंगा

खुशबू हूँ मैं
फूल नहीं हूँ
जो मुरझाऊंगा॰॰आ॰॰आ
खुशबू हूँ मैं
जब जब मौसम लहराएगा
जब जब मौसम लहराएगा
मैं आ जाऊंगा
मैं आ जाऊंगा॰॰आ
खुशबू हूँ मैं
फूल नहीं हूँ
जो मुरझाऊंगा॰॰आ
खुशबू हूँ मैं

मेरी सूरत कोई नहीं
हर चेहरा मेरा चेहरा है
भीगा सावन
सूना आँगन
हर आइना
मेरा है
जब जब कली खिलेगी कोई
जब जब कली खिलेगी कोई
मैं मुस्काऊंगा
मैं आ जाऊंगा॰॰आ
खुशबू हूँ मैं
फूल नहीं हूँ
जो मुरझाऊंगा॰॰आ
खुशबू हूँ मैं

शाम का गहरा सन्नाटा जब
दीप जलाने आएगा
मेरा प्यार
तुम्हारी सूनी
बाहों में घबराएगा
मैं ममता का आँचल बन कर
मैं ममता का आँचल बन कर
लोरी गाऊंगा
मैं आ जाऊंगा॰॰आ
खुशबू हूँ मैं
फूल नहीं हूँ
जो मुरझाऊंगा॰॰आ
खुशबू हूँ मैं

जब भी मेरी याद सताए
फूल खिलाती रहना
मेरे गीत सहारा देंगे
इन को गाती रहना
मैं अन-देखा तारा बन कर
मैं अन-देखा तारा बन कर
राह दिखाऊंगा
मैं आ जाऊंगा॰॰आ
खुशबू हूँ मैं
फूल नहीं हूँ
जो मुरझाऊंगा॰॰आ
खुशबू हूँ मैं
जब जब मौसम लहराएगा
जब जब मौसम लहराएगा
मैं आ जाऊंगा
मैं आ जाऊंगा॰॰आ
खुशबू हूँ मैं
फूल नहीं हूँ
खुशबू हूँ मैं
फूल नहीं हूँ
खुशबू हूँ मैं

स्त्री स्वर

खुशबू हूँ मैं
फूल नहीं हूँ
जो मुरझाऊंगा

खुशबू हूँ मैं
जब जब मौसम लहराएगा
जब जब मौसम लहराएगा
मैं आ जाऊंगा
मैं आ जाऊंगा॰॰आ
खुशबू हूँ मैं
फूल नहीं हूँ
खुशबू हूँ मैं
फूल नहीं हूँ
जो मुरझाऊंगा
खुशबू हूँ मैं
खुशबू हूँ मैं
फूल नहीं हूँ
जो मुरझाऊंगा