Tuning in to Rafi and the melodious times

MEANINGFUL LYRICS AND THE GRACE OF FILM SONGS OF THE ’60S AND ’70S ARE MISSING IN MOST OF THE ALBUMS BEING CHURNED OUT TODAY

Theatre and live performances have become a casualty in today’s pellmell. Society seems to be in the grip of an attention deficit disorder. Our addiction to social media and internet entertainment services has snatched the patience and maturity to sit back, relax and appreciate art and artistes, sitting face to face, on a live stage.

I got the opportunity to attend the Mohammad Rafi Night at Punjab Naatshala to commemorate the death anniversary of the doyen of playback singing on July 31, courtesy a cop-cum-friend who is also a diehard fan of the singer.

Born at Kotla Sultan Singh, a sleepy village near Amritsar in 1924 to a humble family, Rafi’s passion for singing took him to Lahore and then to Bombay and the rest is history. Only a few have been able to touch the dizzying heights of success that he achieved in the field.

Amateur singers in the age group of 10 to 80 years gathered on stage to sing and dance to the tunes of the legendary singer’s soulful melodies. Watching youngsters, middle-aged and octogenarians from diverse backgrounds on one platform to pay tribute to the man whose mellifluous voice ruled the hearts of music lovers across the globe was heartwarming. Hui sham unka khayal aa

gaya (Mere Hamdam Mere Dost) by a middle-aged contender set the ball rolling. Likhe jo khat tujhe (Kanyadan), Baharon phool barsao mera mehboob aaya hai (Suraj), Badan pe sitare lapete huye (Prince), Raahi manava dukh ki chinta kyon satati hai (Dosti), Darde-dil darde-jigar dil mein jagaya aapne (Karz), followed in quick succession, thereafter, to capture the zeitgeist of the golden era of Hindi film music of the ’60s and ’70s.

Though every generation loves the music and songs, it grows up with but one thing can be said with conviction that meaningful lyrics, poise and grace of the songs of yesteryears is sorely missing in most of the albums being churned out nowadays. These days when gun, wine and sleaze have become an integral part of lyrics, watching youngsters hum meaningful lyrics along with their senior counterparts and breathing down their necks to claim the winner’s trophy was a refreshing sight for the audience.

The guest item by a visually impaired girl of 15 who sang, Na koi umang hai na koi tarang hai, left our eyes moist. She got a standing ovation for the outstanding performance. A middle-aged gentleman with generous corpulence dancing with flair while singing Sar jo tera chakraye ya dil dooba jaye aaja pyare paas hamare kahe ghabraye won everyone’s heart to end up with a consolation prize.

An evening spent amid music lovers worked like an elixir for our tired minds and the chance to interact with participants backstage after the event was over was a bonus for the audience. The show’s anchor wrapped up the evening with the lines of music composer Ravinder Jain.

“Ab tak hai jis awaaz ka zamane pe jadu uske mere upar upkaar bade the

Kahna hai Rafi ke liye bada mushkil ke wo insaan bade the ya kalakaar bade the.”