Rafi and his ten co-singers

R Parthasarathy | 17th Feb 2024

Partha is no stranger to the R4 (Revive & Rediscover Retro Radio) community and his love for HFM (Hindi Film Songs) is well known. Equally well known is his special Masala Chai, which he serves regularly, at times even coming to a venue only to serve the tea. He was the CEO of Agarwal classes in Dadar, Mumbai for close to four decades and his "Professor-on-the-Campus" looks and presentations are a joy to listen. 

Partha showcased Rafi, who happens to be his favorite singer, and his songs sung with other co-singers. He chose 10 different co-singers for his 10 songs and dished out some interesting stats on the number of songs of these singers with Rafi. His big contemporaries were there obviously. So were some songs with lesser heard co-singers.

Partha took some time to introduce the audience to his family circles and other incidents in his life which he shared for the first time with the R4 audience. His mother was a singer and a Veena vadhak , aunt an AIR certified artiste and his uncle a Carnatic Music Vidhwan from whom the likes of Parveen Sultana and K J Yesudas sought advice. In fact, his uncle had predicted the success of Yesudas very early in Yesudas's career. Partha mentioned that regretfully his uncle was not a commercially inclined artiste and never bothered to monetize his performances even to the extent of refusing to record for HMV despite their pressure on several occasions. Thanks to his heritage, Partha imbibed the "Pakkad" on Sur aur Taal but none in his family carried forward this musical tradition. Partha, however, might have redeemed himself with his stage singing performances.

His chosen songs of Rafi with his big contemporaries had a mix of Popular and lesser heard ones. 

• For Mukesh he chose "Saat Ajube Iss Duniya Mein" from "Dharam Veer" a nice endearing number from the 70s when arguably both singers were beyond their best singing years. Partha mentioned about how Rafisaab was very close to Mukesh and apparently, he went out of his way to clear the mortal remain of Mukesh from the Customs when it was brought back from the US (where he passed away) 
• For Kishore Kumar it was "Sa Re Ga Ma" from "Chupke Chupke" a popular fun and frolic song from the 70s when Rafi had already bequeathed the top male singer position to Kishore. The stories of their rivalry were largely the creation of the media according to Partha and we tend to agree. 
• For Lata Mangeshkar, Partha picked up a beauty and a lesser heard one. The number of duets of these two are enormous both in quality and quantity and choosing just one would have been a humungous task. His song - "Phool Hai Baharon Ka" from the film "Jigri Dost" was reserved for the finale and it swept the audiences of their feet. A breezy "running" number (Jeetu, Mumtaz and Poonam Sinha are literally running all through the song). A strong testimonial of LP's prowess during the decade of the 60s to create long lasting melodies. 
• For Asha Bhosle, Partha again chose an out of the routine (though a quintessentially OP Nayyar composition) - "Gora Rang Chunariya Kaali" from the film "Howrah Bridge" . A Punjabi Bhangra flavored orchestration encourages one to get on the floor and swing to the rhythm. 
• For Geeta Dutt, Partha played safe with on the beaten track song "Are Na Na Na Na Tauba" from the film "Aar Paar".  I personally wish he had gone for a lesser heard gem of which there are many of the two mentioned singers. 
• With Manna Dey, Partha made an interesting choice   "Ae Dost Mere Maine Duniya" from the film "Sachaai" . A film which was towards the end of the careers of both Shammi Kapoor and, arguably, his favorite composer duo of SJ. A wonderful take on life from two sides of ethical code 

Beyond these mainstream singers, Partha also showcased 4 other singers' songs with Rafi. 

• Shamshad Begum - "O Gaadiwale Gaadi Dheere" from the film "Mother India". A rustic song from Naushad and both singers deliver with aplomb.
• Balbir - "Yeh Maana Meri Jaan" from the film "Hanste Zakhm". 
• Usha Mangeshkar - "Oonchi Oonchi Baaton Se" from the film "Mr. Natwarlal"
• Suman Kalyanpur -"Ajhun Na Aaye Baalma" from the film "Sanjh Aur Savera"

All in all, an enjoyable one hour where Partha interspersed several stories from his life to explain his love for Films and film songs some of which I mention below. 

• He used to listen to Binaca Geet Mala in the local train on his way back from work on his small transistor. He was, for this reason, the favorite of his co-travelers.
• He was a "Google Guide" to which film was playing in which theatre in the days before the internet. 
• He would always watch First Day First show and review the films for the members of his society along with samosas.
• He got the opportunity to review the film "Karz" four days before the actual release due to the preview show that he got to attend. 
• Despite being a devout fan of Rafi, he never managed to listen to him singing on stage. He however managed to visit Rafi's room in his house, an opportunity he cherishes the most. 
• He started singing on stage only late in his life and the best compliment he has received was when he was told that had he started singing early in his career he would have become a big singer. 

The Biggest tribute that Team Nostalgiaana received from Partha was that his joining this forum has changed his life and given a new meaning to Music appreciation.