#455

       Song:   akele mein woh ghabraate to honge
               mitaake mujhko pachhtaate to honge

       Film:   Beewee (1950)
       Singer: Mohammed Rafi
       Music:  Khaiyyaam
       Lyrics: Vali Saheb
       *ing:   ?

Remembering the legendary Mohammed Rafi on his 19th death anniversary
which passed yesterday (July 31).

I'm confused. Either the year of this song/movie is incorrect, or my
notion that Footpath (1953) was Khaiyyaam's debut is misplaced. Correct
me please, whoever knows better.

Either way, this song would, in my books, be one of the brightest
feathers in the Khaiyyaam's cap, right up along with his other classics
from the golden era (Footpath, Lala Rukh, Shola Aur Shabnam and the
likes).

The song is set in some very restrained, carefully chosen and arranged
notes, mostly in the lower scales - it comes across as a very
matter-of-fact melody, composed with the same minimalist orchestral
patterns that marked a lot of Khaiyyaam's 'ghair-filmi' compositions
(Ghalib's ghazals, Madhukar Rajasthani's bhajans, etc.). Moreover, they
are in complete sync with the contemplative thread in the lyrics:

   hamaari yaad aa jaati to hogii
   achaanak woh tadap jaate to honge
or
   patange apne donon par jalaakar
   hamaari yaad dilwaate to honge

Adorned by no more than a queer, staccato rhythm for the mukhdaa (the
antaraas are almost entirely arid of orchestration) and a reassuring sea
of violins, Rafi triumphantly relies on his peerless vocal magic to
bring out the latent beauty in this song. A very unpretentious and
sincere melody... one of my alltime favorites.