You guys have done an amazing job. All of you have picked the singers best numbers paying tribute to this great singer. Hence whatever I write will be repetitious.
Allow me friends, to go my own way. Let me pick some songs that are not so common. Maybe someday you are lucky and you can hear them too and revel in the magic of Rafi’s voice.
*Tera Husn Mana baree cheez hai
Mera Dil bhee akhir koi cheez hai
Could have been one of his first ever songs. His voice has that freshness about it which I found missing in his later songs. Dont know what film was that.
*Is dil ke tukre hazar hue
Koi yahan gira koi wahan gira
One that catapulted Rafi to greatness early in his career.
*Hai bas ke har ik unke ishare main nishan aur,
karte hain mohabbat to guzarta hain ghuman aur
Ghulam Mohammed composed this song for Mirza Ghalib. Its Ghalib’s poetry. Terse, but beautiful. Look at this:
Tum sheher main ho to hamen kya gham, jab uthenge,
Le ayenge bazar se jaa kar dil-o-jaan aur!
Hain aur bhee duniya main sukhanwar bahut achhey
Kehte hain hain ke Ghalib ka hai andaaz-e-bayan aur .
*Khoya Khoya chand khula aasmaan,
Aankhon main saree raat jayegi
Tumko bhee kaise neend ayegi
Stuff that memories are made of. Dev Anand and his famous gait. And that moon shining from behind the clouds says it all. Its magic, folks.
*Sau bar janam lenge, sau baar fana honge
Ai jane wafa phir bhee, hum tum na judaa honge
We used to sing this song in the back alleys of a misty chilly wintry Delhi on our past midnight jaunts with a bunch of die hard romantic pals.
Tasveer banataa hoon teri khoon-e-jigar se
Dekha hai tujhe mainen mohabbat kee nazar se.
Sawan teri zulfon se ghata maang ke laaya, hai maang ke laya,
Bijle ne churayee hai tarap teri nazar se, tarap teri nazar se .
Thats another of his soft lilting numbers .
I was specially fond of these songs .
Teri zulfon se judai to nahin maangi theee
Quaid maangee thee, rihai to nahin maangee thee.
and
Jab Pyar kisi se hota hai, to dard sa dil main hota hai
Tum ek hasin ho lakhon main, bhala pa ke tumhen koi khota hai.
Ehsaan tera hoga mujh par, dil chahta hai jo kehne do,
Mujhe tum se mohabbat ho gayee hai, mujhe palakon ke chaon main rehne do
I find this Janglee song very romantic. Its absolute surrender in love. Its the time when a lovers ego simply melts away, like a wax candle melts under scorching fire. Its love. I find its music and Rafi’s voice superb. Like his older numbers from Pyasa and Barsaat kee Raat.
Goes without saying that his other songs that you have already mentioned are his best ever. Songs from barsaat Kee Raat, Chaudhavin Ka chaand, Pyaasa, Kagaz Ke phool, Dosti, Kala Pani, Kala Bazar, Phir wohi dil laya hoon, Kaajal, Do Badan, Shabab, Aan, Kashmir Ki Kali and some later ones too.
I must include some of his non film songs as well. That our new generation might have missed out. Records are just not avalable and radio does not stop playing remixes.
He sang some great Hindi Geets. Mostly written by Madhukar Rajasthani. What surprises me that despite being a Punjabi his hindi accent was superb and will please any purist. Look at these songs
*Tum aao rum jhum kartee, payal kee jhankar liye
Nain bichaye baitha koi, phoolon bharee bahar liye.
And some hindi Bhajans too, like
*Tere Bharose re nand lala, koi ro ro baat nihare.
Paon paroon tore shyam, Brij main laut chalo.
And ghazals like
Kitni rahat hai dil toot jaane ke baad
Zindagi se mile maut aane ka baad
Talkhi-e-mae bhee zara talkhi-e-dil main gholen,
Aur kuch der yahan baith len, pee len, ro len.
Ghazab kiya tere vaade pe aitbar kiya
Tamaam raat quamayat ka intezzar kiya