Charukesi-a rare raga belonging to Canatik( South Indian Music) style beautifully invested in Bollywood film music

Dear Friends !
my to days pick is "Charukesi ' arare Raga belonging to the Karnatic music style that has been intelligently invested in Bollywood  music by the music composers.They projected a different facet of the raga adding new colours.
Charukesi is ar aga that combines both Hindusthani and Karnatic notes i.e the 1st part of it's Arohan(ascending notes)i.e Sa-re ga-ma have been derived from Rag ; Bilaval ,which haas been considered  to be a  North Indian Rag and the second part of Avarohana i.e pa-dha-ni derived form Todi raga belonging to South Indian music style.
    The only classical composition available in Karnatic classical music is Tyagaraja's ''Aada modi gladaa Raamayya'' this song has been aptly composed in Rag; Charukesi since the situation of the song is the meeting between Rama,a north Inidan and Hanuman,a south Indian.

  As far as my memory goes, this Raga has been  1st used by the music composer duo Lakshmikant pyarelaal for Rajshree productions movie ''Dosti''.They have composed a pathos song rendered by Rafi which was an ever green melody.
      It is a coincidence that again  for the same Rajshri productions the music director Ravindara jain
has composed a hanting melody ''Shayam tere bansi'' for the film ''Geet gaataa chal''

 The composer duo Shankar -Jaikishan  used this raga for  composinga pathos song composed for the film Aarjoo.

 Another bollywood hit song  composed in Rag is from the film'' Raz'' rendered by Md.rafi and also by lataji

  The  Telugu song which I like most is a film song composed for ''Sirisampadalu'' by Master Venu.

Remebering Rafi

                                                 

Mohammed Rafi has been dead for more than three decades now,Even  as I record on paper this seemingly simple,incontrovertible and irreversible decision of fate ,a sense of incredulity sizes me.The heart wnts to scoff at the what the mind knows.Just wait some resolution of thisimpasse will emerge,it says.But of course there won’t.Though many singers attempt to imitate Rafi,the likes of Mohammed Rafi are not easy to emulate.What made him the artist he was? What did he have that forced maestros like Shyam Sundar,Firoz Nizami,Naushad Ali,Saijad,Husnalal Bhagat ram,S.D.Burman,Shankar-JaiKishan,Khatyyam,O.P.Nayyar,Madan Mohan,Roshan,etc to not only take notice of him,but to sign him to sing a large number their compositions? What was the secret of his universal appeal to listeners of all levels and grades of musical perception? How did he manage to reach a position of preeminence amongst his professional contemporaries?

 These are the questions that come to my mind ,rather than the statistical queries concerning his first film,the number of songs he has sung, the  number of languages he sang in,the number of awards he bagged, whether he was given the due credit in the Guinnes s Book of World Rcords or not,etc. For an artiste should not be judged by numbers,but by art,quality and aesthetics.l

    Rafi was an extremely versatile singer.He `was at ease while singing any type of composition,regardless of it’s range or complexity.Be it a classical music(oh1duniyake rakh wale,Madhuban mein Radhika anbhiyan sang) thumris ( Ajahuna aaye baalmaa,Aye na baalam,Gori tere nainwa),folk songs(Tan trang lo ji aaj man ranglo,Holay Holay ghoonghat pat khole,nain lad jaihen,ramayya vastaavayya,ajab tori duniya) ,bhajans (duniya  na bhaye mohe,aanaa hai to aa,jai Raghunandan Jai siya RamMujhe to shivashankar mil gaye)muslim devotional songs(parvaddigar-e –alam,) geet or nazm (Suhaani raat dhal chuki,abhi na jaao chodkar,O mere shah-e-khubaan,Mai ye sochkar tere dar se) ghzals( tere hooch se armaaon ki ,kisiki yaad main duniyako,Teri julphonse,Zindagibhar bhoolegi,Husn wale teraa jawaab nahin)lullabies( mai gaaun tum sojaavo,,)Patritic songs (vatank raah mein,jah daal daalkar,Pyarki raah dikaha duniy mein)tragic songs (toote huye khwabone,Yaad na aye beete dinoki,Tukde hai mere dilke) Romantic songs (Aazaare aajaraah,Aa gale lagjaa)light music (sar jo tere chakraye,aidil hai mushkil hai jeena yahan)s low paced songs( Lagta nahin hai dil mera,Baabul ki duaan pei,Na kisiki aankhaka nor hoon,) fast songs (,kahi koyi mujhe jungle kahe,aaaaj kal ere mere payaar mein,Ai  aisa mauka phir kahan milegaa,Nache man mora mogan) low paced songs( Lagta nahin hai dil mera,Baabul ki duaan pei maikisiki aankhaka nor hoon)low paced songs0songs for children(Chakke pe chakka,chun chun kart aaye chidiyaan,remama remama er) taar saptak songs (Main apne aap se ghar gaya hoon,Zindabaad zindaa baad) Quawwali-s( Meri tasweer lekar kyaa karoge,Ye ishq ishq hai,hai mere dushman dushman,Phir tumhaari yaad aayi,Jis pyaar mein ye haal lo) and God knows what else,Md.Rafi was a complete master of the medium.

      It may be recollected that Sur-singar Samsad's award commitee picked Naushad1s

Naushad ........stood by the classical tradition

Naushad  Ali  will be remembered as the man who, throughout his career ,unflinchingly stood by the music he believed in-Indian classical  and folk. In the very early years it was easy enough ,when he had several like minded cotemporaries. But decades later ,when melody and poetry were thrown away with yesterday’s left 0vers  and many of the veterans desperately tried to change with the times ,Naushad refused to swerve from his stand. He quit and the film industry lost for all practical purposes The music director who had given ir such classical scores as Rattan,Baiju Bawra and Mughal-e-Azam .

  A lover of music from childhood for which sin ,he had to face his father’s wrath and leave home.Naushad moved solely on the strength of his talent, from pavements to the palaces of Mumbai.But he never for got his roots nor his culture and its folk and classical manifestations.Helped by the exquisite poetry of Shakeel,Naushad produced melodies which had the Indian musical tradition s their essence. His almost high-handed dismissal of Western influences and his over emphasis on classical music won him many critics who found his stand un reasonable. But to day in the era of A.R.Rahman and others does it really sem so?May be Naushad might have known better than his critics.