The day started with the obituary messages pouring in the groups on WhatsApp, for the one and only nightingale of India, Bharat Ratna, Lata Mangeshkar, the legendary singer, who was blessed with Goddess Sarasvati gifted voice, which became a house hold name not just in India but globally. In her demise the nation has lost a voice, headlined many channels. Lata Mangeshkar, the cultural icon and a national treasure and her Goddess gifted, once in several centuries, melodious voice will continue to remain immortal and be etched in the golden letters in the history of India. Gulzar, prophetically and befittingly scripted a song for the film Kinara, which was sung by Lata Mangeshkar that read नाम गुम जायेगा, चेहरा ये बदल जायेगा मेरी आवाज़ ही, पहचान है गर याद रहे. So true it is today. The mortal remains of Lata Mangeshkar will soon be confined to the holy fire on the cremation grounds at the Shivaji Park in front of ocean of grieving people but her voice will ever remain immortal. For generations to come she will be remembered through her 30000 plus songs and her melodious voice will get eternally etched in the annals of Indian history and her voice will continue to be heard across the nation for decades to come. The legendary Lata Tai, Lata Didi, as she was fondly referred to, died this morning at the age of 92 years after a prolonged illness at the Breach Candy Hospital, where she was admitted, on January 8 after she was diagnosed with Covid-19 and pneumonia.
Yesterday the medical bulletin of the hospital did sound pessimistic about her medical condition but the statement from Lata Mangeshkar family that she is endearing her treatment and is recovering had created a hope in the hundreds of millions of her fans across the nation and abroad who were all praying for that miracle, which could save her. But then destiny had different plans for her and unfortunately even after recovering from COVID, Lata Didi had
to be put on a ventilator support when her condition worsened on Saturday and
she breathed her last this morning. Leaders and prominent people from across
the nation, cutting across political and other ideological lines, film, theatre
and other fields, have all joined in paying their respect to the legendary
singer and as a befitting tribute, the government has decided to cremate her
with full state honours in Mumbai's Shivaji park and in attendance will be the
honourable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and innumerable other dignitaries,
film personalities and tens of thousands of her admirers, who accompanied her
last journey from her home in Peddar Road to Shivaji Park in Dadar.
The best nostalgic tribute to Lata ji - in our Sainik School group - came from the America settled Madan Kulkarni - our school Buddy - a diehard art and culture aficionado who promotes Indian art and culture in US and has organised unending performances from many of the artists from India. He posted his remembrance of Lata Didi who he had hosted her on her 70th birthday in Chicago. He wrote that he had driven her all through the city of Chicago post her dinner till 3 AM and posted a photograph remembering this incident, which I have shared. Every one of us, the school buddies of Sainik School Bijapur, reminisced listening to her songs in some of the best of films that were shown to us during our school days. She is befittingly described as the nightingale of India, whose mesmerising voice had the power to put to tears the Prime Minister of India late Pandit Nehru, when she sang that soulful melody’ यें मेरे वतन पे लोगों ज़रा आँख में भर लो पानी …. a tribute that she paid to the fallen soldiers who had made that supreme sacrifice in service of our nation during the 1962 China war. This is one song which continues to inspire millions of Indians to be reverential in their respect to the Indian soldiers, and every Independence Day and Republic Day celebrations across the country witness this song being played across the nation, bringing in tears even today. Lata Didi enthralled her listeners with her Sarasvati gifted melodious voice for over seven decades.
The “nightingale of Bollywood" remained the most sought after play back singer, which every top actress wanted her to be their play back singer. From yesteryears heroine, Madhu Bala in the 1940s to Kajol in the 1990s, she sang for all the leading heroines for nearly five decades and her duets with celebrated play back singers like Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and others continue to be played across households in India. She also worked with almost every leading Bollywood director, starting from the legendary Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt to Modern day Mani Ratnam, Karan Johar and others. Tens of thousands of her songs have been sold across the country and she has to her credit singing in 36 languages spanning numerous genres. In my mother tongue – Kannada - she sang for the film Kranti Veer Sangolli Rayanna way back in 1967. Lata Mangeshkar will continue to be an Indian cultural icon and national treasure for generations to come.
The divinity of Lata’s voice can best be seen in the famed story of a letter, which is believed to have been received in the All India Radio office in Delhi from Lahore. The letter written by a Pakistani fan of Lata Didi read ‘India could have Kashmir if they could give Lata Mangeshkar to Pakistan’. There are several such other apocryphal stories of her legions of fans from Pakistan, who were in love with the magic of Lata Mangeshkar’s voice.
Lata Didi was an ardent cricket fan and there are several anecdotal stories which reveal that she often took breaks from recordings to watch Test matches. She was very proud that she owned a signed photograph of Don Bradman. She was all in awe of Sachin Tendulkar with whom she had very close relation and Sachin was in reverence of Lata Didi. She also was very fond of Sunny Gavaskar. It was this admiration that Sachin and Lata Didi had for each other that prompted me to use Lata Mangeshkar and her connect with Cricket, Don Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar to weave a story of how Cricket connects us all Indians, while curating an exhibition Cricket Connects - India - Australia. In the section - The God and the Gods God (Bradman and Sachin) I used the connect that Lata Didi had for the legendary Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar. It is therefore no wonder that the Indian Cricket Team, who had the honour to be always followed and blessed by Lata Didi, is wearing black armbands today, while playing their historic 1000th ODI, to pay their respects to Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar.
Lata Mangeshkar was born in Indore, Madhya Pradesh on 28 September 1929. She was raised in Kolhapur in the family which was grounded in music. Her father, Master Dinanath Mangeshkar, was a musician from Gwalior gharana who ran a drama company that produced Marathi plays. Lata Mangeshkar was the eldest of five children, with her siblings. Her father was her first guru. She was unschooled in the formal sense. In one of her interviews Lata Didi has stated that she went to school only for a day, when she was five. She had taken her younger sister, Asha Mangeshkar (later Asha Bhosle) along with her. However, the school did not allow Asha to attend the school hence Lata decided never to go back to school. She remained home schooled and listen to her father teaching his students and learnt her first music lessons in this indirect way. It was only after her father noticed Lata correcting one of his students that he realised how gifted she was with music that he decided to teach her the nuance of classical music. Most unfortunately, Lata Didi lost her father at a very young age. The untimely death of her father, overnight turned young Lata - the eldest child of the family - to start working at age 14.
In those trying times when Lata was passing through trials and tribulations, she was helped by Master Vinayak, her family’s close friend and owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company, who took care of the family and helped Lata to become an actor and singer. Lata’’s first song was Vasant Joglekar’s Marathi film Kiti Hasaal (1942), although it never saw the light of the day. Lata continued to sing some more songs for some Marathi films and even acted in the films before deciding to move to Mumbai in 1945. In Mumbai too she passed through trying times and could not succeed, She was even rejected by Filmistan Studio citing her voice to be too thin to appeal to the audience. However, her mentor – Haider – was undeterred to proclaim, “Music composers would beg Lata to sing for them.” Haider gave Mangeshkar her first significant break in the film Majboor in 1948 in which Lata tried singing this song in Noor Jehan’s nasal style. This song remained unheralded.
Her first tryst with success came with the song “Aayega aanewala…” which she sang for the film Mahal (1949). This song established her and sealed her supremacy in the Indian film industry for decades to come. This was the time when Radio Ceylon was the leading radio channel which appealed to most Indians. Lata’s song broke all records at Radio Ceylon. There has never been a looking back for her for all of seven decades. All through the day every single channel has been playing Lata Mangeshkar songs which have entertained the nation that we have heard all through our living.
Interestingly despite her Indian grounding, Lata Didi also enjoyed listening to the western music, particularly Mozart and Beethoven. She also loved seeing Hollywood movies, particularly the James Bond films and her favourite James bonds were Sean Connery and Roger Moore. She also loved cars and many of her dogs, which she proudly owned.
Lata Didi had a fan following cutting across party lines and every single leaders of the political party be it Pandit Nehru, Indira Gandhi, the Thackeray Family, Pawar family, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Narendra Modi and innumerable others had the highest regard for Lata Didi. She was a great patriot whose patriotism is seen in her song “ye mere watan pe logo”. She also supported Marathi theatre and films and sang many songs for Marathi films at almost no cost. She also produced some films and it is said that she was too good to be a producer since she was indulgent for every single demand of the stakeholders of her film, which no producer can ever follow. She endeared through difficult times, when play back singers were not recognised and they were even not considered for the Film Fare Award nor was their names included in the credits. She changed all this and ensured that all play back singers are given their dues. She was also the first Indian to perform with the Wren Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, London in 1979.
Lata ji was forthright in expressing her opinion and was not a hypocrite and was not afraid to take sides with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for whom she had highest respect and admiration, which was mutual. There were many in the film industry, media and political leaders who not only did not endorse her admiration for Mr Narendra Modi, but were also critical of her praise for the Prime Minister, but then she never was apologetic nor was a hypocrite, an attribute which is dime a dozen in the industry, particularly when it comes to endorsing any of the leaders who are from the ruling dispensation - BJP party, more particularly Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In her death she has brought together all the warring sections of the political leaders who were seen so very well knit, expressing bonhomie in paying their homage to Lata Didi at the historic Shivaji Park, where her mortal remains will soon be confined to the holy fire.
Lata ji true to the slogans that were continuously chanted all through your final rites, “ jab tak suraj chand rahega, Lata ji aap Amar rahenge”. Rest in peace Lata ji in the heavenly abode which will ever be your home.
Jai Hind
