Gargi Parsai
New Delhi, February 6, 2022
“Just as the fragrance of a flower has no colour, it is a fragrance; the cool breeze and the flowing waters know no boundaries, the rising sun or a child’s innocent laughter have no religion and do not discriminate, so is Lata Mangeshkar’s voice a miracle of nature. It knows no boundaries and flows like the wind and the waters.”
God’s gift to mankind
This was the late actor Dilip Kumar’s eloquent introduction to the nightingale at her first international concert at the famed Royal Albert Hall in London in the 1970s. There could have been no better description of the singer who was regarded by her innumerable admirers across the world as God’s gift to mankind.
And now, the nightingale has flown away. She passed away, aged 92, at a hospital in Mumbai on February 6, 2022, plunging millions of her fans across borders into deep mourning.
https://youtu.be/f7G9iQR5uyU
(Lata’s rendition of ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon’ moved Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to tears)
A die-hard fan, this writer had the privilege of meeting her in Parliament House in 2003 during one of her visits as a member of the Rajya Sabha. She had a quiet dignity, an aura about her. Everybody who saw her bowed in reverence. Many touched her feet.
Normally everything has an expiry date, but not the timeless music of the melody queen of Indian cinema. Even over seven decades after she first burst on the Indian playback music scene, her songs are played in every nook and corner of the country. They feature in every television reality show, be it of music, dance or just a talk show of cine artistes. Much to her chagrin, they even appear as re-mixes to regale the new generation hooked on to jazz, pop and rock music.
For most of her life, the internationally renowned doyen of playback singing remained an enigma, firing the imagination of people who craved to know the face behind the honey-sweet voice that had a song for their every mood and occasion. And when she did appear in person in her live concerts, she remained simple, humble and even shy.
Wide repertoire, versatile situations
Singers who perform on stage normally gyrate to the music or shake a leg to engage audiences. But Lata Mangeshkar, her usual white sari draped around her shoulders, diamonds sparkling in her ears, would stand before the mike, her lips barely moving and yet her powerful, melodious voice held audiences in thrall.
Perfectionist to the core, she would keep her eyes fixed on the lyrics sheet before her while singing but the audiences could not take their eyes off the play of emotions on her face as she gave expression to the wordings, bringing out the soul of the song.
Her flawless diction and versatility to suit the actor on-screen set her apart and miles ahead of others. It is no wonder then that for over seven decades she lent her voice from Nargis, Meena Kumari, Madhubala to Madhuri Dixit, Kajol, Preity Zinta and so many actresses.
It is hard to imagine the repertoire of Madhubala without Lata number ‘Pyar Kiya Toh Darna Kya’ From Mughal-E-Azam or Meena Kumari without ‘Inhi Logon Ne Le Lina Dupatta Mera’ from Pakeezah or Nargis without ‘Rasik Balma’ from Chori Chori or Waheeda Rehman without ‘Piya Tose Naina Lage Re’ from Guide or Mala Sinha without ‘Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha’ from Anpadh or Sadhana without ‘Lag Ja Gale’ from Woh Kaun Thi, or Bina Rai without ‘Jo Wada Kiya Woh Nibhana Padega’ from Taj Mahal.
She recorded a song with A R Rehman in 2006 for the film Rang De Basanti and worked with several new composers but in time would accept only such assignments that would appeal to her senses.
Mastery over languages
Replying to wonderstruck interviewers, Lata often said her voice was a gift of nature, but the manner in which she trained herself (learning about Sur and Riyaz from her singer-performer father, Master Dinanath and about rhythm from Ustad Aman Ali Khan and Amanat Khan Dewaswale), got rid of traces of Marathi accent, mastered the nuances of Urdu diction and learnt Sanskrit to keep the purity of languages in her renditions, was very much her own.
Composers marvelled at her ability to grasp and deliver even better than what they asked. Musicians Laxmikant-Pyarelal often said that for their 1% effort, Lata gave them 100% result.
When after her father’s death, Lata joined the film industry at the tender age of 13 compelled by the need to take care of a large family of four younger siblings and a widowed mother, she already had a grounding in classical music. This helped her get minor roles of a singing actor in films between 1942-1948. In 1949, she got a chance to give playback for big star cast movies like Mahal, Andaz and Badi Behan, after which there was no looking back. Devoting her life to music the diva remained single, living with her siblings in Mumbai.
Noor Jehan’s prophecy
Noor Jehan, one of the reigning singers of the 40s, was introduced to Lata during a film shooting in Kolhapur. Mallika-e-Tarannum, as Noor Jehan came to be known, declared that Lata will go far. She migrated to Pakistan after India’s partition in 1947. When asked about Lata who came to rule the roost in India, Noor Jehan said, “Lata is Lata. There can be no one like her.” The two remained friends till Noor Jehan’s death in 2000.
Indore-born Lata Mangeshkar recorded countless songs in her golden voice and is said to have sung in more than 20 languages. After Hindi, she sang the most in Bengali. She credited music director Anil Biswas with teaching her the nuances of breath control while singing into a mike. There were several others from whom Lata picked up useful hints and that was her USP: she never stopped learning and honing her craft.
Distinguished Hindustani classical vocalist, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, who rendered a soulful background number for the famous feather love scene between Salim (Dilip Kumar) and Anarkali (Madhubala) in Mughal-E-Azam said about Lata Mangeshkar, “Yeh Kabhi besuri nahi hoti. Kya Allah ki den hai! (She never goes out of tune. What a gift of Allah she is!).’’ Poet Javed Akhtar recalls this in an interview.
Of her perfect rendering of songs, Lata would say that she would be so immersed in the lyrics and the feel of the composition that she would lose herself in it. She rehearsed relentlessly before any recording or concert and never resented as many ‘takes’ as it took for a perfect creation. Sometimes, as while singing Naushad composed ‘Mohe Bhool Gaye Sanwariya’ from Baiju Bawra, tears welled up in her eyes, so engrossed would she be.
Her impassioned rendering of ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon’ (penned by Pradeep and composed by C Ramachandra) in 1963 moved to tears the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who was on the dais. “After the war with China, the country’s mood was sombre. After I finished the song, Pandit Nehru complimented me and said you made me cry,” she would recall.
Hard work and perseverance
Though she did have her share of struggles, Lata’s punctuality, discipline, a tremendous capacity for hard work and perseverance went into making her the phenomenon she was.
When she arrived on the film music scene such dedication was neither recognised nor financially rewarded within the industry. This made Lata take up cudgels to make several things right for playback singers, such as their name appearing in a film’s credits (for her first hit song, ‘Ayega Aane Wala’ from Mahal, the HMV record did not carry Lata’s name as the singer), independent recognition of singers for awards (Filmfare initially had no award category for singers) and above all the successful fight for royalty for songs played on public broadcast systems, observed compere Harish Bhimani in his book, ’In Search of Lata Mangeshkar’ published by Indus (1995).
Such was her clout in the industry that over a misunderstanding she did not work for several years with popular composer Sachin Dev Burman who had given hit films like Munimji, Guide, Aradhana, Amar Prem, Abhimaan till a rapprochement was brought about by his talented son, Rahul Dev Burman.
Honours galore
There is no honour that bypassed Lata Mangeshkar. In fact, awards chased her. She was bestowed with Bharat Ratna, the country’s top civil recognition, in 2001, Padma Vibhushan in 1999, Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1989, Maharashtra Bhushan Award in 1987, Padma Bhushan in 1969, France’s Officer of the French Legion of Honour in 2007, three National Awards and numerous state awards.
After winning four Filmfare awards she bowed herself out of the reckoning to give fresh talent a chance. The Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh governments instituted awards in her name. She in turn instituted an award in her father’s name and built a multi-speciality hospital in Pune to honour her parent’s memory.
Lata did experiment with film production and tried her hand at composing songs in Marathi under the pseudonym Anandghan, but her core competence remained playback singing. Her non-film repertoire includes albums of Mirza Ghalib, Hridayanath’s Meera bhajans, shlokas from Gita, Marathi folk songs, assorted religious songs, aartis, patriotic and vernacular songs. So focussed was she was on playback singing that despite popular demand, her forays into the genre of ghazals were few and far between (Saadgi, Sadka, Sarhadein). Eminent classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj observed, “Today the crores who listen to Shashtriya Sangeet (classical music), their beginning is Lata Mangeshkar.”
The diva survived her compatriots – be it Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Hemant Kumar, Talat Mehmood or Mahendra Kapoor – giving a false sense of security to millions of her fans about her immortality. Alas, it was not to be. Indian music has lost its soul.
Gargi Parsai is a senior journalist based in New Delhi. The above article, which appeared on the website of ‘Wire India’ has been reproduced here under a Special Agreement.
