Random Thoughts on Lata Mangeshkarji
Born in 1929 she was the eldest child whose father ran a theatre company. When she was five she took the name Lata and took music lessons from her father. Losing her father when she was 13 she took upon herself the responsibility of giving support to her family. She started her career in 1942 by singing in a Marathi Movie though that song did not see light of the day. In Aapki Sewa movie she lent her voice. In 1949 she came to be recognised as a singer. Musical journey had its share of ups and downs and she was not deterred by setbacks that came. Her vocal cords were strong enough to give magical touch to any song she committed to sing. A woman of versatile talent she traversed the musical journey with endless dedication. Pandit Nehru the first Prime Minister of Independent India was moved to tears when she sung Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo in New Delhi in 1962 in the wake of India's debacle in the war with China.
She regaled the audience the world over. In 1974 she was the first Indian singer to perform at Royal Albert Hall in London.
She would converse with her followers all through day and night thanks to songs sung by her at different point of time. Her enthusiasm never ebbed and her followers running into millions were in awe of her for the gifted voice she had. She sung songs for Hindi Actresses that included Sadhana, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Mumtaz, Sharmila Tagore, Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, Smita Patil, Rekha, Rakhee, Padmini Kolhapure, Jaya Prada, Madhuri Dikshit, Kajol, Aishwarya Rai and others.
She would continue to inspire millions across world and for generations after generations she has cemented a fabric of friendship thanks to her 30,000 plus songs sung in over 20 Indian languages. Her creative inputs have left an indelible imprint essayed in over five decade music journey. One can still recall that four versions of the song Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham were sung by her in a single day. We took the cassette of that movie when we went to Tirumala in December 2001-January 2002. Some years ago she had gifted Idol of Sai to Sachin Tendulkar and that moment is etched in our memory.
Though Lataji is not amidst us, one can say with confidence that her musical odyssey would guide the aspiring singers and make the musical world a wonder of sorts. Even after new crop of singers surfaced she was unrattled as she had carved a niche for herself which would be inspiration of sorts. Musical adherents please note there was only one Lataji and would continue to be one and one only to carry on the musical conversations for generations ahead.
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