Lata Mangeshkar
Bharat Ratna Latabai Mangeshkar,
who, as a playback singer, enjoys today, a clout, which even
the movie moguls of the country's film industry cannot dream of.Lata Mangeshkar's songs have
captured the hearts and imagination of millions of her admirers around the
world. They have become an inseparable part of the daily lives of Indians -
wherever they may be. Words fail to express the depth and scope of Lata Mangeshkar's genius. Lata Mangeshkar has come to symbolise India
in a way that no one else has, or ever will for years to come. She has charmed
her fans with thousands of songs she has sung as a playback singer in films,
her name was in the Guinness Book of World Records for singing the
maximum number of songs way back in 1974 sung in over 20 different languages.
Perhaps only mother's voice sounds more magical than Lata's.
The name of Lata Mangeshkar
(b.1929) is a byword in Indian semi-classical music. A soprano with over three
octave range, she has an indescribable, unsoiled purity in her voice. It is
delicate, sharp and clear in difficult note patterns. Her rendition is marked
with a rare sense of rhythm and lyrics.
It
was after India’s
losses in the India-China war in 1962 that a young Lata
had sung the song, “Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon, Zara Aankh Me Bhar Lo Pani”. The song, written by Kavi Pradeep, moved the then Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal
Nehru, to tears and he confessed “Beti toone mujhe rula
diya.”It is at this time when the Pakistani Prime
Minister said that he would gladly exchange Lata for Kashmir" such is the aura of Lata
Mangeshkar.
Lata’s reign over the world of playback
singing for female characters has been undisputed over the decades and she has
lent her voice to heroines from Meena Kumari to Sreedevi to Urmila. She has surprised even her fans with the range of
her singing in the film DIL SE with the song "Jiya
Jale" on her turning 70, which was a huge hit
and was recorded in just 40 minutes.
Lata is a legend in her lifetime and undeniably the
best singer India
has ever produced. As renowned Classical singer Ustad
Bade Ghulam Ali Khan said for lata
"Kambakht Galti Se Bhi Kabhi Besura
Nahi Gati". Her
contribution to making music popular throughout India and the world is incalculable
and she has reigned supreme all through the last six decades.
Her family and life
Latabai Mangeshkar was born on
28th September, 1929, at Sikh Mohalla, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India. Her father was Pt.Deenanath Mangeshkar a classical
singer & stage actor, who came from Mangeshi in Goa. He was a classical singer
trained in the colourful Punjabi school of Baba Mushelkar. He owned a drama
troupe which made him pitch his tent in nearly every town - such as Pune, Kolhapur, Satara,
Sangli and Miraj.
Mother:Shudhhamati & their children, four daughters and a son (Lata, Meena,Asha, Usha & Hridaynath) did not
receive a proper schooling However to compensate this shortcoming he gave his
children music lessons early in life. Lata said,
"The foundation of my musical propensities was laid as early as
that". She was referring to the early reposure
to music. They appeared as child artistes and sang on the stage whenever they
were needed.
In 1934, India's first talkie 'Alam-Ara'
was released and along with it came the "Sound invasion" which forced
the cinema companies of Maharashtra
to close down including Deenanth's Balwant Mandal. It was then the
family moved to Sangli - a small trading town. In
1942, Deenath ji died of
heart disease,the youngest Hridaynath
was lying in bed next to his father with tuberculosis of the bones.On the 8th day of Deenanath's
death, Lata only 12, put on make-up to act and sing
in Pahili Mangalagaur, a
Marathi film by Vinayak Rao,
father of Nanda, the well-known actress. She acted in
films till she was 15. Even small roles as extras, because
she had to support her younger siblings.
