-Ninad Senad

“When Lord Krishna ended his incarnation, he left his flute on earth.

That divine flute later was named as Lata Mangeshkar.“

Pt. Bhimsen Joshi

Where the language of the words surrenders out of its inadequateness, the language of the soul comes to fore. Seldom do we get encountered with such situations but at some very soft point, such circumstances occur, where the words seem inadequate. They seem incapable to express the thoughts or feelings to the outer world. This is what has happened with the name Lata Mangeshkar- the nightingale of India. Every word which expresses praise and glory fits her. Yet, no word fits.

India, the country of millions, lost its nightingale Lata Mangeshkar on 6^th February 2022 leaving behind the world of music to mourn the loss which, I think, is impossibly irrecoverable. For some people, Lata Mangeshkar, preferably referred to as ‘Didi’, was an excellent playback singer for light music which soothed the souls of Indians for decades. For some people, she was a singer whose name has been mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recorded artist in the history of the world. Some people know her as the legendary singer who put before the aspiring singers and musicians an inspiration to grow and flourish in the industry.  But for truth, Lata didi was nothing but the golden dream that the world of music saw for itself. For truth, she was an entire institution in herself. For truth, she was the paragon of the pursuit of purity and excellence, which reached the roots of this gigantic country in the form of music and blessed the generations.

Lata didi’s career spanned for more than 6 decades and reached the pinnacle at a very early stage and remained there forever. Lata didi started singing at the age of 9 from whatever she had learned from her father and a classical music maestro, Master Dinanath Mangeshkar. Generally, people talk about the success one achieves but the struggle through which the person passes goes unnoticed. Lata didi’s journey of immense struggle commenced from the day of her father’s sudden demise due to a heart attack. At this unfortunate moment, the age of Lata didi was just 13. The responsibility of the entire family fell onto Lata Didi, she being the eldest sibling. Mangeshkar family had nothing in their hands except the association of their surname with the field of music and drama only and this was identified by Lata Didi at the age of 13 and started performing minor roles in the dramas and films to support her family financially.

In one of her interviews, Lata didi once talked about her acting career which existed during her days of struggle. Lata Didi remarked that she never liked acting and was more fascinated by singing and music. She detested putting on makeup and to act before the cameras focused on her.

Lata Didi’s singing career began when she shifted to Bombay in 1945 when one close associate of her father gave her the chance to sing in the movies. It was an onerous task for Lata Didi to establish herself in the industry and specifically in the arena of singing because, at the time when Lata Didi aspired to become the female playback singer, that time was witnessing the reign of stalwarts such as Suraiya, Noorjehan, Zohra Ambalewali, Shamshad Begum, to name a few. Lata Didi kept working on the songs assigned to her wholeheartedly and got her very first major hit ‘Uthaye Ja Unke Sitam’ from Andaz, 1949. The songs of the film were composed by the Great Naushad, to whom Lata Didi considered her mentor. With this song, Lata Didi arrived in the industry. Then another hit which still is considered as the milestone in Didi’s life and transformed it entirely. The song was ‘Aayega Aanewala’ from the film Mahal, 1949 which starred Ashok Kumar. This song and its success determined the journey of a young and shy Lata towards the Lata Mangeshkar.

No one is unaware of the landmark incident in Didi’s life when she sang ‘Ae mere watan ke logo’ in the presence of Hon’ble Jawaharlal Nehru and how Mr. Nehru’s eyes were full of tears when he listened to the voice of Lata which carried the audacity and sacrifice of the soldiers and urge for the public to remember and cherish it. Pt. Nehru remarked, “he is not the Hindustani who does not get the feeling of inspiration after listening to this creation.”

Then, Lata Didi never turned back and went on singing the songs which enthralled the generations with her sweet and breezing voice. Her voice contained every feeling, every emotion, and every thought that any human experiences alive. Lata Didi delivered countless melodies throughout her entire career. Mere listening to the songs she has sung introduces us to the feeling of pleasure and gratification. Songs such as ‘Ye Raat Ye Chandni’ (Jaal, 1952), Ye zindagi usiki hai (Anarkali, 1953), ‘Barkha bahar aayi’ (Parakh, 1960), ‘Ajeeb dastan hai ye’(Dil Apna Preet Parayi, 1960), Pyaar kiya to darna kya (Mughal-e-azam, 1960), ‘Lag ja Gale’ (Woh Kaun Thi, 1963), Aaj fir jeene ki tamanna (Guide, 1965), ‘Naino Mein Badra Chhaye’ (Mera Saaya, 1966), ‘Kuch dil ne Kaha’ (Anupama, 1966), Kisi Raah me kisi mod par (Mere Humsafar, 1970), Mere naina sawan bhado (Mehbooba, 1976), Meri awaz hi meri pehchan hai (Kinara, 1977) and many such immortal creations which made Lata Didi an emotion or an embodiment of melody that got deeply ingrained in the Indian Consciousness and eventually Lata Didi was bestowed the titles such as ‘Queen of Melody’ and ‘Nightingale of India.’

It was in the year 1974 when Lata Didi’s name was etched on the pages of the Guinness Book for recording more than 30,000 songs in more than 30 languages. No artist on this globe has this record in his/her name. Lata Didi is also called the ‘Queen of Awards’, during her lifetime she received awards and nominations of high prestige. Lata Didi has won 7 Filmfare Awards in total for her various performances. She has been awarded Padma Bhushan (1969), Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1989), Padma Vibhushan (1999), and the most prestigious Bharat Ratna (2001). She was also awarded the Maharashtra Bhushan Award (1997) and she was the first recipient of the Maharashtra Ratna Award (2001). She also received Rajiv Gandhi Award in the year 1997.

In 1985, Canada declared June 9 as Asia Day in honour of her arrival in Toronto. Lata Mangeshkar holds the distinction of being the first Indian artist to perform at the iconic Royal Albert Hall in the year 1974. Every achievement of Lata Didi is an independent topic in itself to be discussed. Every successful song she sang has its own story, if narrated, will unfold several other facets of Lata Didi’s persona, which are sufficient enough to shape the generations aspiring to pursue their careers in the world of music.

Lata Didi is the perfect example of what an artist can be! An artist does not have any religion, caste, or creed. An artist is governed by the religion of art only. It is not very difficult to find such elements who view artists from the lenses filled with divisions and categorizations. Such elements are often seen labelling artists with the factors which those artists even did not consider during their life. We sincerely believe that an artist must be viewed as only the devotee who practices the religion of art, irrespective of his/her ideological and personal affiliations. Lata Didi was such a devotee, who while devoting, became the goddess herself. Lata Didi is the paradigm of what is called success. The name Lata Mangeshkar is synonymous with the concept of success.

But Alas! Lata ji is no longer amongst us. The existence and Non-existence of a person creates a huge difference in many aspects. Writing one article on Lata Mangeshkar is like explaining the beauty of the moon in one sentence. Even though Lata Didi has left, still she is present among us in the disguise of the eternal melodies she has sung. She is alive in every musical note and every musical chord which will be played on the instruments. She will be present for decades and centuries to come!