Lata Mangeshkar tribute

by Vidhi Salla

In February 2022, I was commissioned by NCPA’s On Stage magazine with this prestigious task to write a tribute on India’s singing legend Lata Mangeshkar who passed away on February 6, 2022 at the age of 92. Here’s the complete article as it appeared in the March 2022 issue of the magazine.

The Icon and Her Voice

Photo credit: Dhiraj Chawda

Rarely in human history has an artiste been born whose name is adequate to summarise the greatness of their art. With the passing of Lata Mangeshkar, one can only feel grateful for having been alive during the era of the singing legend.

Written by: Vidhi Salla

While Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar breathed her last on 6th February 2022 at the age of 92, Lata Mangeshkar, the omnipresent entity, continues to have an indelible presence in millions of lives around the world. After her passing, the Government of India declared a two-day national mourning. Public holidays in several states came into effect immediately. The Indian flag was hoisted at half mast at major government buildings and the Maharashtra government declared a state funeral for the legendary singer. Judicial proceedings were suspended at the Bombay High Court and the Reserve Bank of India postponed its interest-rate review by a day to mourn her loss. Along with India, the world too grieved her demise. A prayer meeting was held in Pakistan. Bollywood fans in China expressed grief at the loss of the songstress whose voice they had heard through privately hosted “salons” of Indian music and culture. The singer’s legacy was celebrated with a picture of her on a billboard in New York City’s Times Square by Michelin-star chef Vikas Khanna’s Indian Cultural Center, Binder. Mangeshkar was a national treasure and her passing has brought an end to the era of music that began with her.

DEVOTION AND DEFIANCE

Mangeshkar’s voice had an impact on listeners of every calibre, nationality and age. India’s first Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was moved to tears at her rendition of ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon’. Stalwart of Hindustani classical music, Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan stopped everything when he happened to hear her voice on the radio singing, ‘Yeh Zindagi Usi Ki Hai’ and remarked, “Kambakht kabhi besuri hi nahi hoti! Kya Allah ki den hai!” (The darn girl never hits a false note! What a gift of god!) Mangeshkar was showered with countless accolades throughout her life, but she most cherished the love she received from people. “If I were to live a thousand years, I could not repay the gratitude I feel. People have showered me with love and prayers… To receive love is the greatest thing. What more in life could you wish for?” she had said in an interview. Behind the ace vocalist, though, was a personality that was quietly amboyant, curious and forever learning.

Mangeshkar’s meteoric rise began in the 1950s as the voice of the female Mangeshkar’s meteoric rise began in the 1950s as the voice of the female protagonist in Hindi film music and continued for seven decades straight. Actor Jaya Bachchan once remarked, “A heroine doesn’t feel like a heroine in a Bollywood film if Lataji hasn’t sung for her.” Mangeshkar’s father and her first guru, Marathi theatre actor Deenanath Mangeshkar, taught her to consider music as an act of devotion. She treated the recording and performance space as a temple and always took off her footwear while entering a studio or the stage. Even when she performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London during the winter of 1974, she wore socks but removed her chappals before stepping on the stage.

But Mangeshkar’s is not a story only of quiet devotion. She was also the spark behind a crucial revolution. Hindi playback singing, as we know it today, began with her. In the early 1940s, playback singers had no recognition or credit on the album of the lm. The 78 rpm of the song, ‘Aayega Aanewala’ from the lm Mahal (1949), sung by Mangeshkar was initially credited to Kamini, the name of Madhubala’s character in the lm. The song gained such popularity that radio stations were inundated with calls from listeners demanding the name of the singer. It was the rst time that Mangeshkar’s name was announced on the radio. She had to ght with producers to credit singers on record labels, but after the ‘Aayega Aanewala’ incident, it became the norm. Apart from creating a name for herself as a playback singer, Mangeshkar also fought for royalty rights for singers and instigated the creation of a separate category of Filmfare awards for best playback singer.

THE PROCESS OF A GENIUS

Mangeshkar had a meticulous method of her own for assimilating the lyrics, tune and situation of a song. If you come across videos and pictures of her during song rehearsals, she is often seen taking notes like a diligent student. She rst wrote the entire song in the Devanagari script in her notebook and marked words that she would lay special emphasis on while singing. She was able to grasp the tune of the song in one or two listening sessions, which, all composers agreed, was virtuosic. She understood the nuances of the lyrics and always sang as if the song were tailor-made for the actress lip-syncing to it. Perhaps it had to do with her early but brief acting career.

In the book Lata Mangeshkar in Her Own Voice by Nasreen Munni Kabir, she has said, “Anilda (Anil Biswas) taught me when to inhale and exhale. So when I sing, people can’t tell when I take a breath. Ghulam Haider Sahib advised me to make sure I sing every word clearly…And if the word happens to fall on a beat, it must be emphasised a little in order to ‘lift’ the song. I have picked up other things from various composers but the advice of Anilda and Ghulam Haider Sahib has stayed with me.” Mangeshkar sang with an honesty that was palpable. In the words of poet and lyricist Gulzar, “There is no make-believe in her personality…that is why we believe every word she sings. If she sings of a moonlit night, a moonlit night it is.” Despite such perfection, she desisted from listening to her recorded songs lest she found errors in her singing.

TIMELESS CLASSICS

Every generation of Bollywood listeners has its own memories of Mangeshkar songs. And, astonishingly, every decade of Mangeshkar’s career is characterised by a different avour of her singing. When she started out in the 1940s, Mangeshkar sang with a nasal twang to emulate the then superstar singer Noor Jehan. The 1950s saw a development of her own style. That was also the decade when she won her rst Filmfare award for ‘Aaja Re Pardesi’ from Madhumati (1958). The golden era of Bollywood music, the 1960s and the 70s, has Mangeshkar written all over it—she collaborated with the who’s who of Bollywood and was the quintessential voice of the lead heroine in almost every lm. Among other projects, the 80s saw Mangeshkar sing for Khayyam’s ethereal compositions in Razia Sultan (1983). The melodic revival in the late 80s and 90s had added to her discography the sweetest songs from films like Maine Pyaar Kiya (1989), Chandni (1989), Henna (1991), Lamhe (1991), Hum Aapke Hain Koun..! (1994) and Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995). The 2000s was characterised by two pivotal events: her collaboration with A. R. Rahman and her rendition of Madan Mohan’s compositions for Veer Zaara (2004).

All superlative statements made in praise of Mangeshkar’s art are not exaggerations but futile attempts to explain in words the “Lata phenomenon”. After her passing, fans continue to celebrate her legacy in the most creative ways. Radio stations in the country have been playing her songs like never before. Her videos continue to be circulated over social media and WhatsApp messages. My father proudly displays a Lata Mangeshkar wallpaper on his phone as a constant reminder of the voice that lulls him to sleep every night. People of a remote village in Maharashtra commemorated her passing with evening singing sessions of her bhajans. Fans in Kolkata gathered at Rabindra Sarobar for an early morning, open- air concert dedicated to her songs.

Mangeshkar once said in an interview, “Moksha is a beautiful fantasy. I have always asked God that if possible, he should not give me birth again. My music will nally free me from the game of birth and death. I’ve got the songs, that is my God.”

What Lata Mangeshkar loved

  • She loved photography and often carried her Rollei ex camera on her travels and to studio recordings taking pictures of musicians in session
  • Among Hollywood lms, she loved the James Bond franchise the most
  • She was a big fan of the detective novels of Sherlock Holmes and owned a copy of every single one of them
  • On her travels to the U.S., she loved playing on slot machines in Las Vegas. In her own words, “It [Vegas] is an exciting city. I really enjoyed playing the slot machines. I never played roulette or cards – but I used to spend the whole night at a slot machine. I was very lucky and won many times.”
  • She was a die-hard cricket fan and often took breaks from recordings to go to stadiums and watch Test matches with her family
  • Her favourite lm was The King and I (1956) starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. She watched the lm 15-16 times and would run to Mumbai’s New Empire Cinema to catch the matinee show after her recordings

Note: This article was published in the March 2022 edition of NCPA’s On Stage magazine