Oct 30, 2006 09:29 PM
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(Updated Oct 30, 2006 09:32 PM)
Her voice glides across barriers of time, creed and country retaining its golden hue as the years waft by leaving other singers breathless and earthbound. Her career graph is a saga of guts ‘n’ glory, of vanquishing insurmountable odds, of becoming a coalescent force, of single handedly fashioning the course of Indian playback singing. Lata Mangeshkar is truly a once in a lifetime phenomenon who has become a quotidian part of every Indian The much emulated but never equaled voice symbolizes the spirit of the nation. For more than half a century the queen of melody has rendered countless immortal gems that have enthralled millions. Whether in the sacrosanct Royal Albert hall in London or inside the dark confines of Shanmukhananda auditorium the effect is same - ‘Pure Magic’.
The secret of Lata’s genius lies in the unflinching devotion to music that she inherited from her father master Dinanath Mangeshkar. However his sudden demise in April 1942 came as a rude shock to the entire family. Lata who was barely 13 years became the family’s sole breadwinner as she was the eldest child. Starting off as an apprentice with Prafulla Pictures she did bit roles in films like Gajabhau and Maaze Baal. Seven demanding years ensued traveling by local trains, auditioning for music directors, accepting rejections and all the time furiously honing that awesome voice classically trained by her father. The narcissim and cold glamour of the tinsel world made Lata wiser about show business. Adversity steeled the teenager’s resolve to chart out her own path in life and to success. Hindi film music was coming into its own in the mid 1940’s with doyens like Khemchand Prakash, Anil Biswas, Master Ghulam Haider, Shyam Sunder, Husanlal Bhagatram and Naushad wielding the musical baton.
Though Lata’s maiden song in Hindi films was ‘Paa lagu kar jori’ ( Aap Ke Seva Mein / 1947 ) composed by Datta Davjekar the composition that caught everyone’s fancy was ‘Dil mera thoda’ from Majboor ( 1948 ) taught by the mercurial Master Ghulam Haider during a train journey to Malad, the suburban headquarters of Bombay Talkies. However the following year was a watershed year in her illustrious career with three phenomenal hits that catapulted her to stardom. With the haunting ‘Aayega aanewala’ ( Mahal ), the melancholic ‘Uthaye ja unke sitam’ ( Andaaz ) and the efferversant ‘ Jiya beqarar hai ’ ( Barsaat ) Lata Mangeshkar arrived with a bang. The reigning queens of playback singing like Zohrabhai, Amirbhai Karnataki, Rajkumari, Parul Ghosh, Khursheed, suriya and Noorjehan were left breathless by the sudden tornado that out-raced them.
A major factor in Lata’s success was the remarkable resilience in her voice. She could mould it to suit a wide range of actress ( from Madhubala to Madhuri Dixit ) and composers like ( from Anil Biswas to A R Rehman ) with consummate ease and convey a gamut of emotions. Though the golden age ( 40’s & 50’s ) of hindi film music gradually elapsed, Lata continued to the rule the roost and the recording rooms through the 60’s and 70’s with sister Asha Bhosle as her only conceivable rival. Post mid 80’s she gradually reduced her assignments considerably. But she continued to make an impact with chartbusters like Dil Toh Pagal Hai, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Veer Zara. However melodious a song maybe but when a virtuoso like Lata Mangeshkar renders it the listeners are instantly transported to a different world. Lataji you are not only the nation’s pride you are the voice of India.
