Lady with the golden voice
By M. L. Dhawan

LATA was born on September 28, 1929. She was the eldest child of Pandit Dinanath Mangeshkar an acknowledged singer and Marathi stage artist. When Lata was seven years old, she played the part of Narad and on that momentous evening in Sholapur, she brought the house down with her acting and singing. The untimely demise of Pandit Dinanath came like a bolt from the blue to the Mangeshkar family. Lata was compelled to act in Marathi and Hindi films between 1943 to 1947 to look after her family.

Ghulam Haider was the first major composer go give Lata a break in 1947. Under his baton, she had rehearsed Badnam na ho jaye mohabbat ka fasana for Shaheed, but at the last moment, the producer of the film remarked that Lata’s voice was too soft for Kamini Kaushal, the heroine of the movie. Ghulam Haider felt offended and declared, "Let me foretell today that this girl will put to shade everyone, including Noor Jehan, and will wipe out all competition." In 1948, Lata blossomed as a singer with such songs as Bedard tere dard ko (Padmnini), Sun lo sajan dil ki baat (Lahore) and Mere liye woh gam-e-intezar chod gaye (Anokha Payar).

Before the recording of the song Andaaz director Mehboob Khan was apprehensive, that a Maharashtrian girl may not be able to sing a Urdu ghazal, but a hush descended in the studio when Lata, sang Udhayja unke sitam. She received a thundering ovation from Mehboob Khan, Naushad, Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor. It was there that Raj Kapoor signed her to sing for Barsaat. The song of Barsaat; specially Hawa mein urta jaye mera lal dupatta malmal ka, were immensely popular. In the same year i.e. 1949, the haunting strains of Aayega aanewala aayega, aayega for Mahal marked the emergence of a voice that was too enchant and enthrall millions of music lovers all over the world. This song was the beginning of Lata’s journey inthe world of music. With this number Lata overtook all her competitors.

Lata’s talent enabled her to sing for a heroine as the heroine would sing herself. Every heroine wanted Lata to sing for her. It goes to her credit that Lata did not let any heroine down while expressing toils, turmoils and tribulations. For example, Lata’s high-pitched lament Alvida, alvida, alvida in Yeh zindagi usi ki hai jo kisi ka hogaya ‘for Bina Rai in’ Anarkali, drove the public into a frenzy. Other numbers of anarkali’s doomed love such as Dua kar gam-e-dil, O aasmanwale shikva hai zindagi ka and Mujhse mat poochh mere ishq mein kya rakha hai, were simply irresistable. Vijanthimala’s seruality was conveyed in Man dole mera tan dole, for Nagin.

Lata have a voice to the sentiment of defiant love in Pyar kiya to darna kiya through Madhubala (Anarkali) in the court of King Akbar in Mughal-e-Azam. The exhilaration of a liberated soul was expressed by Lata in the song Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai from the film Guide Lata gave expression to the coquetry of Mumtaz in Bindya chamke ge churi khanke ge.

She portrayed the engelic innocence of Saira Banu in Ja ja mere bachpan kahin ja ke chhup nadaan; Yara sili sili from the film Lekha express the plight of a soul in torment.

Lata has always considered singing an act of devotion. She always leaves her suppers outside the recording room and people pass by the door of the studio as though it is a doorway to a temple of Goddess Saraswati. She has always upheld the sublimity and sanctity of film music. She never accepts a song with lewd lyrics. She never compromises on this score even if it means losing the assignment. She refused to lend her voice to Aang lag ja balama for Mera Naam Jokar because she felt the lyrics were vulgar.

On the shfiting sands of time, Lata has achieved the impossible by staying at the top for more than five decades. She has lent her voice to about 50,000 songs. Her songs cast a spell on the listener. Lata’s sendition of Tum kiya jano tumhari yaad mein hum kitna roye, Tum na jane kis jahan mein kho gaye, Rote rote guzar gaye raat re, Hui yeh hum se nadani teri mehfil mein aa baithe, Ae ri main to prem diwani mera dard na jane koy, and Duniyan kare sawal to hum kiya jawab den, are scintillating and delight to hear. Jawaharlal Nehru burst into tears when he heard Lata sing Ae mere watan ke logo zara aankh mein bhar lo pani.

Music composers such as Khemchand Prakash, Naushad, C.Ramchandra, Shankar-Jaikishan, S.D. Burman, Salil Choudhary, and Kalyanji-Anandji were able to make the most complex compositions with the confidence that Lata would live up to their expectations and make up for their lapsew with her art. Even Madan Mohan was amazed by the sudden last minute improvisation in the final take of the Lata-Talat duet from Chhote Babu — Teri chamkti aankhon ke aage yeh sitare kuchh bhi nahin — an improvisation that gave the song eternal appeal.

The advice of her father that an artist should remain humble has stayed with her throughout her career. Success has never turned her head or clouded her temperament. She accepted a cheque of Rs 101 by Laxmikant-Pyarelal when they approached her for the first time for an assignment. Lata had a special relationship with Madan Mohan. They met for the first time on raksha Bandhan day. Lata tied a rakhi on his wrist and made him her brother. Lata and Madan created some of the most enduring ghazals in films. Sanjeev Kohli recalls: "I can never forget what Lata did for us when my father Madan Mohan died. She came closer to us than before though she had nothing to gain from us. When my mother died, Lata looked after us. When I got married, she sent invitation cards out in her own name."

When vulgarity and violence started dominating films Lata cut down her singing assignments. Her detractors thought that she was unable to cope with changing taste, trends and tunes. However Lata proved them wrong when she bounced back with melodious and mellifluous numbers in films like Rudali, Maachis, Dil Wale Dulhaniya Leuayenge, Hum Aap Ke Hain Kaun, Maya Memsaab, Dil se etc. Her songs in these films prove that even no no other female singer in the Hindi films industry can match, much less surpass, her mesmerising voice.