A Nightingales tale
“Chewing gum keeps the throat
supple”, says Lataji. She always keep a handful of them with her...She eats a lot of chillies to keep her voice
sweet...Well, these are just some interesting snippets about Lataji,Indias
legendary singer.Lata
Mangeshkar has been a biographer’s delight. Chronological detailing about her illustrious music career she made up with her mellisonant
voice runs into volumes. She has plenty to say about her musical career
spanning from the 40s to the present, interesting anecdotes, and facts about
the musical maestros she has worked with .All these provide insights into the glorious years of Indian
film music.
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| With family |
The “incomparable” Haider, as Lataji
terms him, gave her the first break with the song”DIL MERA TODA” in the
film Majboor. She recalls that in her early days she was inexperienced and
nervous and consequently sang out of tune. But Haider patiently encouraged her.
The memories of Gulam Haider composing
the song by beating the rhythm on the cigarette tin with a stick, while waiting
for the local train at Malad remains fresh in Latajis memory..Haider was
ecstatic on the discovery of Lataji, a thin frail figure, with a shrill voice
when compared to the other singers. But through the mike her voice had a
magical charm.
Soon the duo gave another hit number”bedard
tere dard ne” in Padmini. Lataji
with her sister had to wait overnight at the studio while Haider composed the
tune .Lataji says,” in those days we had to record every song twice, one for
the film and one for the disc “. This song was chosen by Lataji as her all time
favourite in her collection of songs namely “my favourites”
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| with Sri Anil Biswas |
As per Haiders predictions Latajis
beguiling dulcet voice was soon accepted by the connoisseur and the common man
with applause. Among the music directors whom Lataji was the favoured was Anil
Biswas (b1914-d2003)who was for her a “multifaceted genius. She reveres him as an exponent of classical and folk music. From him she
learned to breathe without breaking the Taal or laya. Correct pronunciation and
clarity was of utmost importance to him. Lataji even took Urdu lessons to
correct her Maharashtrian accent.
“Aayega aanewala “ ,a
haunting melody from ‘Mahal’ was a trendsetter and proved to be a turning point
in the careers of Lataji and Madhubala on whom the song was picturised.
Musician Khemchand Prakash (1907-50)was for Lataji “an angel amongst men”. A
cultured and affable man, for him music was an art and not a business. The song
is yet another favourite of her. As the heroine was to advance from a distance,
Lataji had to give a modulated voice which had to advance with the heroine .For
want of technical gadgets so common
today; Lataji was placed on one corner of the large studio and asked to
approach the mike slowly singing the song...” There were no dubbing or editing
devices in those days .We had to sing the song in one go”, says Lataji.
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| Naushad Saab |
Lataji owes most of her raga based
melodies to Naushad saab. She recalls him as being a perfectionist, a true musician who had made
music his life. This made him work on a composition for long, till the lyrics
and tune were moulded to to his satisfaction.He had indepth knowledge of the technical
aspects of editing and recording .He was an innovator who combined western
instruments like clarinet with flute and mandolin with Sitar.No other voice
could have epitomised the pain in rebellious love as effectively as Lataji in
The song “pyar kiya to darna kya…”, from Mugal E azam composed my
Naushad. It is said that during the recording of Naushads song " na milta gham " she was not
satisfied with a particular line.She went on rehearsing it for so long that she
fainted with exhaustion.
C.Ramachandra, ( 1918-1982),who also sang a number of songs
under the name'Chitalkar' a name not very familiar to today’s youth ,is for
Lataji “the soul of variety”.She
remembers him as an ‘antithesis “of Naushad as he did not believe in too many
improvisations. Lataji recorded some hit compositions like” dheere se
aaja re”in Albela,, "Na maaro najariya ke baan
"in pehli jalak which are her personal favourites.Owing to some
differences she stopped working with him for a while.It took one historical
song to bury their hatchet.On the eve of commemoration of the heroes of the
Indo China war, Lataji insisted on singing the song ‘ae mere watan ke
logon’ composed by C.Ramachandra. The song has gone into the annals of
history as it reportedly made Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru cry.But in a recent
interview Lataji was quite amused when she revealed that media had gone on a
frenzied exaggeration over the matter. After the rendition Nehru had summoned
her to him and had merely said that “daughter ,you made me cry”.Lataji, with
mischief in her voice says that after the incident she had noticed that every
time she went on stage with this song one or two prominent figures of the
society ,would unabashedly cry, listening to her.
The high pitched and intricate song “kahin
deep jale kahi dil” composed by Hemant Kumar 1920-1989), was recorded soon after Lataji had recovered
from prolonged ill health. Doctors had passed the verdict that she may not be
able to sing.But with gentle prodding and encouragement from her colleagues she
went on to record the song hitherto with apprehensions. It turned out to be a
huge success winning her accolades and awards. Hemantji had recorded her voice
while she was rehearsing and took it as the final recording.
Madan
Mohan (b1924-d1975)and Lataji made a divine pair in the history of Hindi film
music. They shared a comraderie that went beyond their field of work.O.P Nayyar
may have not used her voice for his songs but he once commented…”I do not know
whether Madan Mohan was made for Lata or Lata was made for him.Whatever it
is,there has never been a musician like him and never a singer like her.”
Lataji remembers the incident when the evergreen song “aapki nazroane
samja “from Anpadh was being recorded. One of the musicians in the
orchestra was not coming upto Madanji expectations, inspite of repeated
rehearsals. He flared up, broke the glass partition of the orchestral enclave
and accused the musician of treachery to his art. “This commitment is lacking
nowadays”, sighs Lataji. Another interesting story is that Madanji had composed
this lilting melody while going up the elevator of his residence.
Musicians had once called for a strike
to paralyse all recording activity.S.D Burman on hearing this exclaimed
"as long as there is Lata ,I am safe" .Though they had discords with each other
Lataji had recorded hit songs in films like Sazaa and Devdas and the evergreen
bajan "Allah tero naam" for S.D Burman.R.D Burman has done only
handful songs with her. A memorable one among them being “bahon me chale
aao…” from Anamika which was shot at night. Lataji had to sing in
hushed tones to allude to the silence of the night.
Kishore kumar,R.D Burman &lataji
Lataji has tales to tell about generations
of music composers like Roshan and his son Rakesh Roshan, sons of Chitragupt
Anand - Milind, Anu Malik son of Sardar mallik… She has lent voice to a mother
and daughter viz Shobana Samarth, Tanuja
and her daughter Kajol., Nazeera Banu and her daughter SairaBanu etc to name a few.The names of some composers
would have faded into oblivion if not for Latagis magical voice.Composers like
Narendra Sharma lives through his song ‘jyoti kalash chalke e”
just like Ramlal through the song Pang hothi tho ud jathire..”.In
fact Pank udi in Boopala raaga had tested Latajis knowledge of the swaras due to its high octaves.but then who else
could have done full justice to what the composer had envisioned for she can sing in three octaves,a feat which
cannot be accomplished by many.None other can celebrate the emotions portrayed
on the celluloid as Lataji. We remember the erstwhile actress Kamlesh Kumari
and the music director Jamal Sen as we listen to the song “sapna ban
saajan aaye”.Jaya Bachan has rightly said that “her voice defined
feminine beauty”
Not many know that she has composed songs
for a few Marathi movies under the name "Anandghan". She won many awards for those songs composed
in anonimity which compelled her to revaeal her identity."Anandghan is a small corner in my long journey
through the world of music",says Lataji
Royalty of the songs was a hot issue even in
those times.Lataji and Mohd Rafi were personally not on good terms due to their
opposite views about royalty even when they recorded hit songs like
"tasveer ter e dil mein " in Maya(1961) , "ni sultana re"
and "zindagi bar nahin"
in baarsaat ki raat etc
.She refused to sing duets with Rafi . It was after a few years that under S.D
Burmans initiation a reconciliation was
made and they sang the duet " Dil pukare " in Jewel theif.
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| Latajis tribute to Mukesh Saab |
Lata Mangeshkar has the honour of
being the first Indian to perform at the most coveted venue' The Royal Albert
Hall' in 1974 for three consecutive days
to a full house.
Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
Later she had her second
performance with the famous Wren orchestra..Rave reviews in the media named her
"the pint sized bundle of musical genius".The International music
company EMI London has presented her with the Gold disc for recording the most
number of songs in 1974.
Of late Lataji has often spoken with
regret about the sad state of Indian music. Most of the composers are aping the
west. “Hit songs are made even now. But the difference is that the hit songs of those days are heard, sung and
discussed even now, whereas the hit songs of today do not live for more than a
year, and then are forgotten.”
Lataji came in as a breeze of fresh air
and conquered the world as a storm. From
then on Musicians did not have to compromise with their tunes to suit the
limitations of the singers voice.Here was a singer whose quality of voice and
range was exquisite and had a versatility that surpassed the imagination of the
directors.Music lovers all over the world had to bow before her.Noted play back
singer Nitin Mukesh remembers the day when they had to peform in Guyana, West
Indies.They alighted from the plane to face a sea of fans most of them locals
who did not understand Hindi, but loved her songs. There was a constant shower
of petals and people were literally weeping and shouting 'Laatta! Laatta!' in
their West Indian accent till they reached the hotel.
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Any Ode to this nightingale, is just an an offering of flowers at the
feet of a goddess of music. “There are only one moon, one sun and one Lataji”
says Javed Aktar.There is so much to be said about her that words do not
suffice. Such is her aura that a Pakistani Prime minister once said that he
would gladly exchange Lata for Kashmir.Lata Mangeshkar has transcended the barriers of
language, time and countries to be immortalized in our minds…
A recent video of a frail looking Lataji purportedly singing her last recording touched me to the core.Hope and wish God almighty gives her peace of mind and good health for days to come.
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