A precious soul we lost this year, Lata Mangeshkar was born on 28 September,1929 as Hema Mangeshkar. Her father, classical singer and artist, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar started teaching her music at a very young age. At the age of just 5 she participated in plays written by her dad. She was later named “Lata” after a character in her father’s play called “Lalita”. Her siblings Meena, Asha, Usha, and Hridaynath are now accomplished musicians. She was the eldest of the bunch. In the year 1942 Lata’s family had to face misfortune. Her father Deenanath Mangeshkar gave in to a heart disease leaving behind a young family. Lata was just 13 at the time, but being the eldest, had to start working in order to support her family.
Lata started her musical journey much before the Indian independence in 1941 at the age of 12. On December 16 with her parent’s blessings, she got the opportunity to sing 2 songs for the radio. After her father’s death, Vinayak Damodar Karnataki, the owner of the movie company ‘Navyug Chitrapat’ and a close friend of the Mangeshkars took care of Lata’s singing and acting career. Between 1942 and 1948 she acted in 8 Marathi – Hindi films in order to aid her family. She made her debut as a playback singer in the Marathi film Kiti Hasaal (1942), but sadly the song was edited out. In 1945 she moved to Mumbai and took Hindustani classical music lessons from Ustad Aman Ali Khan of Bhindibazaar Gharana. Lata and her sister Asha played a small role in Vinayak’s first Hindi movie, Badi Maa(1945). In that movie Lata sang a bhajan called, “Maata Tere Charnon Mein”. After Vinayak Karnataki’s death in 1948, Lata was mentored by Ghulam Haider as a singer. Lata considered him as her Godfather. He gave Lata her first breakthrough film hit with the song, “Dil Mera Toda O Mujhe Kahi Ka Na Chhoda” in the movie Majboor(1948).
One of her major song hits was, “Aayega Aanewaala” from the movie Mahal(1949) and “Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya” from Mughal-e-Azam(1960). Since 1960 Lata Mangeshkar got in contact with famous music directors such as her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar. She sang duets with singing legends such as Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Mohammed Rafi, etc. On 27 January, 1963 during the Sino-Indian war, Lata sang “Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo” in presence of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Prime Minister of India. The song was said to bring tears in his eyes. She won a national film award for Best Female Playback Singer in 1973 for the song “Beeti Na Bitai” from Parichay. She had her very first concert held at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1974. She was the first Indian to have an overseas concert. In 1990 Lata Mangeshkar launched her own production house for Hindi movies which produced the movie ‘Lekin’. In 2004 she sang her last full album for the movie ‘Veer-Zaara’. Her last song ‘Saugandh Mujhe Is Mitti Ki’ was recorded in 2019 as a tribute to the Indian army and nation.
As we read through the life story of Lata Mangeshkar, we can picture the hardships in her life. It is like a lesson for the young generation that legends are not made within a day’s time but with hard work and perseverance. Lata recorded songs in over thirty-six Indian languages and a few in foreign languages, too. She received many awards and honours throughout her life. In 1989, the Dada Saheb Phalke Award was bequeathed on her by the Government. In 2001 she was awarded the Bharat Ratna, which is one of the greatest award of honour one can receive in India. She is the only female singer to have received this award after M.S. Subbulakshmi. She was awarded the highest civilian award, National Order of the Legion of Honour by France, in 2007. She even appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records in 1991 for the most recorded artist between 1948-87, estimated to have recorded over 30,000 songs.
Lata Mangeshkar was one of the most loved and greastest singer of all time. All of her songs are timeless and splendid. People of all generations and countries enjoy her songs. Her songs always strike a chord in people’s hearts. Her songs and existence have inspired endless people. She always had a big heart and had made various donations for charity. She was also known among many, as Lata Didi, Nightingale of India and Queen of Melody. On January 8, 2022 she was taken to the intensive care unit after testing positive for COVID-19. She was being treated for pneumonia and COVID-19 at the hospital and was kept on a ventilator. Her symptoms were mild but she was kept in the ICU because of her old age. For the next couple of weeks she showed signs of improvement however on 5 February her health degraded and she was put on a ventilator. On February 6, 2022 she was declared dead from multiple organ failures at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. She died at the age of 92. There was a two day period of mourning announced along with the national flag fly at half-mast from 6 to 7 February throughout India. Maharashtra government declared a non-working day. The whole of India expressed their grief for her. She will always stay in our hearts or should I say, in our ears as a beautiful melody. My salute to such a great legend.
By: Samaria Trevor Miranda
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