Indore, the cradle that gave Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar to India

If the journey of music in India were to be mapped, Indore would be its most popular milestone.

The city was home to iconic artists, Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar, who immortalised Bollywood with their distinctive singing styles. Lata was born in Sikh Mohalla in 1929. A Raymond’s showroom now stands tall in place of her aunt’s house where she was delivered, 80 years ago.

Indore, at that time, was dominated by Marathi culture. So, Lata grew up in a Marathi environment. She would cycle her way to Naulakha Garden where the Indore Zoo was built.

Lata used to frequently visit Indore to meet her aunt and cousin Malti. She had a strong fetish for dal bafala —  the famous cuisine of the Malwa region. Every time she visited the city, her cousins would get dal bafala from the finest shop in their locality. 

Unlike Lata, Kishore Kumar aka Abhas Kumar Kunjilal Ganguly, was born in a lawyer’s family on August 4, 1929, at Khandwa, around 150km from Indore.

Kishore had this habit of wearing shorts to the Indore Christian College where he completed his graduation. In his free time, Kishore would throw up impromptu acts of singing and mimicry under a tree in the college campus.

He carried his unmistakable trait of wearing a pair of shorts and a smile from his college days in Indore to the reel life. Kishore started his career as an actor in the movie Shikari (1946). He made his debut as a singer with Marne ki duayen kyon mangu for the film Ziddi (1948). Unfortunately, the legend could never return to his birth place after climbing the peak of his career.

— As told to Shruti Marwaha