In the world of Indian music, Lata Mangeshkar is so big a star that it comes as a shock to realise that we actually know little about the nightingale of India. For instance, how many know the name of her father? Or which was the first raga she learnt? Yatindra Mishra's book, Lata: Sur-gatha (Vani Prakashan), the winner of the 2016 Swarna Kamal at the National Film Awards, answers all these questions and more. Excerpts:
I spent seven years in a long association with the legendary Lataji and spoke with her not only about her long musical journey, but also about the changing scenario of playback singing in the Hindi film industry. Like teeming billions across the globe, I am an ardent admirer of Lata Mangeshkar's singing. I wanted to write a long, researched account on her life.
Earlier, I had penned a book on thumri singer Girija Devi and an account on Bharatnatyam and Odissi dance exponent Sonal Mansingh. Ever since, I wished to review music in cinema in a literary and serious manner. I am fortunate to have Lataji as my project.
She was very generous and positive about the book proposal. She has known our family for a long time and has seen me grow as a writer from Girija to Hamsafar. She read my two compilations on Gulzar and Sur ki Baradari on Ustad Bismillah Khan, and felt that it would be nice to see me write the book. As it was a musical journey, she was not apprehensive about speaking of her private life.
I was trying to explore her image as an artist. So whatever mundane details crept in were in the course of the conversation, and they were made a part of the book to add a humane touch and also for comic relief. And we are continually talking about the greatest love of her life, to which she has dedicated her life—music.
The gap exists because people, writers and readers alike, try to undermine an artist for her human shortcomings instead of glorifying her artistic achievements. I am fortunate that my publisher, Arun Maheshwari, never pushed me to talk about Lataji's private life to make this book for sensational reasons.