Voice Eternal

There are few things argumentative Indians agree wholeheartedly with. That Lata Mangeshkar is India’s premier singer is one of them.

True, there are dissenters: many feel she is no longer what she used to be. Others say there are and have been singers as good, if not better. Still others pooh-pooh film music and put it far below classical music. None of these criticisms detracts, however, from the fact that Lata Mangeshkar has given voice to our hopes, aspirations, loves, losses, and every conceivable mood of the human condition. She has done so for generations and she has done it with aplomb and grace.

We have woken up to her songs — Jaago mohan pyare — and gone to sleep with them — Dheere se aaja re akkhiyan mei. We have loved and lost a million times, cried with her, and gone into a romantic swoon with her. She is the one we turn to when we want to get maudlin, and then she cheers us with a hummable song that stays in our heads the whole day.

Her story is well known: coming from a musical family, brought up in relative poverty, singing at an early age to support her family after her father died; making it big after years of struggle, and then, gradually, consolidating her position as India’s premier singer. She has sung thousands of songs, the estimates go up to 30,000, but there is no real count.

We love her not merely for her voice, her omnipresence, or her longevity, though those are important. For us, Lata Mangeshkar is much more than that; she represents a simplicity and dignity that is uniquely from this soil and imbued with a sense of Indianness.

She dresses simply in a sari (usually white), with little more than a few discreet bits of jewellery. She keeps a low profile, staying away from the world of glamour that is all around her. She has had her share of quarrels and controversies, but they have never got ugly or cheap. It is this grace that has endeared her to us even more.

Lata’s pan-Indianness is also gauged from the fact that she has sung in almost every language as if it were her own. Stung by a remark that her Urdu was shaky, she worked hard on her pronunciation, winning over even her critics. But while being rooted in the Indian ethos, she has loved Western classical and pop music.

As a professional she has fought for the rights of singers. She demanded and got royalties for singers when her contemporaries were satisfied with the fee they got. She has now been heard complaining that the frequent use of her songs on new media have brought her — and her colleagues — nothing, which she finds unfair.

Lata Mangeshkar has been with us ever since India became independent. She began singing before 1947 and has been singing ever since. There were doubters who had then claimed that she got her chance because Noorjehan left for Pakistan. But forgive them, they know not what they say. Noorjehan, while undoubtedly a great singer, had serious limitations and, sooner or later, Lata Mangeshkar would have risen to the top on her own steam. Talent — and, in this case, a divine gift — cannot be hidden for long. Now, of course, she is an icon, a national treasure and a ratna who belongs to all of us. She is the soul and voice of India.

‘I’m glad to have her as a friend’

I didn't know Lataji well in the initial phase of my career. I had heard she was a snob, so I was wary. But one incident changed my opinion. Soon after the 1971 war, many actors and singers travelled to the border area of Bangladesh. I was put up with Nargis and Lataji was staying in the adjacent room with Mala [Sinha]. Our bathrooms didn't have water and we knew that Lataji's did. Both of us hadn't taken a bath for two days, but we were scared to ask her.

Finally, when I asked, she was extremely polite and let me in. Midway through my bath, the water stopped. Lataji quickly got the jawans to bring two buckets of water and carried them herself to the bathroom. After we came back, she invited all of us, including Sunil [Dutt], for dinner. Since then, we are friends, though I am not in constant touch with her.  I met her recently a few months back and it seemed like there has been no time gap. God bless her!
-Waheeda Rehman
 As told to Shubha Shetty-Saha

‘I am awestruck by her talent’
We have worked together for 50 years and I am still awestruck by her talent. She is not a singer, she is a legend. She first sang for my debut film, Dhool Ka Phool. The lori she sang, Tu mere pyaar ka phool hai… still touches me. I don't think any singer in the world could last so long. She still has the same passion in her singing that she did when she started. When she came to sing for my film Veer-Zara, she broke down while singing Tere liye hum hain. She remembered Madanji (Madan Mohan) who had composed the song 35 years ago and couldn't stop crying.

Every song, about 50 of them, she has sung for me has been sung with her heart and soul. She objected to singing certain songs which she thought were not decent. A singer should be given that freedom. I hope she continues singing for many more years to come.
- Yash Chopra
 As told to Shubha Shetty-Saha

‘She is Saraswati ka vardan for us’
Whatever we are is because of her. She is beyond praise. We wait for her birthday throughout the year, but she doesn't meet anyone on her birthday. I look up to her. She is Saraswati ka vardan for us. She is going to be 80 now and we hope that she lives a healthy and long life.

Though she has achieved so much in life, she has never thrown her weight around. Her nature is such that she continues to help people, advise them, and talk to them with love. I send her flowers on her birthday and take her advice whenever I want to.
-Pyarelal
 As told to Chhaya Toshniwal

‘Lataji always thinks of others’
Lataji has been like a member of our family and we respect her immensely. To me, she is Didi. I am always moved by the affection she has for our family. I recall vividly the first time I met her. It was at a souvenir shop in Geneva. I deliberately lingered on in the shop until she spoke to a salesperson, just to hear her voice. Little did I know that it would be the beginning of a family relationship.

Our entertainment business, HMV Saregama, has had ties with Lataji since 1946. Her life has been about exploring innumerable possibilities with music as a medium and about inspiring the common man. It is an honour for us to continue to partner with Lataji during her distinguished career as the Nightingale of India.

Recently, I invited her to spend an evening with us at a small gathering. She had severe pain in her knee. Nevertheless, she came. That's Lataji; always doing things for others. 
-Harsh Goenka
As told to Riddhi Doshi