Singing seventies!

Updated at 12.40 pm, Thursday

As she turns 78, messages and wishes are pouring in for Lata Mangeshkar. But the iconic singer herself is a tad apprehensive about the whirlwind in store for her on Thursday. “I have to attend a public function I’ve been called to, even if for bit,” she says. And where is that? “Aap vahan pahunchenge toh nahin? When the media is present, it becomes difficult to even talk to anyone. Bahut takleef hoti hai,” she says.

Birthday basics

“In fact I never really celebrate my birthday,” she adds politely. “Most times I prefer getting away from Mumbai for a little break.” We’ve heard that she likes holidaying in London, where she also reportedly owns a flat. “Nothing of the sort,” protests Lata. “That flat belongs to a family friend. And my favourite getaway is actually Panhala, about 12 kilometres from Kolhapur. It’s a beautiful fort city built by Shivaji Maharaj and I enjoy spending time there.”

Personal notes

In a reign that has spanned six decades, the celestial beauty of her dulcet voice has overwhelmed even the biggest lyricists and music directors whose compositions it immortalised.  But did singing excite her personally? “It’s not as if I’d get excited about singing for so-and-so music director or film. From the beginning, I always had a professional approach. If I got work, I’d go and sing. There was a time when I used to record seven to eight songs a day. It was a challenge, of course.”

Different tunes

She’s the only playback singer in India to have been awarded the Bharat Ratna, but Lata prefers her non-film bhajans. “I also enjoy listening to Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Fareeda Khanum and MS Subbulakshmi. In Western music, I like Nat King Cole, Harry Belafonte and Barbara Streisand and the symphonies of Beethoven, Mozart and Tchaikovsky. There’s this Arab singer called Ume Khultum who is good too,” she says.

But she laments that new generation of Bollywood talent simply doesn’t last long enough. “But on a personal level, I’m very fond of Alka Yagnik while Sonu Nigam is like a younger brother to me. Udit Narayan is also close to me. But the problem is that everyone is so busy that we hardly get time to meet.”

Home truths

What about reports that she’s planning to move into a new flat? “I’ve been living in my present house for over 50 years. But tell me, is it necessary to continue living there forever? Don’t I have the right to buy another flat in Mumbai? So many people buy a second house and nobody has a problem, but when I do so, a controversy is created. Ye galat baat hai.”

s_saumit@dnaindia.net