I have been
getting a thought from last many months…It’s 01 Apr
2016 and I decided to write it today.
One day
Lata Mangeshkar will not be there with us. How will the billions of her
listeners feel that day ? How to describe that loss ? Can some singer ever come
close to her talent ? Probably never…
Its very
easy to describe the emotions we feel when we listen to her masterpieces. But if
one has to describe her as an artist, what superlatives will one use ? There
are no words to describe her, and the easiest way is to say that she is the epitome
of a singer, an artist who is the incarnation of “Saraswati” the Hindu
goddess of knowledge, music, arts, wisdom and learning.
Lata
Mangeshkar was not born as a “Saraswati”. You can imagine the effort, passion,
dedication and perseverance needed. Her singing career started in 1942 which is
74 years away as of today in 2016. It has taken more than 50 years of focused
practice to attain this incarnation of a Goddess, to attain this Nirvana. Well
this is how one becomes Buddha… Its focused practice for many many years…
As a teenager
I was not able to recognize her voice in the famous songs. Because each song
was sung in a slightly modified voice and intonation, mimed for that particular
artist in the film. E.g. song for a teenager sounds like a bubbly teen, and a song
for a mother has the intonation of a mother’s love and pain, and like the voice
of the artist who mimed this song. This particular quality needed by a playback
artist is unique, and there are very few who are masters of this art. And many understand
this complex art by how Lata Mangeshkar performed it.
Listen to the
confident voice of Lata Mangeshkar singing for Madhubala in the classic
Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya - Mughal-E-Azam - 1960
To improve her diction of Urdu, Lata Mangeshkar took Urdu classes
for many years. This is the quest for perfection which made her the Lata Mangeshkar
we know today. Hear the part when she sings, “Parda nahi jab koi khuda se,
bandon se parda karna kya”. (Means “When its not hidden from God, what’s the
need to hide it from the moral beings…”) Hear and feel the confidence…
And this prayer…Allah Tero Naam - Hum Dono - 1961
And a
romantic song… Suno sajna papihe ne… - Aaye Din Bahaar Ke - 1966
And the super
romantic song of a determined teenager…Tere Mere Beech Mein - Ek Duuje Ke Liye
- 1981
And a mother’s
heart ripping cry… Luka Chuppi - Rang De Basanti - 2010
The
strumming of guitars, Lata Mangeshkar’s voice for a mother and A. R. Rahman, will
melt your heart away…
Yes, one day this legend will be no more with us… I dread that day… India will come to a pause that day…
Like billions
of listeners, I am thankful to Lata Mangeshkar for giving us such songs, which we
are still hearing from last 60 years, and will continue hearing for centuries more…
Mahtab Syed
Adelaide, 01 Apr 2016
