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Friday, April 1, 2016

A tribute to the best singer India has ever had – Lata Mangeshkar

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 soulful gazal…Jaane Kya Baat Hai Neend Nahi Aati Badi.. - Sunny - 1984



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