{"id":7495,"date":"2016-07-14T13:10:54","date_gmt":"2016-07-14T07:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=7495"},"modified":"2016-07-14T13:10:54","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T07:40:54","slug":"lata-mangeshkar-indian-singer-rip-death-indian-music-obituary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=7495","title":{"rendered":"How I grew up with Lata Mangeshkar\u2019s voice"},"content":{"rendered":"\nE<\/span>very family has stories they remember in good times and bad. A funny incident involving a loved one, a road trip gone awry, a prank that backfired, or some memorable tidbits keeping you company as you graduate through life.\u00a0 In my family, an oft-repeated story is how once the\u00a0Goonj Uthi Shehnai<\/em>\u00a0(1959) audio cassette was playing and my elder sister, then a toddler, confounded by the voice emerging out of this curious-looking box walked up to it and pressed the record button accidentally.\n\n

My Lata connection would always be bound by home and nostalgia, and a story about that Lata song my sister once interrupted.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nLata Mangeshkar\u2019s melancholic \u201cDil ka khilona haye toot gaya, koi lootera aake\u2026\u201d was interrupted and my sister\u2019s little voice, all panicky and confused, got recorded as she called our grandma for help. This episode became an endearing memory for the family and slips into our conversations frequently. This was perhaps how I was introduced to Lata Mangeshkar before becoming aware of her ubiquitous presence and influence on India.\n\nOne of Hindi cinema\u2019s greatest and longest performing artists Mangeshkar is among the select few legendary figures considered synonymous with the industry and, as the popular opinion goes, beyond comparison and reproach. Like many people of their generation, my parents, too, enjoyed listening to old Hindi film songs. The radio would almost always be tuned to Vividh Bharti \u2013 the glorious repository of Hindi film music \u2013 or else the tape recorder would be playing tracks from my mother\u2019s impressive collection of Hindi classics.\n\n

Mangeshkar is among the few legendary figures considered synonymous with the music industry and, as the popular opinion goes, beyond comparison and reproach.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nSome of my faint preschool day memories are of Anarkali<\/em>\u2019s (1953)\u00a0\u201cYeh zindagi ussi ki hai,\u201d\u00a0Baharon Ke Sapne’s (1967 )\u00a0\u201cAaja piya,\u201d\u00a0and\u00a0Baiju Bawra<\/em>\u2019s (1952)\u00a0\u201cBachpan ki mohabbat\u201d being played repeatedly at home. Though I didn\u2019t quite understand these songs, they sounded pleasant and the singer\u2019s voice extremely melodious. The catchy tunes of \u201cMann dole\u201d (Nagin<\/em>, \u201854) and \u201cBichhua\u201d (Madhumati<\/em>, \u201858), and the playfulness of \u201cIchak daana\u201d (Shree<\/em> 420, \u201855) were more up my alley. It was here among these evergreen hits that I got unwittingly drawn into the ever-expanding world of Lata songs, a world I am still discovering. A world built on melodies of all kinds and for all moods \u2013 romantic, tragic, philosophical, patriotic, and devotional; with a dulcet voice working like a charm on any leading lady who lip-synced the lyrics.\n\n

It was among her evergreen hits that I got unwittingly drawn into the ever-expanding world of Lata songs, a world I am still discovering.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nGiven the pervasiveness of Hindi film music in the Indian way of life, artists like Lata, Rafi, and Kishore became constant companions. At home, in neighbourhood shops, bus stops, family functions and festivals \u2014 the familiar voices playing in the backdrop as one went on about life. Many of her colleagues passed away. Some faded. But Lata marched on, her music adapting to the next generation. It became easy to understand the meaning of the words \u2018Lata ji ki anmol aawaaz\u2019 that fans swore by. In the early \u201890s, it was impossible to attend a wedding without hearing \u201cMere haathon mein nau nau chooriyan\u201d (Chandni<\/em>, 1989) or \u201cSun sahiba sun\u201d (Ram Teri Ganga Maili<\/em>, 1985) playing on full blast or for that matter escape Lata and SP Balasubrahmanyam\u2019s massively popular romantic duets from\u00a0Maine Pyar Kiya<\/em>\u00a0(1989).\n\n

Many of her colleagues passed away. Some faded. But Lata marched on, her music adapting to the next generation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nEven as one got introduced to the Anuradha Paudwal-Alka Yagnik-Sadhana Sargam era of Bollywood music, the grand dame was still capable of belting out roaring successes like Hum Aapke Hain Koun<\/em>\u00a0(1994),\u00a0Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge\u00a0<\/em>(1995), and\u00a0Dil To Pagal Hai\u00a0<\/em>(1997). Though she was less active than she was in previous decades, when a song demanded gravitas, filmmakers would rely on Lata. For instance, in the 1992 super hit\u00a0Khuda Gawah<\/em>, the only female solo number \u201cTu mujhe qubool\u201d is performed by her. It is an emotionally-charged song in which a daughter confronts her father for not acknowledging her existence.\n\nWhen I first watched the picturisation of Guide<\/em>\u2019s (1965) \u201cAaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai,\u201d I couldn\u2019t believe it was a Lata song. It begins with an empowering declaration \u201cKaaton se kheench ke yeh aanchal\/ Tod ke bandhan baandhe paayal,\u201d and Lata\u2019s superlative rendition melds into Waheeda Rehman\u2019s exhilarating embrace of life and liberty, blurring the lines of playback singer and onscreen performer. Similarly, if you listen to the exquisite, calming \u201cAye dil-e-nadan\u201d (Razia Sultan<\/em>, 1983) and then move to a straight-up frothy \u201cI\u2019m very very sorry,\u201d (Chaand Kaa Tukdaa<\/em>, 1994) you may be amazed by the range of this songstress who sang for generations of film stars without getting jaded or limited.\n\n

In all these years of listening to old Hindi songs and reading up about them, it\u2019s not surprising that all admirers of such songs share the same sentiments about their go-to Lata songs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nFor years, I have resorted to listening to Mera Saaya<\/em>\u2019s (1966) \u201cNainon mein badra chhaaye\u201d every time I am looking for a breather. A magnificent sitar prelude with a santoor and tabla interplay followed by Lata\u2019s faint echoing voice, calling from a distance like an old memory, is an ethereal experience. Recently, I came across a lovely\u00a0tweet<\/a>\u00a0about some listeners\u2019 heartening association with another Lata classic,\u00a0Anupama<\/em>\u2019s (1966) \u201cDheere dheere machal.\u201d In all these years of listening to old Hindi songs and reading up comments about them on YouTube, blog posts, and social media, it\u2019s not surprising that all admirers of such songs share the same sentiments about their go-to Lata song(s). Some find succour in\u00a0“Lag jaa gale” (Woh Kaun Thi<\/em>, 1964),\u00a0some relate to\u00a0“Kuch dil ne kaha” (again\u00a0Anupama<\/em>),\u00a0 and some have found “Ajeeb dastaan”\u00a0(Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai<\/em>, 1960) meaningful.\n\n

Lata\u2019s music has transcended borders, given people across generations something to bond over, and felt so personal and permanent.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nLata\u2019s music has transcended borders, given people across generations something to bond over, and felt so personal and permanent. The singer\u2019s politics, however, has always underwhelmed. In an industry built primarily on syncretic beliefs, Lata has cultivated several deep and meaningful associations with secular and progressive artists like Dilip Kumar, Nargis, Yash Chopra and is universally known for her professionalism. Yet her inclination to support a certain kind of ideology only undermines these associations. She is often criticised for not using her influence as a cultural icon \u2013 bestowed with the highest national honour, the Bharat Ratna \u2013 to speak truth to power or furthering social consciousness. \u201cI am a singer, not a speaker,\u201d she once said<\/a>\u00a0when she was describing her unfruitful term as a Member of the Rajya Sabha. That said, seldom has an artist command an aura of such permanence, that bouts of doubt and revaluation are rendered inconsequential. To me, my Lata connection would always be bound by home and nostalgia, of old cassettes, a tape recorder that no longer works, and a story about that Lata song my sister interrupted.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My Lata Mangeshkar connection would always be bound by home and nostalgia. I didn\u2019t immediately take to her, and though her politics hasn\u2019t always appealed to me ,her stature, her longevity and ultimately her legacy can neither be doubted nor denied<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":291,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[107],"tags":[26,2438,2469,11560,9588,11561,4062,6177,356,11562],"class_list":["post-7495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pov","tag-cinema","tag-indian-cinema","tag-indian-music","tag-indian-singer","tag-lata-mangeshkar","tag-lata-mangeshkar-death","tag-memorial","tag-obituary","tag-rip","tag-rip-lata-mangeshkar"],"yoast_head":"\nHow I grew up with Lata Mangeshkar\u2019s voice<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"My Lata Mangeshkar connection would always be bound by home and nostalgia. 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