Shayad phir iss janam mein mulakat ho na ho… Lag jaa gale… Lata Mangeshkar crooned in her buttery soft voice in the film Woh Kaun Thi? (1964). 58 years later, this song hauntingly comes back as one watches the singing legend’s mortal remains being carried into Shivaji Park grounds in Dadar, Mumbai. A pall of gloom descended over the country – India had just lost its most iconic voice, Lata Mangeshkar, at 92.
Lata Mangeshkar was cremated with full state honors on Sunday, February 6, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar and NCP chief Sharad Pawar, among others. Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan rushed to Lata Mangeshkar’s residence to pay homage. Shah Rukh Khan, Sachin Tendulkar, Ranbir Kapoor, Javed Akhtar and more gathered to offer prayers at the cremation ground. A pall of gloom descended over the country – India had just lost its most iconic voice, Lata Mangeshkar, at 92.
Memories flood our consciousness. Each one had an anecdote to share, intrinsic to their lives in their own respective way. To some, Lata Mangeshkar was Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon, a song that famously moved Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to tears. For others, it was Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai from the film Kinara (1977). For many, Luka Chuppi Bahut Hui from Rang De Basanti (2006) was how they dealt with the loss of a loved one, in the case of the writer, a parent. Lata Mangeshkar’s voice was the lullaby India went to sleep with, and the alaap it woke up to.
How will you remember Lata Mangeshkar? Pay your tributes here.
Once, in a conversation with Pandit Jasraj, Bade Ghulam Ali Khan had said, “kabhi besuri nahin hoti, kya Allah ki den hai.” They were listening to Lata Mangeshkar’s Ye Zindagi Usi Ki Hai from Anarkali (1953). For several generations of movie connoisseurs in India and abroad, ye zindagi, sachh, unhi ki hai.
Beyond her voice that held the nation in a spell, was a person with the kindest heart. Gulzar Sahab says on India Today Television, “Other than being a legendary singer, she (Lata Mangeshkar) was also a very kind and generous human being. We made a film together, and I told her you are too generous as a producer. She used to bring gifts for everyone on The last one that she sent me was again a Gautama Buddha statue and that was just six months ago,” adding, “There are no words to describe what I am feeling right now. The voice of the century went quiet.” And one could sense a knot forming in his throat as he spoke.
Still beyond et al, who knew that Lata Mangeshkar was setting a benchmark for fellow singers in the industry? Not just by setting the bar high, but by ensuring the voices behind each and every song that drives the cinema industry were getting their due. It has been said that when Lata Mangeshkar started her career, she used to get paid Rs 500 for every recorded song. Eventually, she earned Rs 20,000, and then Rs 50,000 per song. In a star-driven industry that hails faces in front of the camera, Lata Mangeshkar set a benchmark for other singers to follow. She even encouraged her fellow singers to ask their due.
In an interview with India Today magazine, filmmaker Basu Bhattacharya had said, “The story of Lata Mangeshkar reads like a powerful feminist script.”
“It [Lata Mangeshkar’s life] has indeed all the ingredients of a feminist plotthe single woman’s search for identity in a male-dominated society, her eventual triumph and dramatic turn of future,” Sumit Mitra had written for India Today magazine in February 1981.
And as we listen to Lata Didi’s songs on loop today, perhaps this is also something we must remember.
ALSO READ | Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon: How Lata Mangeshkar’s voice became the silver lining amid war clouds
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