Sunday, February 18, 2001		Article

There is magic in her voice
By M.L. Dhawan

LATA Mangeshkar on whom has been conferred the coveted Bharat Ratna, nation’s highest civilian award for her invaluable contribution in the field of music, was born on September 28, 1929, at Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Though she had musical inclinations right from the time of her childhood, yet she did not start out as a singer. In fact, she began her career as an actress at the age of 13 just to look after her family that had been rendered helpless by the sudden and untimely demise of her father Master Dinanath Mangeshkar.

She used to commute alone at odd hours by the suburban trains to reach the recording studios during the beginning of her career. Lata recorded the first song of her singing career Paon lagoon kar jori for film Aap Ki Sewa Mein in 1947. Once down with high fever, she had to stand in a corner for hours waiting for the legendary composer Ghulam Mohammed to notice her at Malad Studio for recording Bedard tere dard to for film Padmini during the pre-Partition days. To support her family of brother and sisters as a single parent, she used to walk barefoot from one studio to another for miles just to record a single song.

Perhaps it was the pain of blisters that resounded in the song Uthaeja unke sitam aur jiyeja/Youn hi muskraiey ja aansoo piye ja which Lata rendered under the baton of Naushad for the Nargis-Raj Kapoor-Dilip Kumar starrer Andaaz. Young Lata hit the bull’s eye and won a lot of applause and appreciation.After the recording of Andaaz numbers, Raj Kapoor invited Lata to sing songs for Barsaat. The Barsaat numbers were sung by Lata in a tantalising Noorjahan timbre had the girls riled and drove the boys wild. After this, Lata went on to a blaze a lightning trail in film music. In the same year i.e. 1949, Lata recorded Aayega aanewala for Mahal ,under the baton of Khemchand Prakash. A mike was placed in the centre of a big hall and Lata was made to stand in a corner.

As she inched her way to the mike singing the prelude Khamosh hai zamana chup chap hain sitarey... the whole world woke up to listen to the singing sensation that had just arrived on the film music scene whereZohrabai Ambalawali, Amirbai Karnataki, Raj Kumari etc. ruled the roost. For the composers of those days, Lata Mangeshkar was a unique confluence of talent and voice. Lata was the best thing that happened to the Hindi film music in the 50s.

After Andaaz, Barsaat and Mahal, Lata did not look back. The leading ladies started bickering over the choice of their playback singer. Sometimes both the leading heroines wanted Lata Mangeshkar, who was considered as the aural stamp of success. From the very beginning, Lata never failed to inquire about the song situation, the heroine’s name and age of the character she was playing in the film. This enabled Lata to sing for a heroine as the heroine would sing herself.

For Lata, singing has always been a divine worship and she maintains the sublimity and sanctity of film songs. Decent and meaningful lyrics are her first pre-requisite. She never compromises on this score even it means losing out the song. She carries a halo of divinity around her. As she enters a studio to record a song, the atmosphere undergoes a change. In awe, people bend more than required. She leaves her chappals outside the recording room and the people pass by the door of the recording room as though it is a doorway to a temple. Truly, Lata deserves not only compliments but our veneration. Such a devotion and dedication to art is hard to come by. Her devotion is comparable to the severest penance of a sanyasin. It is not as though she always got good lyrics to sing. She is given the same standard of lyrics as others. It is the magic of her vocals that elevates the songs to the pinnacles of grandeur. Listening to her songs, a spell which can better be felt than described. In her case, listening is believing.

Lata gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the stalwart composers who chiselled her voice to perfection. She recalIs how Anil Biswas taught her where to breathe in and breathe out while singing and where to pause. Naushad taught her which notes were to be stressed during singing. It was legendary Sajjad Hussain who taught her how to render alaap in a subdued voice. Lata was a godsend to the composers like C. Ramchandra, Shankar-Jaikishan, Ravi, Khayyam, Vasant Desai, Husanlal Bhagatram, Hafiz Khan, Madan Mohan, Kalyanji-Anandji, Salil Chowdhary, etc. With Lata around there were no limitations placed on their range. She was her vocal artistry that they could explore to most complex reaches of compositions with the confidence that Lata could take all in her stride. That heightened anticipation gave an added edge to the songs they scored. Lata amazed the composers by her sudden last minute improvisions in the final take of her songs — improvisations that gave the songs an eternal appeal. Though Lata had good rapport with all composers, her melody bond with Madan Bhaiyya was extra special — something almost celestially blessed. This special relationship between Lata and Madan Mohan created a treasure trove of evergreen numbers like Preetam meri duniyan mein, un aankhon mein neend kahan jin aankhon se preetam door basen, Jana thha hum se door, Youn hasraton ke daag, Tum bin sawan kaise beeta, Bari barbadina lekar mere jeewan mein pyar aaya, Dukhiyare naina dhoonden piya ko, Hum pyar mein jalne walon ko, Meri veena tum bin roye, Aapki nazron ne samjha, Lag ja gale keh phir yeh haseen raat ho na ho, Mushkil hai jeena, Ruke ruke se kadam’, etc.

Sanjeev Kohli recalls, ‘I can never forget what Lata did for us when my parents died. Lata came closer to us than before though she had nothing to gain from us after the demise of my father Madan Mohan. When I got married she sent the invitation cards out in her own name’. Despite Lata’s kind and considerate nature, rivals have often accused her of manipulating producers and composers to keep competition at bay. Little wonder that rivals and composers who shunned her fell by the way side is a testimony to the difference Lata made.

Lata has given the screen- beauties — from Madhubala to PreityZinta — their voice. Her inimitable voice has permeated the music lovers so much that they look for it in every female singer. Her songs from the times she first sang 58 years back till she sang for Kajol and continues singing for girls who could be her grand-daughters, her bhajans, ghazals, her songs, her ‘alaap’ and her ‘sur’ — take the music lovers to the celestial heights of ecstasy. Lata has shaped, defined and stamped with her indelible identity the form and course of Hindi film music. Lata has sung an estimated 50,000 songs. Ask her to single out her personal favourite ten songs, she reluctantly zeroes in on to Aayega aanewalla, Hawa mein urta jaye mora lal dupatta malmal ka, Pyar kiya to darna kya, Aaj phir jeene ki tammanna hai, Ae mere wattan ke logo, Sawan ka maheena, Bindiya chamke gee, and Didi tera dewar diwana. Man dole Mora tan dole, Yeh zindagi usi ki hai. These are the songs that showcase her formidable vocal skills.

Duets with Lata Mangeshkar were always a healthy competition. Singers like Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mahmood, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, Hemant Kumar etc. were always kept on their feet by Lata. Though these stalwarts matched her singing note for note, yet sometimes Lata would take their breath away. Invariably, she managed either to steal the entire show or made that extra impact. During one of his visits abroad, Talat Mahmud was asked what would have been the fate of Lata if Malika-e-Tarrannum Noorjehan had chosen to remain in India’. ‘Noorjehan would have found the going tough because it was Lata who posed a threat and challenge to Noorjehan and not vice-versa’, Talat Mahmud had replied. Understandably, they did not relish Talat’s answer, but Noorjehan called a spade a spade when she came to India. Noorjehan was asked by a reporter in Bombay, ‘Would it be nice to have three top female singers from Asian countries on the same stage in one concert — Noorjehan from Pakistan, Runa Laila from Bangladesh and Lata Mangeshkar from India’. Noorjehan replied,’ Iam no body, simply a non-entity. But for heaven’s sake, do not take anybody else’s name in the same breath with that of Lata Mangeshkar. Do not insult her. No singer like her has ever been born.

Behind her serene, collected, calm look and awe-inspiring aura of her towering personality hides an impish little girl. Lata’s razor sharp humour is to be seen to be believed. Once a reporter asked her how old she was. Lata promptly replied,’ I am running 71, but you can interchange the digits if you like. Yes, Lata turns 17 when she breaks into a song. There is halo of youthfulness around her. At 71 Lata continues to exude the magic that has made her a legend.

Once Lata heard Mehdi Hassan for the first time in London, she confided in a friend ‘I was moved to tears. This is singing, I said to myself’. Connoisseurs, critics, and music lovers express the same feelings with the same sincerity when a Lata song falls on their ears. How try, only Lata sings and all other female singers ‘sting’.

Lata has been singing for over 58 years. She is singing much less now. Lata is still big, it is the music and the movies that have become smaller. However, the emergence of young composers like A.R. Rehman, Vishal Bhardwaj, Sandeep Chowta etc. interests Lata as these composers design their songs which Lata compositionally deserves and which technically match the present condition of her voice. While singing their songs, Lata is still a magic and miracle. Lata personifies film music. The hearts of millions of music lovers leap on her vocal chords. Eliminate her from the film music, and you end up eliminating music itself. Over the years, the music connoisseurs have been eloquent in describing the singing phenomenon only to realise to their dismay that they have not been able to measure up to her colossal stature. Perhaps, we need a Kavi Kalidas or some one more enlightened — to describe the magic of Lata Mangeshkar. Usually, it is an artiste who follows the art, but in Lata’s case, it is the art that follows her. May she live long!