The immortal Nightingale of India
The Nightingale of India finally left for her heavenly abode leaving thousands of her songs in over 36 languages behind her everlasting legacy. No one knows exactly how many songs she had sung. The Guinness Book of World Records was confused about the number of her recordings though once it was published, amended later and deleted finally.
By September this year, she would have turned 93 years, a precious long life that regaled three generations, excited legendary leaders of India and sang spontaneously for the spirit of the nation.
It was on 27th January 1963, Lata Mangeshkar, then aged 34 sang Ae mere Watan ke logon at the Ramlila Maidan of New Delhi in the presence of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. In the Sino-Indian war, which was over just a couple of months ago, 1400 Indian soldiers martyred as per the official account and more missing souls. The bloodiest war in the history of India shattered Nehru.
Even the song that came out after an initial reluctance for unpreparedness became immortal. So blessed her voice was that even she herself couldn’t discern the blessed talent. She left the stage after the song, but Nehru called her back. Indira Gandhi also reached out and took her to see her sons Rajiv aged 19 years and Sanjay aged 17, who were “fans” of Lata Mangeshkar. He was in tears as he heard the song dedicated to the great martyrs. Eight years ago she recalled Nehru’s grieving words: “Lata, tumne aaj mujhe rula diya,” (Lata, today you have made me cry) while commemorating the 51st anniversary of the legendary song, incidentally in the presence of Narendra Modi.
Mother was a Gujarati and father a well-known classical singer and theatre artist Deenanath Mangeshkar had his roots in Goa, as his surname Mangeshkar represents Goan village of Mangeshi. She made Marathi, her mother tongue and Hindi, the national language more melodies and prouder. Her affinity with Gujarati was also intact through Gujarati folk songs. Deenanath-Shevanti couple’s eldest daughter, Hema by birth later became Lata to resemble the name of a female character named Latika in one of her father’s plays, BhavBandhan.
Lata Mangeshkar was also a music composer and film producer. She composed music for five Marathi movies but was known by her pen name, Anand Ghan. She produced three Hindi films and one Marathi film.
Her indisputable fame however resisted all veiled resentments of others who possessed another side of the ideology. Lata Mangeshkar never tried to buy fame by moving towards where the wind blows. A nationalist at the core, she even dared to speak openly about her liking for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and Veer Savarkar. Savarkar was her family friend and a regular visitor in her house. She liked to see Modi becoming Prime Minister even before his Lok Sabha election victory. Nevertheless, none wanted to drag her into a controversy, because of her doubtless public acceptance and immaculate patriotism.
The death of Atal Behari Vajpayee in May 2019 left in her mind grief of her father’s death. Though Vajapee was only five years elder, Lata Mangeshkar used to see in Vajpayee a father figure. “He was like my father. He called me Beti. I called him Dadda. I feel I have lost my father all over again.“ She wrote after she heard about Vajpayee’s death. Twenty-eight months later, the nightingale joined the electrifying orator. Legends never die. Future generations will continue to celebrate the souls. The voice of Lata Mangeshkar will never stop vibrating the air. Thousands of her recordings will regale the ears of millions simultaneously on the earth. The world listens to the soul silently today with a standing ovation. No amount of respect could be an exaggeration. And ever so.
