Lata Mangeshkar the Unparalleled Melody Queen of India

INCREDIBLE WOMEN OF INDIA

Lata was born in a Maharashtrian Brahmin family. Her father Deenanath Mangeshkar was a Marathi classical singer and theatre actor. Her mother, Shevanti (later renamed Shudhamati), was a Gujarati woman from Thalner (now in northwest Maharashtra). Not many are apprised of the fact that Deenanath's mother belonged to the Devadasis, a matrilineal community of temple artists. Deenanath had taken the surname Mangeshkar, based on the name of his ancestral village Mangeshi.

Lata Mangeshkar born as Hema Mangeshkar on 28th September 1929 (in Indore in Madhya Pradesh) was an Indian playback singer who needs no introduction in the Indian subcontinent and even overseas. The word incredible resonates her singing prowess to the T.

Her contribution to the Indian music industry in a career spanning seven decades gained her titles of great honour such as the 'Queen of Melody', 'Nightingale of India' and 'Voice of the Millennium'

Although Lata recorded songs in over thirty-six Indian languages, most of her songs were sung in Marathi, Hindi and Bengali. The foreign languages that she sung in included English, Russian, Dutch, Nepali and Swahili.

Lata was born in a Maharashtrian Brahmin family. Her father Deenanath Mangeshkar was a Marathi classical singer and theatre actor. Her mother, Shevanti (later renamed Shudhamati), was a Gujarati woman from Thalner (now in northwest Maharashtra). Not many are apprised of the fact that Deenanath's mother belonged to the Devadasis, a matrilineal community of temple artists. Deenanath had taken the surname Mangeshkar, based on the name of his ancestral village Mangeshi.

Lata (who was originally named Hema) acquired her name because her parents were impressed and inspired by a female character Latika from one of her father's plays. She was the eldest child in the family. Her three younger sisters Meena, Asha and Usha and brother Hridaynath are all accomplished singers and musicians. She received her first music lesson from her father. At the age of five, she started to work as an actress in her father's musical plays. At this point it must be mentioned that Lata discontinued her school life when she was barely six years old. The reason was fairly emotional- the teacher had prohibited her from bringing her younger sister Asha into the classroom.

In 1942, when Mangeshkar was 13, her father died of heart disease. A close friend of the Mangeskhar family, Vinayak Damodar Karnataki who was the owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company took care of them. He helped Lata get started in a career as a singer and actress.

Vinayak gave her a small role in Navyug Chitrapat's Marathi movie Pahili Mangalaa-gaur (1942), in which she sang 'Natali Chaitraachi Navalaai', which was composed by Dada Chandekar. Her first Hindi song was 'Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu' for the Marathi film Gajaabhaau (1943).

In those days the Bollywood industry was yet to find its feet, so Mangeshkar had to first concentrate on acting, which she did not like, as the lights and people ordering her around made her feel uncomfortable.

She moved to Mumbai in 1945 when Master Vinayak's company moved its headquarters there. She started taking lessons in Hindustani classical music from Ustad Aman Ali Khan of Bhindibazaar Gharana.

After Vinayak's death in 1948, music director Ghulam Haider mentored her as a singer. He introduced her to producer Sashadhar Mukherjee, who was then working on the movie Shaheed (1948), but Mukherjee dismissed her voice as too delicate. Haider gave her first major break with the song 'Dil Mera Toda, Mujhe Kahin Ka Na Chhora in the movie Majboor (1948), which became her first big breakthrough film hit.

Lata brought a new signature style of singing to Indian film music, moving away from mehfil-style performances to suit both 'modern' and 'traditional' female protagonists. She had enough weight in her voice to give definite shape to the melody of Indian film songs.

In 1989, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award was bestowed on her by the Government of India. In 2001, in recognition of her contributions to the nation, she was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is incidentally the only second female singer, after M. S. Subbulakshmi, to receive this honour. France conferred on her its highest civilian award, Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour, in 2007.

She was the recipient of three National Film Awards, 15 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards, two Filmfare Special Awards, the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award and many more. In 1974, she was one of the first Indian playback singers to perform at Royal Albert Hall in London, UK. Her last recorded song was 'Saugandh Mujhe is Mitti ki' released on 30 March 2019 as a tribute to the Indian Army and the Nation.

At one point, she appeared in the Guinness World Records which listed her as the most recorded artist in history between 1948 and 1987.

Mangeshkar died from multiple organ dysfunction syndrome on 6 February 2022, at the age of 92. She had undergone 28 days of constant treatment for pneumonia and COVID-19. However, through her voice and her countless soulful renditions she lives on for forever. In her last days her most beloved and constant companions were her pet dogs.

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