A tribute to Lata Mangeshkar( Picture by Aminakutty T J )

A Tribute to Lata Mangeshkar

                        Diya P

  

    Lata Mangeshkar was born into a well-known family. She is the eldest daughter of a Brahmanical family in Maharashtra. Her father Dinanath Mangeshkar was a classical singer and theatre actor and hence singing was part of every life for  Mangeshkar from a very young age. Her first teacher who taught her how to sing was her father.With this, she began her musical journey. Her first Hindi song was "Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu '' for the Marathi film Gajaabhaau. She took lessons in Hindustani classical music master Ustad Aman Ali Khan of Bhindibazaar Gharana. Burman composed tunes specifically to exploit the potential of her wide-ranging soprano. Mangeshkar’s singing contributed a great deal to the commercial success of films such as Mahal (1949), Barsaat (1949), Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978), and Maine Pyar Kiya (1989). Her notable concert performance was at the wartime performance of the poet Pradeep’s patriotic song “Ae mere Watan Ke logo,”. In 1991 Mangeshkar was credited with having made 30,000 solo, duet, and chorus-backed song recordings in 14 Indian languages between 1948 and 1987. The nightingale of India, Queen of Melody and Voice of the millennium are the titles  given to Lata Mangeshkar for her melodious voice.

    Lata Mangeshkar won four Filmfare awards for her songs “Aaja re pardesi” from the film Madhumati (1958), for “Kahin deep jale kahin dil” from Bees saal baad (1962), for “Tumhi mere mandir” from the film Khandaan (1965), and for “Aap mujhe acchhe lagne lage” from the film Jeene ki raah  (1969). She was also awarded Padma Bhushan in 1969 as well as in 1972. In 1999, she was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honors, and two years later she became only the second film celebrity to receive the Bharat Ratna (2001), India’s highest civilian award for performance of the highest order in any field. Mangeshkar’s sister Asha Bhosle is also a noted playback singer.One of the greatest artists of India in the field of music, Lata Mangeskar passed away on 6th February 2022 after being affected by COVID-19 and pneumonia. We lost the owner of the sweet voice which touched the hearts of a millennium.