THE MANY LATAS I GREW TO LOVE

By RAJEEV GUPTA

Lata Mangeshkar passed away on February 6 at the age of 92.

A singer who sang more than 30,000 songs in over 36 languages will always have a place in the hearts of music lovers across the globe.

Growing up, I likely first heard her patriotic songs at school functions on August 15, especially Ae mere vatan ke logon. I was touched by the patriotic fervour of the song which brought tears to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru’s eyes during a live rendition. Lata Mangeshkar was invited for tea later that day to meet the prime minister.

In my teens, her songs figured in most of Yash Chopra’s and Karan Johar’s films. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Dil To Pagal Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... the list was endless. For that stage of my life, the effect was profound, and I enjoyed singing those songs in a female voice, just to imitate her.

But it was not until I got more educated into raag sangeet and also in some musical gems of Indian cinema that I truly understood her contribution to the world.

If I close my eyes and listen to her songs, I first see her as a young girl who is still discovering herself. Songs like Hawa mein udta jaaye or Aayega aanewala fall in that category. Interestingly, many of these songs were filmed on bubbly actresses like Nutan, Madhubala or Nargis.

Then I see her as a young woman confidently expressing her needs, especially in relationships. These include songs from movies like Abhimaan, Kati Patang, Mera Saaya. So songs like Tu jahan jahan chalega, Lute koi man ka nagar and Aapki nazron ne samjha give me that perspective.

Today, as an adult, I don’t find those songs of the 90s anywhere as romantic or endearing as these ones. I think both the words and her voice expressed a strong confidence in the feeling that the protagonist was expressing. When Uma (played by Jaya Bhaduri) sings Mera gehna sajan tu, toh se sajke dolun in Abhiman, I can feel the intensity of the emotion.

Later, I see Lata as a woman who has seen the world and comes across as worldly wise. Songs like Raina beeti jaaye and Tere bina zindagi se koi shikwa to nahi and those from movies like Satyam Shivam Sundaram make me see her as mature and confident. The songs themselves are reflective, philosophical and deeply meaningful. These actually include some that are beyond Bollywood. The albums Sajda (1991) that she released with Jagjit Singh and Saadgi (2007) with Javed Akhtar had many songs that made me introspect.

But the music of Lata that had deepest influence on me was her album Meera. I do not even completely understand the Rajasthani language that she sang in, but each bhajan is timeless and takes the emotions of devotion to another level. Once I went to Jodhpur and I could not stop humming the song Gadh se jo Meera Bai utari. All the songs were raag-based.

Singers will come and go. But I can’t even imagine how people several generations from now would feel when they hear the song Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai. I want to believe that they would be amazed that a voice like hers sang on this planet and that this song would continue to inspire a will to live and thrive.

I want to believe that from the beyond she is still singing this song in raag Yaman:

Meri awaaz hi pechaan hai.

I am my voice.

Indeed.

• Rajeev Gupta is a member of the Raag-Mala Toronto team.