It has been rightly said that talent knows no boundaries, as it rises above discrimination, prejudice, ethnicity, culture and countries. There is no denying that South Asia’s history is filled with mega stars and legendary singer and writers. We have had Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Rajesh Khanna, Madam Nurjahan, Waheed Murad and many others.
Truly, great people never die and live on in their fans’ hearts after leaving this world. When a child is born, he or she weeps and cries but brings happiness and endless smiles to their parents and grandparents’ faces. But few are so popular that their demise makes the whole world weep.
The demise of Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar comes as a shock to everyone, leaving her adherents woebegone and in tears. Making room in someone’s heart is indeed an uphill task but few people succeed in achieving this honour; the legendary Lata Mangeshkar was one of them. Despite decades old Pak-India enmity, she received fame and accolades from Pakistan as well as from the most far-flung of countries. She ruled billions of hearts for seven long decades and the people cherished and owned her. Many political and film industry personalities have expressed their deep condolences with a dismal note including, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Shehbaz Sharif, Maryam Nawaz. .
Lata Mangeshkar was born in Indore on September 28, 1929. She started singing at a young age and became, quite simply, the most popular playback singer in Bollywood’s history. She was the daughter of Dinanath Mangeshkar, the owner of a theater company and a reputed classical singer. He started giving Lata singing lessons when she was five, and she also studied with renowned singers Aman Ali Khan Sahib and Amanat Khan. She sang over 40,000 mellifluous songs in multifarious languages, and received the most prestigious awards and accolades from the whole world. The Guinness Book of World Records listed her as the most-recorded artist in the world, with no less than 30,000 solo, duet, and chorus-backed songs recorded in 20 Indian languages between 1948 and 1987.
Great singers like her are not born in decades but in centuries, rendering the world ecstatic but sad after leaving this world.
In a memorial video circulating on social media, she can be seen telling that her favourite singers are Queen Nurjahan, Great Mehdi Hassan sahib and most popular Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. They had invariably been a source of immense inspiration and strength for her. Madam Noor Jehan moved to Pakistan after partition in 1947, giving Lata free reign of India and Bollywood. Her singing career spanned a period of seven decades; three generations have grown up listening to her crooning voice and songs.
Lata died at the age of 92 in Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital. She had been diagnosed with Covid-19, pneumonia and several other fatal diseases that caused her death. Many Indian actors, actresses and singers rushed to the hospital to pay their last respects to the Melody Queen. She was laid to rest on Sunday evening with full state honours at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also visited Mumbai to pay his last respects to India’s ‘swar kokila’.
Lata had a God-given talent. Her voice and songs have always been a great source of catharsis for those deprived of true love. She was extremely accomplished in her singing and made tour de force songs which will live long in the hearts of millions of people. She was undoubtedly a worthy gem and gave many indelible hit songs to the world. Her passing is a humongous loss for her family, kith and kin and for her die-hard fans. She was extremely successful in projecting her melodious voice through her mellifluous songs into the hearts of millions of people. Her magnum opuses include ‘lag jaa gale,’ tere liye from the film ‘Veer Zaara’ and jiya jale. Great singers like her are not born in decades but in centuries, rendering the world ecstatic but sad after leaving this world. They die physically but leave many precious unforgettable memories for their fans. Truly, a golden epoch has come to an end.
All India Radio broadcast Lata Mangeshkar’s ”Sarfaroshi Ki Tammanna Ab Hamare Dil Mien Hai” after the announcement of India’s recognition of Bangla Desh as an Independent country on 6 December 1971.