LATA MANGESHKAR
Born : 29th September
1929
Place : Indore, India.
Profile
Latabai
Mangeshkar, who, as a playback singer, enjoys today, a clout, which even
the movie moguls of the country's film industry cannot dream of.Lata
Mangeshkar's songs have captured the hearts and imagination of millions of
her admirers around the world. They have become an inseparable part of the
daily lives of Indians - wherever they may be. Words fail to express the
depth and scope of Lata Mangeshkar's genius. Lata Mangeshkar has come to
symbolise India in a way that no one else has, or ever will for years to
come. She has charmed her fans with thousands of songs she has sung as a
playback singer in films, her name was in the Guinness Book of World
Records for singing the maximum number of songs way back in 1974 sung in
over 20 different languages. Perhaps only mother's voice sounds more
magical than Lata's. The name of Lata Mangeshkar (b.1929) is a byword in
Indian semi-classical music. A soprano with over three octave range, she
has an indescribable, unsoiled purity in her voice. It is delicate, sharp
and clear in difficult note patterns. Her rendition is marked with a rare
sense of rhythm and lyrics.
It was after India’s losses in the
India-China war in 1962 that a young Lata had sung the song, “Aye Mere
Watan Ke Logon, Zara Aankh Me Bhar Lo Pani”. The song, written by Kavi
Pradeep, moved the then Indian Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, to tears
and he confessed “Beti toone mujhe rula diya.”It is at this time when the
Pakistani Prime Minister said that he would gladly exchange Lata for
Kashmir" such is the aura of Lata Mangeshkar.
Lata’s reign over the
world of playback singing for female characters has been undisputed over
the decades and she has lent her voice to heroines from Meena Kumari to
Sreedevi to Urmila. She has surprised even her fans with the range of her
singing in the film DIL SE with the song "Jiya Jale" on her turning 70,
which was a huge hit and was recorded in just 40 minutes.
Lata is a
legend in her lifetime and undeniably the best singer India has ever
produced. As renowned Classical singer Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan said for
lata "Kambakht Kabhi Besura Gati Hi Nahi". Her contribution to making
music popular throughout India and the world is incalculable and she has
reigned supreme all through the last six decades.
