Random Expressions

Latadi has sung for a wide spectrum of heroines over several decades now - for some she sang in the first film itself. Others were not as lucky. In fact, many names that later became synonymous with Lataji’s voice didnt have her singing for them - for example, Rekha (Saawan Bhadon) and Jaya Bhaduri (though she got Lata’s voice in a back-door way, since she lipsync-ed Madhumati’s song Aaja re pardesi in Guddi). Even from the older lot - like Asha Parekh and Sharmila Tagore - didnt have Latadi singing for their adult/Hindi debuts!

Here is a brief list on some debuts which I recall (in no specific order) - these are mostly post-seventies as my film knowledge is a bit stronger from that era onwards.


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Today morning, I heard Yaara seeli seeli*** for the umpteenth time - a very satisfying and fulfilling number. As the song ended with its impossibly high and collosally breathtaking crescendo, I switched off the player - seeping in the reverberations of the voice that had once again shaken, stirred and stimulated the core of my soul; a thought struck my mind that I hadn’t done any post on Lata Mangeshkarji for a long long time now.

So here is one, a mosaic of memories from my lifetime. I am afraid the post has gone longer than intended, but I didnt have the heart to cut it out, or post it in parts.

For me, discovering songs sung by Latadidi (Lata Mangeshkar) is a passionate quest for a lifetime; and often, the results have been more often than not extremely satisfying.

As I wrote earlier, my love for Lata Mangeshkar’s voice began when I was too young to understand the feeling of love or being enthralled. I was too little to comprehend as to why I was selectively recording her songs when my dad got me a mini-diktaphone. I was too kiddish to grasp as to why my heart beat stopped when I heard her voice soar in the impossibly high-pitched Jahan pe sawera ho**! (Today, I heard the song again and I am convinced they must have invented laser beam hearing her unwavering-hitting-the-soul voice!)

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Aah, it’s that auspicious day again - the day Goddess Saraswati blessed the eldest daughter of Master Dinanath Mangeshkar with a voice so sweet that it defies the shackles of vocabulary and language.


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Aajao ke sab milke rab se dua maange
Jeevan mein sukoon chaahen
Chaahat mein wafaa maangein
Haalaat badalne mein ab der na ho maalik
Jo dekh chuke phir andher na ho maalik

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Today is Madan Mohan’s Birth Anniversary. Any superlative falls short of capturing even an iota of the genius music maker that he was. His tunes have survived the onslaught of time, in more ways than one. While his recorded songs continue to regale music lovers, even his unused tunes held a life of their own. Perhaps he is the only music composer whose even leftover tunes were re-constructed in a film made thirty years after his demise.

With Lata Mangeshkar he held a special bond, which resulted in those innumerable solos without which the singer’s ouvre would have been woefully empty. And Latadi reciprocated to her ‘Madan Bhaiyaa’ in providing that superior quality of sweetness which is entirely impossible to describe. Each song is complete in itself, away from the films they were embedded in (which were largely box office duds) and not dependant on the artiste’s charisma (which were wooden heroines like Priya Rajvansh in many cases). Madan Mohan’s music truly embodies what Hindi film music should sound like - fit into the story, yet retain its individuality to stand out of it. Perhaps that is why, in his case no one bothers to find out about the film or the heroine!

While Madan Mohan was known more for his ghazals, earning him the sobriquet of ‘King of Ghazals’, yet he has a vast array of other genre numbers as well, some which I highlighted in an earlier post.

Time and again I tried to list out MM-Lata Mangeshkar combine songs, but every time I failed and the post remained incomplete - that’s because it is very tough for me to select just a handful, and remove the others.

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Today is World Music Day - and I cannot let this day pass without saying a prayer and thanks to the musical legend who has been one solid constant in my life; one who epitomises music; one who has inspired generations - LATA MANGESHKARji, aap ko shat shat pranaam. You are the beginning and end of music!

On this day I also remember and bow before other legends who have colored my life with their golden voices: Mohd. Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore Kumar, Hemant Kumar and Manna Dey. My thanks to Asha Bhonsle for her songs, and also praise to some contemporary voices like Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Shreya and Sonu Nigam.

A day dedicated to music cannot be completed without a mention of three of my most favorite composers - Madan Mohan and Shankar-Jaikishan.

However, there are many others whose contributions have had significant impact on me viz. Naushad, Anil Biswas, Husnlal Bhagatram, SD Burman, C. Ramachandra, Chitragupt, Sardar Mallik, Kalyanji-Anandji, RD Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Bappi Lahiri. My sincere thanks to many contemporary music composers as well , listing them out will not be possible here.

Words add beauty to music. Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri, Rajendra Kishan, Raja Mehndi Ali Khan, Shakeel Badayuni, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Anand Bakshi, Javed Akhtar and Gulzar and to many others I have missed out to mention - thanks for your invaluable words which have touched my heart and soul.

Listing out every artiste of each music field is impossible. But everyone’s contribution is always important, and somewhere it does make an impact.

Lastly, my reverance to Goddess Saraswati, who gave this priceless gift to mankind called music!

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Where do I begin? Where do I end? She is part of my continuum; a companion of my life; a portion of my soul. She is like the gushing blood in my veins; the air that breathes through my lungs; the beats that thunder in my heart. She sat with me in that school bus on a frosty Greek winter morning, even though I did not recognize her. She walked with me on this potted pavement on a hot Delhi summer afternoon. There, on that rusty bench at the park corner, where I sulked, she soothed my frayed nerves. Here, I was lonely and feeling bored, she came and entertained me. That day, when I joked with friends, she naughtily teased me. This hour, when I saw my first crush, she whispered hauntingly.

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Here I pick up another beautiful number (sung by Lata Mangeshkar) that could not survive the tides of time, but nevertheless, is a delight to listen to.

First the lyrics:


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I must have been around 12 or so when the writing bug got permanently installed within the grey matters of my brain ( more on that some other time). And ever since the day I started to write, my ambition has been to write on Lata Mangeshkar. But whenever I have started to do so, words have terribly failed me ( how do you describe this great voice- its like saying describe the heat of the sun, can anyone do that?) , and I have been compelled to stop, and pick up some other topic.

I did write a few “Letters to the Editor” in Filmfare defending Lata Mangeshkar (if there was any adverse comment on her, and criticising a female called Anuradha Paudwal who thought she could oust Lataji) but never a full fledged article or essay on her. But today, having started this Blog, and having forced open a new avenue of writing, I return to my favorite, and respected, topic. I am still not convinced if I can write even half as comprehensively as what my mind wants me to write, but I will definitely give it a try.

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