LATA MANGESHKAR-MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE SONGS

 

Like millions of Indians and many foreigners particularly from our sub-continent, I was glued to the TV after hearing of Lata Mangeshkar’s passing away. One had a foreboding of it as she was 92 and had been seriously ill for some time. But in the end, such news always stuns one.

I then received a message from my cousin Anjula if I would be creating a blog on Lataji’s songs. My first reaction was no as I felt unequal to the task. How could I make a selection out of the huge number of songs sung by a legend? Some estimates are that she sang over 30000-50000 songs in 36 Indian and a few foreign languages. But then I took cover behind the word ‘favourite’ and felt, yes, I could do it. Favourite is a personal word and one can always take shelter behind it for accusations of omission. The seed was planted and with some prodding and encouragement by Akhila, here is the fruit.

Two choices required no thinking as they were being flashed on the TV screen repeatedly by all channels; the supremely patriotic “Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon, zara aankh mein bharlo pani, jo shaheed hue hain unki, zara yaad karo qurbani” (O my countrymen, fill up your eyes with tears, remember those martyrs who have committed the ultimate sacrifice of their lives). This song was sung by her during the Republic Day celebrations in 1963 just after the ’62 Indo-China War, at the National Stadium, New Delhi, in the presence of the President, Dr S Radhakrishnan, and the PM, Jawaharlal Nehru, and had the latter in tears.

The second one is what first put the spotlight on Lata- the literally haunting number in the 1949 film “Mahal,” ‘Ayega aanewala, ayega, ayega’. Singing on the screen was the beautiful Madhubala in the role of a ghost swinging on a 'jhoola' on the lawns of a mansion. I was a 10-year old kid when I watched the movie in Udaipur and was frightened for many sleepless nights but I loved the song. I bought the 78 rpm record which had the slow introduction on one side and the melodic main song on the reverse, and played it again and again.

1949 was a good year for Lata as even before “Mahal,” she had hits from Raj Kapoor’s movie “Barsaat”. I find at least five songs equally listenable; the title song, ‘Barsaat mein, humse mile tum sanam, tum se mile hum’, ‘Hawa mein udta jaye, mera lal dupatta malmal ka’, ‘Jiya beqarar hai, aayi bahar hai’, ‘Mujhe kisi se pyar ho gaya’ and ‘Meri aankhon mein bas gaya koi re, mujhe neend na aye’.

Next year she teamed up with Amirbai Karnataki to back up for Nalini Jaywant in the girl’s part in the very catchy song ‘Gori gori, o banki chhori, kabhi meri gali aya karo’, in the film, ‘Samadhi’. Even today, the number is a must in all our parties for singing and dancing.

In the movie, “Sazaa”, she sang a number one can get lost in and wish to remain lost, ‘Tum na jane kis jehan mein kho gaye’. Then came two ‘bachpan’ numbers, the first with Shamshad Begum in “Deedar”,‘O bachpan ke din bhula na dena, aaj hanse kal rula na dena’, and the other a solo from “Baiju Bawra”, ‘Bachpan ki muhabbat ko, dil se na juda karna, jab yaad meri aaye, milne ki dua karna’.

Lata followed up with some semi-classical numbers such as ‘Yeh zindagi usi ki hai, jo kisi ka hogaya’ in “Anarkali” and in ‘Pyar kiya toh darna kya’ in “Mughal-E-Azam”. Then in “Anpadh”, she sang  the beautiful ‘Aap ki nazron ne samjha pyar ke kaabil mujhe.’

Another haunting number came in “Bees Saal Baad”, ‘Kahin deep jale kahin dil’.  Back to reality in “Guide” with ‘Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai’, a song Mataji, my Nani, was fond of singing. Then came another semi-classical with the sound of dancing ghungroos, ‘Chalte chalte’ from “Pakeezah”. And in 1981 in “Silsila”, she wondered for Rekha, ‘Yeh kahan aa gaye hum, yun hi saath chalte chalte’, with Amitabh Bachchan reciting his lines expressing his own dilemma.

Two of Akhila’s favourites which she sings a lot are ‘Rahe na rahe hum’ from “Mamta” and the very emotional one from “Ghar”, ‘Aajkal paon zameenpar nahin padte mere, bolo dekha hai kabhi, tumne mujhe udte hue?’ which for some reason has me moved every time, welling up tears in my eyes.

Lata sang, ‘Tum mujhe bhula na paoge.’  How true!