Lata Mangeshkar Stories

Lata Mangeshkar was an artiste whose accolades are difficult to encompass in words has passed away. 

In one radio interview she said, "If I have not been into classical singing then I had a deep desire to become a doctor. I would have chosen this profession if I was not a playback singer but then as I grew up I realized that singing is ny passion and would be my first choice of profession ever." She continued to tell her childhood story that, " My father used to sing at home and I had a natural affection for Singing as this what I have seen while growing up at home.". When she was asked when she actually started learning to sing she said " I was only five years old when I started learning music from my father.

In one radio interview she said she found Tamil language difficult for singing (BBC). She then narated her story of visiting Russia for a show, and there she was asked to sing a Russian Song which she called as the most difficult one to sing. In the same radio interview, she admired some music directors from Bollywood. She took names of Khemchand Prakash, Anil Biswas, Madan Bhaiya, Salil Chowdhury, Naushad Sahib, Haidav and Shankar Jaikaikishan (BBC).

How Dilip Kumar helped Lata Mangeshkar get her Urdu diction right

It was the year 1947, when Lata Mangeshkar was travelling in the same train as Dilip Kumar and he had her first meeting with Dilip Kumar during train travel. 

During the days Lata Mangeshkar was not an established star of the Bollywood industry and she was struggling the odds to make the both ends meet. 

In their first meeting, Dilip Kumar gave a remark that she would not be able to speak Urdu fluently with the right pronunciation of Urdu words. Lata Mangeshkar took the criticism positively and aimed to improve her Urdu diction. She hired an Urdu speaking tutor who was a Moulana who taught her Urdu diction and helped her improve her diction.

In one interview, she said “The remark that Yousuf Bhai made when he found out that I am a Maharashtrian is something that I cherish because it made me seek the perfection I then lacked in my Hindi and Urdu diction. He said very truthfully that singers who were not conversant with the Urdu language invariably tripped in the pronunciation of words derived from the language and that jarred and spoiled the listening pleasure for those who enjoyed the lyric as much as the melody.”

Her efforts took her to the success with the evergreen song “Pyaar Kiya Toh Darna Kya” from Mughl e Azam which is still listened today.

Today, not only Indians but Pakistanis and her fans from international media base mourns her death. Lata Mangeshkar was the woman of love, integrity, respect and charisma. 6th February, 2022, is now marked on the calendar as the day of loss of this revanenous beauty.