Page 7 - Seniorstoday February 2022 Issue

thousands of songs her fans will continue to making Mangeshkar take Urdu lessons
admire. Following the news of her demise, from a teacher named Shafi.
fans paid tribute across the world, sharing The year 1949 changed her fortunes. In
tales of the first time they heard her, and Barsaat, composed by Shankar-Jaikishen,
talking of her live shows they attended. she sang seven solo songs for Nargis
Rare gems were forwarded all over and Nimmi, besides two duets with
Facebook and WhatsApp. Mukesh. ‘Aayega Aanewala’ composed by
Much has been written about Mangeshkar Khemchand Prakash in Mahal, became one
over the past few days, but it would be of her biggest hits.
in order to recount her early days. She The 1950s and 1960s belonged to
was born on September 28, 1929, in Mangeshkar, though she faced competition
Indore, Madhya Pradesh, to singer-actor first from Suraiya, Geeta Dutt and
Deenanath Mangeshkar and Shevanti (later Shamshad Begum, and later from her sister
Shudhamati). In fact, Lata’s birth name Asha Bhosle, besides Suman Kalyanpur.
was Hema, though her father changed it There were also accusations of her
after the character Latika in one of his stage monopolising the scene, but those in her
plays. favour said she was a favourite among the
As a young girl, she took to performing top music directors, with the exception of
early, acting in Marathi plays from the O.P. Nayyar, who never worked with her
age of five, besides learning singing. Her and preferred Dutt and Bhosle.
father passed away in 1942, when she was
13. Though actor Master Vinayak looked
after the family, Mangeshkar herself took
care of her siblings Meena, Asha, Usha
and Hridaynath, while simultaneously
acting and singing. She sang the song
‘NaachuYaGade’ in the Marathi film
KitiHasaal in 1942, and then ‘Natali
Chaitrachi Navalai’ in Pehli Mangalagaur.
Her first Hindi song was ‘Mata Ek Saboot
Ki Duniya Badal De Tu’ in the 1943 Marathi
film Gajaabhau.
When the family moved to Bombay, she
took classical lessons from Ustad Aman
Ali Khan of the Bhendi Bazaar gharana. In
films, her early music directors included
Vasant Desai and Ghulam Haider. She
initially followed Noorjehan’s style but With music director Salil Chowdhury
slowly developed her own. Yet, she faced Some of Mangeshkar’s most iconic songs
some criticism, with Sashadhar Mukherjee, were composed by Naushad, Shankar-
producer of the 1948 film Shaheed, Jaikishen, S.D. Burman, Madan Mohan,
dismissing her voice as too thin. Others Salil Chowdhury and Hemant Kumar, with
felt she had a Marathi twang in her accent, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, R.D. Burman and

SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #32 | FEBRUARY 2022 7