THE SINGING SISTERS OF INDIA
Rajan T Thampi
I saw the following article in the New Straits Times (Malaysia), and
thought it would be interesting to post. Just goes to show the popularity of
Indian music around the world...
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THE SINGING SISTERS OF INDIA
She's listed in the Guiness Book of World Records for
being the most recorded singer in the world in the Sixties.
For almost half a century, Lata Mangeshkar has
captivated millions of Indian film music lovers around the
world. She was in Singapore recently with her younger
sister Usha for a concert, reports RUPA DAMODARAN.
Copyright (c) New Straits Times (Malaysia) Nov. 4, 1991.
Lata Mangeshkar- the nightingale of India who has recorded over 70,000
songs- will continue to cast her spell on Indian film music lovers around the
world for decades to come.
For almost half a century, the magic of Lata Mangeshkar has captured thehearts of millions around the world.
Age has neither withered nor stilled 61-year-old Lata's unique,
melliflous voice.
Her concerts in 18 countries over the past two decades have been sell-
outs and her records on compact discs are still eagerly sought after although
the singer is unable to quantify the exact number so far.
The singer was in Singapore recently to perform at a live concert. She
was accompanied by younger sister Usha, also a playback singer, two young
singers Abhijeet and Shrikant Kulkarni, music conductor Anil Mohile and a 12-manochestra.
Her scintillating numbers with the aura of unfulfilled love, so divinelyrendered by the melody queen, has enabled her to stay on top of the Indian song
Indian song industry.
'It is the blessing of my guru and God, and my fans which have allowed
me to remain on top all these years,' says a modest Lata.
'I may reduce the number of songs which I will sing for films in the
future although I will continue to sing.'
Dimunitive in size but gigantic in stature, Lata has had several
distinctions in her long and illustrious career.
She has impeccable vocals- she can still fake the sweet 16 routine,
whether solo or duet.
Lata was born at Indore on Sept. 28, 1929, the eldest among a family of
four sisters and one brother.
Lata and two of the sisters, Asha and Usha, have carved their niche in
Indian film playback singing while their gifted brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar
is a composer. Another member of the family, Meena, has chosen not to share thelimelight with her famous sisters and brother.
The daughter of the famous singer-actor Dinanath Mangeshkar, Lata
revealed early flashes of her genius at the age of five when she began to learn
form her first 'guru', her own father.
Upon the death of her father, 12-year-old Lata went to work by acting
in films, the first being Vasant Joglekar's 'Kiti Hansal' which was never
screened.
She acted in a few films before she got a break singing her first Hindi
film song 'Aap Ki Seva Mein'.
Although her mother tongue is Marathi, she sings fluently in all the 22
languages of India including Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu,
Malayalam, Kannada, Assamese, Oriya, Bhojpuri, Maghai Marwari, Konkani, Sinhalese and Nepali.
'By grasping the meaning of the song and depending on the devnagiri
script, it makes the effort much easier,' she says.
Recording songs these days are less of a hassle.
In 1947, for instance, it would take up to 40 sessions to record a song.
Nowadays, however, with the soundtrack already provided it takes her only a few
minutes to record a song, she says.
To Lata, her best songs are from the films of the Fifties, Sixties and
Seventies era.
'In those days, I worked with film-makers like Raj Kapoor and music
directors like Naushad, Shankar-Jaikishen, Salil Choudhury, Anil Biswas and
S.D. Burman.'
At all her concerts world-wide, the main request has been for her old
songs.
'Nowadays, sad to say, the lyrics do not convey much depth of meaning...the trend shows a bad copy of old songs,' she says.
Music directors, to cover the the emptiness of compositions, are
increasingly turning towards Lata or Asha. Lata's voice is the redeeming
feature in most films.
On whether she considers younger sister Asha as her competitor, Lata
says: 'Asha has developed her very own style. She sings fast-paced, 'sexy' and
'sensuous' numbers while I prefer sentimental, sad and soulful numbers as well
as religious-type songs (bhajans).
'She is an extrovert while I am an introvert. I avoid fast-paced songs
if I can help it.'
She describes Asha as a versatile artiste.
'She is able to adapt to all types of songs, be it classical or pop.'
Unlike her sister, who has ventured into the Western pop scene (one of
her albums, Ave Maria, topped the dance charts in the United States), Lata is
less adventurous.
However, the mystique and magic of the Mangeshkars has resulted in many
music directors preferring it, which is hardly surprising in the case of Lata
whose singing penetrates much deeper than the demands of the composition.
'There is no Mangeshkar monopoly of songs as alleged by the Indian
press. Music directors are at their liberty to try out the younger generation
of female playback singers like Anurdha Paudwal, Alka Yagnik, Kavita
Krishnamurthy and Sushma Shreshta,' she says.
But it is a fact that none of the new crop of female playback singers
comes anywhere near the talent of Lata or Asha.
Lata has, over the last 40 years, accumulated a string of awards, for
instance, the highest national honours of Padmabhooshan, Dadasaheb Phalke
(which she received last year) and doctorates.
There are also esteemed titles like 'Swarbhati', 'Rashtrabushan' and
'Asthana Vidwan'. She received her first music award at the age of 11.
Lata is also mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records as the
most recorded singer in the world with over 30,000 songs in the Sixties.
The melody queen, who harbours no regrets of not marrying, says she is
too involved in her singing career at the moment.
Lata leads a disciplined life. She practises yoga (meditation) at 6am
everyday or 4am on days of her performances before starting on her vocals.
It's work everyday for her except on Sundays when she takes a break to
head for Kholapur, a town north of Bombay.
Since she suffers from colitis, Lata avoids chilli or oil in her food.
A glass of warm water and honey is always on stage for the songstress.
She is content with singing more religious-type songs (bhajans) and
ghazals. Her latest LP will be released next month (December '91).
Concert tours around the world are out for Lata. It's too
exhausting, she says.
The last concert she performed was four years ago in the United States.
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Rajan T. Thampi --> rt...@wucec1.wustl.edu
C
Rajan T. Thampi --> rt...@wucec1.wustl.edu
Rajan Parrikar
>She's listed in the Guiness Book of World Records for being the most
>recorded singer in the world in the Sixties.
Isn't she the most recorded singer of all time??
>
> Lata Mangeshkar- the nightingale of India who has recorded over 70,000
That averages to over 1000 songs a year assuming she started recording
since she was 10. Lata used to record about 4/5 songs a day in the 50s
and 60s but 70,000 still seems far-fethched.
> The daughter of the famous singer-actor Dinanath Mangeshkar, Lata
>revealed early flashes of her genius at the age of five when she began to learn
>form her first 'guru', her own father.
Dinanath Mangeshkar, affectionately known as Master Dinanath, along
with Kesarbai Kerkar was the greatest singer to come out of Goa. He
hails from Mangeshi, a town 21 Kms north of Panjim. People of my
father's generation fortunate to have seen and heard him in person
erupt with nostagia even today at the very mention of Master Dinanath.
He died a very embittered man. I forget the details but I
think his drama company hit upon some very bad times. Lata was his
favourite and my father recalls a mehfil in the forties in which
Master Dinanath summoned Lata to the stage and announced to the public
that he had taught her over 200 classical cheezs(compositions)!! And
Lata was barely in her teen then.
It is a curious fact that Lata has never performed for the
past 30-40 years in Goa, her native land. Some say that she is bitter
with Goans for not rushing to her father's aid in his times of
financial hardship. Still others speculate it was the stupid actions
of the Mangeshi temple authorities to deny her entry or some privilege
(I forget the details) in the temple there. This was later rescinded
and she now remains a regular visitor at the Sri Manguesh temple.
(Ironically, Lata's mentor after her father's death was a Goan brahmin
named Gopalkrishna Bhobe.)
> Although her mother tongue is Marathi, she sings fluently in all the 22
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Her mother is Maharashtrian but Master Dinanath was a very proud Goan.
Just for information.
Rajan Parrikar
==============
email: parr...@mimicad.colorado.edu
gopal
>
> Rajan T. Thampi --> rt...@wucec1.wustl.edu> writes:
>>She's listed in the Guiness Book of World Records for being the most
>>recorded singer in the world in the Sixties.
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>Isn't she the most recorded singer of all time??
>
>>
>> Lata Mangeshkar- the nightingale of India who has recorded over 70,000
>
>That averages to over 1000 songs a year assuming she started recording
>since she was 10. Lata used to record about 4/5 songs a day in the 50s
>and 60s but 70,000 still seems far-fethched.
There is a controversy regarding this record.When this appeared in the
Guiness Book of records there was the controversy about whether Mohd.Rafi
had sung the most number of songs or Lata.Also someone has recently brought
out a book in Hindi with the list(or lyrics also I am not sure)of all the
songs in Hindi films to date and claims that it is Asha who has sung more
songs than Lata in Hindi films.Also I think S.P.Balasubrahmanyam is catching
up with the record going by the number of songs he records in a year. If my
memory serves me right Lata is supposed to have recorded around 27000 songs
by 1985 in 20 languages which might be a bit of exaggeration.
gopal
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No action can give you freedom;only knowledge
can make you free''
-Swami Vivekananda
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