Singer Radha .
Mo
Dr Rajiv Vijayakar
She's awaiting the results of two
of her efforts.
One, her Standard XII (Junior
College)
examinations, and two, her first
major stage
performance in Bombay.
She is Radha Mangeshkar -- shy,
rather reticent
and the latest prodigy from the
Mangeshkar clan, India's first family in
music.
On April 23, Radha will share the
platform with her legendary aunt,
Lata Mangeshkar, and megastar
Amitabh Bachchan in a live concert in
Bombay's Andheri Sports Complex.
Others who are going to take part
in the show are Usha Mangeshkar
(another aunt of Radha's) and
Sudesh Bhosle. The concert is part
of the Dinanath Mangeshkar (her
grandfather) Centenary
celebrations.
"I have been performing with Didi
(Lata) for many years at her shows
abroad. This will be my launch in
India, and I am honoured that I am
getting such a big platform," says
Radha, who is going to sing a Lata
number which she holds very close
to her heart. And no, she would not
like to reveal it in advance.
Daughter of well-known
composer-singer Hridaynath Mangeshkar and
sister to two musically inclined
brothers, Adinath and Baijnath (who will
also sing on that day), Radha
naturally had to go the musical way. Home
was a synonym for music and so,
Radha had both the genes and the
right environment.
"I started learning music from my
father since I was about six," she
recalls. "Shortly after, I began
performing with him in his shows all over
Maharashtra." Childhood, she says,
was a great experience, and normal
too, except that music co-existed
with her studies.
The rigorous training continues
even now on a daily basis, with the
necessary riyaaz of ragas, bandish
and paltein (permutations of the
sargam). But Radha feels she has a
few more years to go before she
steps into the world of
professional singing. "I will wait for my father to
tell me when I have reached that
stage," she adds.
She feels that her illustrious
family will definitely prove to be an
advantage when she takes up singing
as a career. Will she also begin
with a private album or with film
playback? "Let's see," she says
awkwardly. "It's too early to plan
out something so far ahead. An album
is of an advantage for a newcomer,
because it establishes the singer's
identity, which will take a long
time if you are just a playback voice
today."
Do her famous aunts give her advice
on their own, or does she have to
ask for it? "It works both ways,"
she explains. "The door of the music
room, where I do my riyaaz, is
always open. They can hear me sing or
practise and often give me valuable
guidance and tips. Like they advise
me to sing openly (full-throated)
and to be very particular about my
pronunciation."
Radha doesn't agree with my opinion
that though the Mangeshkars sing
with 100 per cent perfect
pronunciation, they speak Hindi with a
Marathi flavour. "They are perfect
even when they speak the language in
a conversation or a speech," she
stresses.
Obviously,
listening to her father and aunts and
their recordings is
a major part of her musical
curriculum. "In our
family, there is a very open
mind concerning the
music we listen to. Apart from
film and pure
classical music -- like Ustad Bade
Ghulam Ali Khansaab
and Pandit Hariprasad
Chaurasia -- we listen also to
Mehdi Hassan, Ghulam Ali, Farida
Khanum and others. I personally
also love the Arabic singer Fairuz,
ABBA, the Beatles, Mariah Carey and
Celine Dion."
Her Hindi film preferences are also
wide, encompassing Sajjad, Salil
Chowdhury, Madan Mohan,
Shanker-Jaikishan, Laxmikant Pyarelal,
Jatin-Lalit and A R Rahman, apart
from her father.
I ask her what she focused on when
she listens to songs, especially
those by her famous aunts. "The
expression and emotions are what I
concentrate on first. Then of
course, the sur, which is vital. Finally, the
pronunciation, which must be
flawless," she replies.
How do her peers rate her? Smiles
Radha, "They all say that I am good,
especially in my sense of taal
(rhythm)." And how does she rate
herself? "I agree with that
assessment," she says, shyly. "And I do sing in
sur!" she smiles shyly again.
And is she also a budding composer
like dad? "No-o-o-o!" she laughs
helplessly.