Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

MUSIC

Lata Mangeshkar

LATA MANGESHKAR

Born in 1929 in Indore, Madhya

Pradesh,

Kumari Lata Mangeshkar was

initiated to

music by

her father Master Dinanath Mangeshkar, a cele-

brated singer-actor of the Marathi stage. She was

Zubin Mehta: (1936- )

later a student of Ustad Aman Ali Khan of the

Indian conductor, director of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra from 1968 (for life from 1981), and of the New York Philharmonic from 1978.

gbarana and Ustad Amanaht Khan of

Bhendibazar

Dewas.

Making her debut as a singer-actress on the Ma-

Pabili Mangala Gaur at the age of

rathi stage in

K.L. SAIGAL Kundan Lai Saigal, the immortal singer of melancholy songs, was bom in 1904 at Jammu in a music-loving family. His mother was a deeply religious lady who took the boy with her whenever she attended the "bhajans" in the neighbourhood. In her company Saigal learnt to sing bhajans and shabads rendered in the local classical style. His father encouraged him to participate in musical functions and even as a young lad he won prizes on many occasions. Saigal got an opportunity to learn classical music when his brother fell ill. A music teacher was engaged to entertain the patient, but it was Saigal who learnt from him the rudiments of classical music. His early life was drab and uneventful. For his livelihood he sought such odd jobs as a clerk in the North Western Railway, salesman of a typewriter firm, hotel manager etc. A chance meeting with Shri B.N. Sircar, the head of the New Theatres of Calcutta, changed his life. Sircar discovered the great potential of Saigal's voice. Saigal thus became a part of early New Theatres which became a symbol of clean entertainment, lilting musicals and cultural renaissance.

nine, Kumari Lata Mangeshkar entered the cinema

at 13 and soon made her

mark as a

singer of

prodigious talent. By the '50s

she was established

as

the “indisputable and indispensable queen of India’s

Time magazine called her, and

playback sijigers”, as

has been synonymous with popular music in the

subcpntinent ever since.

Lata has to her name the largest number of

recorded songs in the world of an all encompassing

variety. (Sung over 50,000 songs in twenty Indian

languages;

Recording

Sometimes

five

sessions

a

day and worked with over 175 composers).

She is a recipient of many honours including

honorary doctorates from the Indira Kala Sangit

Vishwavidyalaya,

Khairagarh,

and

Shivaji

Univer-

sity, Kolhapur. She received the Padma Bhushan in

1969.

She received the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke

of Pankaj were rendered by the composer himself as "Special records". Another famous Saigal film was "Street Singer" His song "Babula mora" the theme song of "Street Singer" continues to haunt the music-lovers. Saigal was proficient in singing Ghazal, Quawwali and Thurnri. He popularised Urdu poetry especially of Ghalib among the masses. He sang in almost all the major languages of India. His renderings of Surdas compositions were melodious, the most famous being "Suno suno aye kishan kala". Saigal was also a great actor. His acting career was spread over a very short period (1932-46) and he acted in about 35 pictures. The most famous were "Devdas", "Street Singer", "Saathi", "Chandidas", "Yahoodiki Ladki", "President", "Tansen" etc. Saigal died on January 18, 1947.

Award in 1989.

For her contribution to music in India, Kumari

Lata Mangeshkar was elected Fellow of the Sangeet

Natak Akademi.

Famous Playback Singers

Pankaj Mallik, Hemant Kumar, Talat Mohammad,

Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Mahendra Ka-

poor, Kishore Kumar, K.J. Yesudas, Ghantasala, P. B.

Srinivas, S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, Kumar Shanu, Udit

Narayan. Surayya, Shamshad Begum, Rajkumari, Asha

Bhonsle, Usha Mangeshkar, Suman Kalyanpur, Anuradha

Paudwal, Alka Yagnik, Ila Arun, P. Susheela, S. Janaki,

The film 'Devadas' made him into a national hero overnight. The credit for moulding him as a singer goes largely to Raichand Boral, the doyen among the music directors and to Pankaj Mallik. Saigal was hailed as a singer with a 'divine voice.' Some of the songs sung by Saigal under the baton

Vani Jayaram, Chitra. (* See Vol-ll Sec-O-Cinema & Theatre)

Famous Singers -- Bhajans/Ghazals

Purushotham Das Jhalota, Anup Jhalota, Pankaj

Udhas, Jasraj, Gulam Ali, Gulshan Kumar, Kavita Krish-

namurthi and Preeti Sagar.