Bengal's musical fraternity paid rich tributes to singing legend Lata Mangeshkar who collaborated with some top-notch music directors thrown up by this city, such as S D Burman, Hemanta Mukherjee and Salil Chowdhury, not only to produce memorable music in Hindi but also in Bengali, among other languages.
While some recalled the dedication to music which Mangeshkar, who died in Mumbai on Sunday, always had, others recalled her humility when singing for Tollywood's movies and on stage in Bengal, despite being a towering personality in the sub-continent's musical world.
Antara Choudhury, the daughter of renowned music director Salil Chowdhury, told PTI, "My father had often said `Ma Saraswati' (Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of music and knowledge) lives through the voice of Lataji. Their association created milestones in Indian music."
Salil Chowdhury collaborated with Lata Mangeshkar for 35 Bengali songs, 20 of them for movies. Among their many hits in Bengali were modern numbers like Ja re ure ja re pakhi (Fly away bird) and Ami cholte, cholte theme gechi (I stopped even as I walked).
Recalling incidents associated with Mangeshkar who was close to Salil Chowdhury, Antara Chowdhury said when she accompanied her father to a studio in Mumbai where a Bengali single for Lata Mangeskar was being recorded "she was rehearsing repeatedly the number Jay, Jay, Pran Jay in a soft low key pitch. Her voice was barely audible then. But when she finally came for recording, it was vintage Lataji in a full-throated voice. And it was okayed in one take. Such was the dedication and talent of Lata Mangeshkar."
On another occasion, when Antara went to the Mangeshkar's residence for an introduction to a collection of songs penned and put to music by her father "she (Lata Mangeshkar) said in a light-hearted manner that none could render the lyrics penned by your father the way I did."
Musicians here said while Mangeshkar understood Bengali as she had many friends among Bengali music directors and singers, at times she had to be explained the finer nuances of the lyrics. "She picked up and rendered the nuances in a manner which truly none but a great singer like her could have ever done," said Antara.
Veteran classical vocalist Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty said Mangeshkar used to address him as "Dada" (elder brother), despite being many years her junior, "She once told me 'Haam ek Mamuli Kalakar hai' (I am just an ordinary singer) and I did not know what to say. Such was her modesty," Chakrabarty said.
Popular singer Haimanti Shukla also said Mangeshkar did not have any airs and she was often nervous about audience response before any show. "I remember having accompanied Lata `didi' (elder sister) to two musical soirees in Durgapur and Mednipur towns. She told me her voice was not in great shape and looked edgy, but once she took the stage, the audience was spellbound by her dulcet voice," Shukla said.
She said Lata Mangeshkar used to keep honey and warm water mixtures in flasks with her and took regular care of her throat. Recalling how reverential she was towards elders like Hemanta Mukherjee, Shukla said that the singer had come for a felicitation function to commemorate Mukherjee's 50th birth anniversary, "and told `Dada' (Mukherjee) that she was keen the programme should be successful. She was a bit nervous and asked all of us if the timbre of her voice was good. She repeatedly kept saying this has to be her best ever show."
Singer Babul Supriyo said one of the defining moments of his life was when Mangeshkar wanted him to sing a Kishore Kumar number without any musical accompaniment and was pleased with his performance.
Vocalist Ustad Rashid Khan said Mangeshkar would insist on calling him "Khan Sir." "We had last met three years ago," he said. Mangeskar, who had sung around 185 songs in Bengali, is remembered by her fans here for classics such as Akash Prodip jwole (The light burns in the sky) directed by Satinath Mukherjee and Prem Ekbar Esechhilo Nirobe (love came once silently), put to music by Hemanta Mukherjee.
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