Journey Of Lata Mangeshkar’s Melodious Voice

Adjectives like Bubbles Hind, Swar Empress, Kokila, etc. are tailor-made for the living legend Lata Mangeshkar. The goddess of singing was born on September 28, 1929, in Indore to the famous artist Dinanath Mangeshkar, who used to run a theatre company in Maharashtra at that time.

Almost every actress of her generation and later in the 90s and early 2000s has lent her voice. From Madhubala to Madhuri Dixit and Kajol, there has been hardly any actress who hasn’t donned her melodious voice.

Early life and the initial phase of her career

Lata Mangeshkar has been a gem of the Indian movie industry, ruling it for the last four decades. She began working at the tender age of 13 as a breadwinner for her family, after the unfortunate demise of her ailing father. Initially, she was trained by her father, but her god-gifted skills helped her to get better, and she started working on herself with dignity.

She first was considered for the role of an actor and was asked to work in a Marathi play. But her interest was always towards singing, and she later started singing. She had a soft and melodious voice, but hard and loud vocals dominated the voice during those times.- This led to rejections for her, and success looked far away from her. But, she never got disheartened with rejections and started working on herself. Slowly but steadily, she made her way up to the pinnacle, and we all know where she stands today.

Lata Mangeshkar is the synonym for versatility

In a career spanning four decades, Lata Mangeshkar has had the privilege to sing in more than twenty Indian languages. She has sung more than 30,000 songs ranging from Bhajans, Ghazal, Khawa classical music, and of course, movie songs. She also holds the accolade of most recorded singers worldwide and has got her name etched in the Guinness Book Of World Records.

Apart from singing, she has also composed music. Her first composition came in 1955 for a Marathi movie named Ram Ram Pavhane. Later, she went onto composing more music for Marathi cinema under the alias of Anand Ghan. Her music composition was as good as her singing, as she gained accolades around the country and won Maharashtra State Government’s Best Music Director Award for the film Sadhi Manase’s song “Airanichya Deva Tula.”

Lata Mangeshkar never stopped herself and took many challenges including producing films. In total, she has produced as many as 3 Hindi movies, Lekin (1990), Kanchan Ganga (1955), Jhaanjhar (1953), and one Marathi film named Vaadal in 1953.

Awards and Recognition 

She has had a sparkling career of more than four decades, and during her glorious time, she has managed to win numerous awards. Some of the most prominent ones are listed below.

• Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award
• Padma Bhushan in 1969
• Padma Vibhushan in 1999
• Zee Cine Award for lifetime achievement 1999
• Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1989
• Maharashtra Bhushan Award in 1997
• NTR National Award in 1999
• Bharat Ratna in 2001
• Legion of Honour in 2007
• ANR National Award in 2009
• 3 National Film Awards
• 15 Bengal Film Journalists Association Awards

 

Suggested: An Inspiring Journey Of Pankaj Tripathi To Stardom

 

Time to wrap up: 

Lata Mangeshkar has been the pride of India and will remain at the pinnacle of the Indian music industry. She had her early struggles facing rejections from many producers and directors but stood tall and kept fighting with the unwanted challenges and elevated herself to the top. She has been an inspiration for her co-singers and singers of the next generation and will continue to be a source of inspiration till the time she takes her last breath.