Lata Mageshkar — The name says it all

Her voice remained the perfection reference for several generations of composers and listeners

How to describe someone like Lata Mangeshkar? A singer who has had a career spanning eight decades and has sung innumerable songs in 36 languages. It’s a voice that has documented the Indian imagination and has remained the perfection reference for several generations of composers and listeners. Javed Akhtar and Gulzar come to rescue. “When you are talking about Michael Angelo, Beethoven or Shakespeare, the name says it all. Lata Mangeshkar’s greatness is her name itself. There is no other word that can encapsulate her,” Javed Akhtar had once said. Gulzar’s lines in the song ‘Naam gum jayega’ — ‘meri awaaz hi pehchaan hain’ — sums it up beautifully.

Stories about this legendary artiste, who turned 92 last month, abound. Lata began her career as a 13-year-old, and remained unstoppable over the next several decades. She was also territorial. The artiste, who managed to overtake all other musicians in success and stature, surprisingly said: “I can never listen to my songs,” and explained, “If at all I listen to them, I feel I could have done so much better, applied my creative mind, given it a higher rendition.” It is hard to imagine that a musician of her calibre is so self-critical of her work, quite contrary to the narcissism she is often accused of. “I can occasionally listen to my Meera bhajans and Dhyaneshwari. But beyond that...,” her laughter trails off.