Lata Mangeshkar – The Lonely Diva
Morgan Housel writes in one of his essays, ”A big lesson from history is how chance encounters lead to both magic and mayhem in ways that would have been impossible to predict.” (Hanging by a Thread; https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/thread/).
Let me present some possibilities which would have altered the course of history.
* What if Master Dinanath Mangeshkar had not failed in his business and further, what if he had not prematurely passed away?
* What if Lata Mangeshkar, Master Dinanath’s elder daughter, had received a formal education in Indian classical music?
* What if a 16 year old Lata Mangeshkar had received humane treatment when she was staying with Master Vinayakrao at Shivaji Park?
* What if Lata Mangeshkar had ignored advice given by an established movie actor regarding her diction and pronunciation?
* What if Lata Mangeshkar had succumbed to attempted slow poisoning in 1961?
* What if Lata Mangeshkar had not waged a lonely battle for getting royalties?
The hypotheses mentioned above are just idle speculation. However, one cannot disregard the possibility of the future shaping in a much different way if any of the events mentioned above had not taken place.
If Master Dinanath had remained successful in his theatre and drama company and had survived till he grew old, Lata would have been shielded from taking on the onerous responsibility of providing for the rest of the family. She would, in all probability, get trained in Indian Classical music and would have in later years carved a niche for herself in this domain. Maybe she would have made her mark in Marathi drama. Further, Lata and her four siblings would have received a formal education (as much as what was permitted in those days). Lata was taught to read and write by a housemaid and much later a priest taught her the intricacies of Sanskrit. Lata Mangeshkar would still have been an accomplished singer/performer but her fame would have been restricted to a few aficionados of Indian classical music. Lata became a household name because of how things shaped up for her.
A 16 year old girl had to fend for herself and her family. Bereft of money and any worldly possessions, what she only had was tremendous self-belief. Singing in the movies was looked down upon in those days and thus was never really considered a career option. Lata’s name was slowly spreading far and wide as a talent to be watched. She chose to act in movies and thus had to shift lodgings to Bombay. Master Vinayakrao was kind enough to provide Lata and Usha shelter at Shivaji Park. An incident where one of the managers of Master Vinayakrao cast aspersions on Lata was enough to stir her up. Self-respect made her go up to her mentor and tell him upfront that she was leaving his house and would soon embark on a career in playback singing.
Just imagine. A young girl, barely 18 years old, that too in an alien city would try her hand at something in which she had no experience or had a godfather.
Very soon Lata made her mark. Her talent was just too prodigious to be ignored. Old standards got demolished as this star rose to prominence. Very soon, she became the talisman to the heroines reigning at that time. But there was a fly in the ointment. Her diction and pronunciation were problematic as she was never really trained in Urdu. A chance encounter with a leading hero who commented on this made her determined to correct this apparent flaw. A teacher was appointed and very soon she could speak Urdu like a pro.
The point to note is if Lata had not kept her ears and mind open, her diction would never have improved and her singing repertoire would have been very limited.
Two other major events in Lata’s life were that of her fight with slow poisoning and her battle for royalties. Both have had a major impact. Imagine how much all of us collectively would have lost if Lata had succumbed to poisoning in 1961!! Also, singers today should be eternally grateful to Lata for waging a lonely battle for her share of royalty with all major studios.
They say it is very lonely at the top. Lata Mangeshkar would have been in a similar predicament. She had to fight and struggle very hard to reach the pinnacle. Sadly, she was deprived of any meaningful relationships other than with her siblings and extended family for her entire life. There were whispers of relationships with Raj Singh Dungarpur but nothing came of it. The Lonely Diva gave so much to our country and this world. Her passing away has had a deep impact on the entire country. No other person or force has the ability of uniting the country in this way.
Lata, was a polymath. She had a keen interest in history, philosophy, photography, cricket, languages, cooking and possibly many other subjects which aren’t known to the public. Her numerous collaborations with her brother Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar has created a vast treasure for music connoisseurs. Her Bhajans on Meera, Dnyaneshwari, Bhagwad Geeta are a class in itself. Similarly Shiv Kalyan Raja is phenomenal.
I have deliberately avoided writing about her songs or her partnerships with musicians or her decades long career as there is a lot of information in the public domain. I felt this angle of ‘Hanging by a Thread’ was important.
Hat tip to Morgan Housel of Collaborative Fund
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