Salim Merchant pays a heartfelt tribute to Lata Mangeshkar. (Photo: Express Archive, Salim/Instagram) ‘India’s nightingale’ Lata Mangeshkar passed away on Sunday due to multi-organ failure in Mumbai. After contracting Covid-19 last month, the legendary singer was admitted in a hospital for 28 days, before she breathed her last today morning. As the world pays tribute, composer Salim Merchant said that he feels fortunate to have lived in Lata Mangeshkar’s time and experienced her songs.
“We should feel so lucky that we are living in a time that we had her alive. We got to listen to her songs. We experienced that magic,” he exclusively told indianexpress.com. The composer added that he believes Lata Mangeshkar was not from this world, as he said, “When it comes to artistic quality, I feel she is truly a blessing from above. She was from another world only.”
While Salim Merchant never got to spend time with Lata Mangeshkar, he shared that he spoke to her on the phone several times. Calling it a ‘great opportunity’, the singer said that Lata Mangeshkar always had love and happiness to share. “She appreciated our music, our songs and would discuss it at length. I will always be blessed and thankful for the conversations I had with her. Those are really precious moments for me and I will value them forever,” he shared.
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And it was not just Salim-Sulaiman’s music but the iconic singer also chatted about her career. Remembering the telephone conversations, he shared, “She had such wonderful stories to share. She would talk about working with legends like Madan Mohan. We would always also discuss contemporary music. She always had a keen ear for different trends. It’s priceless and precious. And as we bid her farewell, all I can say is that she will live forever. Her songs and voice will keep her alive among all of us.”
In a recent chat with us, Anuradha Paudwal also described Lata Mangeshkar as Saraswati, the Goddess of learning. Saying she has inspired generations of musicians to take up music and healed several hearts with her voice, the playback singer said, “I feel blessed to have been born in the age of Lata Mangeshkar. We hear that Tansen ji was there, but we never heard his voice. Whereas we were born listening to Lata Didi’s melodious voice. She is Saakshaat Saraswati (the embodiment of Goddess Saraswati herself) and we have been blessed to live in the age of her voice. She is a vibhooti and was no ordinary person. She was God sent. Her voice has healed hearts, and the best thing that could have happened to humanity.”
Lata Mangeshkar’s funeral will take place today at 6:30 pm with state honours.
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