INDORE: A museum in
Indore in
Madhya Pradesh has a collection of 7,600 rare
gramophone records of songs of melody queen
Lata Mangeshkar, who died in Mumbai on Sunday.
Suman Chourasia, who set up this 1600 square feet museum in Pigdambar area in 2008, told PTI that his grief was beyond words.
"Lata Didi's demise, a day after Vasant Panchami, has left millions of music lovers like me deeply shocked. I met
Lata Didi in 2019 for the last time and could not meet her after that due to the (COVID-19) pandemic," he said.
Pay your tribute to Lata Mangeshkar Chourasia said he started saving gramophone records of Mangeshkar's songs from 1965, which has now turned into a collection of 7,600 gramophone records, occupying pride of place in the 'Lata Deenanath Mangeshkar Gramophone Record Museum'.
"Lata Didi has sung in 32 Indian and foreign languages as well as dialects. Many of her rare songs are among them," he said.
Besides songs, the museum also has photographs and books associated with the icon,who was born in Indore on September 28, 1929.
The Life And Times Of Lata Mangeshkar: A Look Back At The Singing Legend’s Illustrious Care...
Pride Of The Nation No More
India's Nightingale, singing legend Lata Mangeshkar passed away on Sunday morning. In a career spanning over seven decades, Mangeshkar delivered memorable hits that have left a mark on the Indian music industry. She has not only paved the path for upcoming musicians but is also a source of inspiration for many of them.
Her soulful voice goes well with multiple generation of actresses - from Madhubala to Madhuri to Alia Bhatt. As the pride of our nation leaves for her heavenly abode, let us take a look at the life and times of Lata Mangeshkar.
Dignity Personified
Lata Mangeshkar was born in 1929 in Indore. She was the eldest daughter of Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar, a Marathi musician and a theater actor. A lesser-known fact about the singing legend is that Mangeshkar’s family’s last name used to be Hardikar but her father changed it to Mangeshkar in order to identify with his family’s native town, Mangeshi, in Goa.
She received her first musical lesson from her father who happened to be a classical singer. From a very young age, Lata Ji had a strong sense of right and wrong. The singing legend, as a child, had a habit of bringing her sister, Asha to school with her.
One day, the school authorities did not allow Asha to enter. That was when Lata Ji decided to walk out of school on the very first day. Such was her resolve.
The Beginning Of A New Chapter
At the age of five, Lata started working as an actress in her father’s musical plays. After he died of heart disease when she was 13, Master Vinayak of Navyug Chitrapat movie company took care of the kids. He helped kickstart Lata’s career as a singer and an actress.
She moved to Mumbai in 1945 and started taking music lessons from Ustad Aman Ali Khan. Lata sang "Paa Lagoon Kar Jori" for Vasant Joglekar's Hindi-language movie ‘Aap Ki Seva Mein’ (1946).
The new chapter in Lata's life was full of exciting opportunities and new endeavours, however it was full of challenges too.
A Rough Patch And Trying Times
The singing legend came from a humble background and had to face a lot of struggle in her initial years.. Losing her father at the age of 13 left a deep scar on Lata’s mind, and being the eldest among her siblings, she had to bear financial responsibility early on in life.
Her mentor, Vinayak, lost his life in 1948, which came as a big blow to Lata. She was then mentored by music director Ghulam Haider but struggled to find acceptance in the industry, and was often criticized by producers for her Maharashtrian accent. As Urdu had a huge influence on the music industry, Lata was forced to take Urdu lessons as well.
Lata’s first breakthrough film hit came with the song "Dil Mera Toda, Mujhe Kahin Ka Na Chhora" in the movie Majboor (1948) and the rest, as they say, is history.
Climbing The Ladder Of Success
One of Lata Mangeshkar’s first major hits was the song ‘Aayega Aanewaala,’ from the movie ‘Mahal’ (1949). Lata's song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" from ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ (1960), Hawaii theme song ‘Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh’ from ‘Dil Apna Preet Parai’ (1960) won her critical acclaim.
These songs have truly left a mark on the Indian consciousness and have transcended the boundaries in time to become evergreen classics.
On 27 January 1963, against the backdrop of the Sino-Indian War, Lata sang the patriotic song "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" which had reduced then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to tears.
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