The Nightingale@86: Here’s what you don’t know about the legendary Lata Mangeshkar

I always wonder why that cuckoo in our backyard always hides herself among the mango tree branches while breaking into the most tuneful coo ever sung on earth! Then I think of Lata Mangeshkar! Even the most melodious song-bird shames herself into an unseen hideaway while daring to sing on this land where the great Lata ji reigns.

Every melody invariably sinks into oblivion when sung in competition with the legendary singer.  Her heavenly voice has been ruling the film industry for over 70 years. Admittedly, it is Lata ji’s ethereal voice that has made the bevy of beauties—From Madhubala, Wahida Rehman and Rekha to Madhuri Dixit, Kajol and Preity Zinta– look even more beautiful!

Today, while she turns 86, we wish her a very harmonious birthday. Like her two plaits, that she mostly hides with the drape of the sari, she likes to keep personal things personal and never sings about them in public. But we bring you facts about the singer, some of which you might have never heard before:

1. Fondly called The Nightingale of India and Didi, Lata ji was born on September 28, 1929 in a Marathi-speaking family in Indore. Her father Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar was a theatre actor and classical singer.

2. Her original name was Hema but she was rechristened later.

3. She has three younger sisters—Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar and Meena Mangeshkar—and a younger brother, Hridaynath Mangeshkar.

4. Thirteen-year-old Lata had to fend for her family when her father passed away. She then learnt acting and singing. She was trained by ace singers Amanat Ali Khan and Pandit Tulsidas Sharma. She started singing at the age of five.

5. Initially she was rejected as then Noor Jehan and Shamshad Begum ruled the roost with their nasal voices. Lata ji’s voice was considered too thin by many.

6. She acted in over eight films from 1942-1948. With no success in acting, she debuted with playback singing for the Marathi film Kiti Hasaal (1942) but the song was chopped off the film.

7. Her first major break was the song Dil Mera Toda. But Aayega Aanewaala from the movie Mahal (1949) picturized on Madhubala actuall got her the fame.

8. Veteran Hindi writer Padma Sachdev had disclosed in her book that the singer was given slow poison in 1962. In her book “Aisa kahan se laaoon”, Padma Sachdev, writes: “Lataji revealed this to me. She told me, she was 33 years old in 1962. One early morning, she had a severe pain in her stomach, and she vomitted greenish clear liquid twice or thrice. She said, she was not in a position to move her limbs, and her entire body was in pain. Lataji’s doctor was called. He came with an x-ray machine to check her, and gave her an injection to render her unconscious, because Lataji was in pain.  For three days, Lataji had a close brush with death. After ten days, she began to recover. The doctor told her that somebody gave her slow poison.”

9. It is said that post the India China war in 1962, her singing of Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon drove the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to tears.

10. In 1974, she became the first Indian to have performed in the Royal Albert Hall, London.

11. While she has sung for numerous actresses, she belives her voice suits Saira Banu the best.

12. She has been conferred India’s highest civilian award—the Bharat Ratna in 2001.

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