Happy Birthday Lata Didi

“I have never taken my singing seriously because I have always imagined myself as a composer and a musician. There are a few songs I have composed for her, after the rehearsals at 4pm, she would go to her room, sit with her assistant and would start singing very slowly, every lyric clearly. I just passed the room, and I wondered is that her practising for the show? That one incident changed my life. From then on, every show I went to, I would go off, and put the tanpura on and practise, get some warm-ups done. I would go over every lyric and the intention behind the song.” A R Rahman on how Lata Mangeshkar changed his life.

Today is the 95th birth anniversary of the “Nightingale of India” Lata Mangeshkar and the 100th edition of the newsletter SELFI. Happy that this special is dedicated to a singer I admire especially as someone who stood her ground and created a legacy worthy of emulation in a male dominated industry. A singer whose career was indicative of the changes of independent? India. Her career spanned three generations of music directors and her commitment to music remained the same till the very end.? There were many controversies surrounding her and how she did not allow others to grow. She however continued working, instead of wasting time justifying what was spoken of her.? Occasionally? she tried to make people understand her side of the argument, though many chose to stay with “their” truth. There are 3 lessons that I learned from her career and growth mainly as a woman.

1. Be your own benchmark:? In a world that is constantly working on pulling you down, she stood alone with hard work as her biggest companion. She practised so well that she was termed flawless! Her hold over languages was so good that her Marathi influence was not visible in her singing in Hindi or Urdu. She mastered both these languages especially how she pronounced the? words while singing that in a way she became the text book of a good singer. Her ability to earn the respect she lived with and the way she lives on, is worthy of emulation. Her commitment to her craft and her unconscious competency in it was what helped her sustain.?

A tribute by Shreya Ghosal to Lataji on her dedication

2. Love what you do: Her love for her craft is legendary. She would listen to the tape and rehearse so much that invariably the first take would be the perfect one. With her practise being the secret sauce and treating work as worship she carved a name for herself that she earned the respect of generations of music directors from the late 40s to the 2000s. It is rare you see a singer span so many generations. Inspite of having a misunderstanding with Raj Kapoor when she agreed to sing for Sathyam Shivam Sundaram, it is said, she sang the popular title track in one take. Her objective attitude helped her longevity in an industry where fame is fickle.?

Kaushiki Chakraborthy's tribute to Lataji

3. Stay grounded immaterial of? how high you go: In a world where change is constant, if every music director wanted to work with her at least once,it is no mean achievement.During Rang De Basanthi’s recording Rakesh Omprakash Mehra shared how she went to Chennai to make Rahman work from his space. She stood all through the rehearsal till the final recording. Her values were unchanged till the end. Whether it was a recording or a stage show she never wore her footwear while singing as it was a blessing according to her.Her humility was evident immaterial of who she spoke to , it was always “Aap”. Her love for cricket is folklore but her joy when she spent time with Sachin was always special. She kept the child in her alive in those moments. This authenticity kept her real in a make believe world and she continued to inspire till the very end.

Rakesh Omprakah Mehra on Lataji

Listing down some of her favourite songs and why she likes them of the thousands she has sung are :

a) Tu jahan jahan chalega (Mera Saaya, 1966). Music: Madan Mohan. Lyrics: Raja Mehdi Ali Khan

"It's a beautiful composition by Madan bhaiya about yearning for a loved one that you have lost. Exceptionally touching and close to my heart.”

b)Lag jaa gale (Woh Kaun Thi, 1964). Music: Madan Mohan. Lyrics: Raja Mehdi Ali Khan

"Sometimes a song is either lyrically heavy or melodically strong. At times, it's both but tends to lose impact when picturised. It also happens that a song is badly written and scored but is visually so stunning that it leaves an impression on our heart and mind. This song has all those three elements.”

c) O sajna, barkha bahaar aayi (Parakh 1960). Music: Salil Chowdhury. Lyrics: Shailendra

"I'm in love with this song. Salilda composed it beautifully and blended it with the lyrics by Shailendraji, while Bimal Roy's camera-work (pictured on Sadhana), with close-ups of the rain, were outstanding. This melody is also unforgettable because of the contributions of people like Abdul Halim Jaffar Khan, who provided the accompanying instrumentation with the sitar beautifully."

d)Ae dil-e-nadaan (Razia Sultan, 1983). Music: Khayyam. Lyrics: Jan Nisar Akhtar

"Sometimes, the director's vision of a song adds great value to the composition. I loved the way it was explained to me by Kamal Amrohi. I just closed my eyes, rendered it and conveyed the emotions. One of my favourite Urdu ghazals!”

e) Bada natkhat hai (Amar Prem, 1972). Music: RD Burman. Lyrics: Anand Bakshi

"People say this is one of my most touching songs. I agree. The way it has been picturised brings out a mother's love for her son. And my voice suits Sharmila very well. Not to forget the music by RD Burman, my favourite."

f)Yeh kahaan aa gaye hum (Silsila, 1981). Music: Hariprasad Chaurasia and Shivkumar Sharma. Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

"The lyrics are beautiful! I sang this song with Bachchan saab and it was a challenge to blend my voice with his. I read somewhere that Javed saheb, who wrote the lyrics, felt the line, 'Huyi aur bhi mulayam, meri shyam dhalte dhalte,' couldn't be sung more meaningfully by any singer in the world but me. It's a huge compliment, because the song was very challenging for me to sing."

The link to the entire list is in the comments.

In a male dominated industry to stay strong and emerge victorious and sustain one self is proof of the mettle she was made of. What a rich legacy she has left behind!

Would love to know your favourite Lata Mangeshkar song.

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It's episode 160 of the Human library audio podcast "U n' I with Rashmi Shetty" which focusses on those who have gone beyond themselves to make a difference in the world. People who have explored their Uniqueness & combined it with their Individuality and given it their own flavour. This meaningful journey that I started on 26th February, 2021, has given me so many insights on what it is to be connected to the #voiceinme.

Our guest this week is someone who I admired after watching him in one of the coaching webinars during the pandemic where he shared how #coaching helped him a lot. Was super excited when he accepted to share his journey on the podcast. Nand Kishore Chaudhary (NKC), a globally acclaimed social entrepreneur, and the founder of Jaipur Rugs, is one of India's largest manufacturers of hand knotted rugs. He is often referred to as ‘Gandhi of the Carpet Industry’. With just two looms and nine artisans in 1978, his journey four decades later stands at Jaipur Rugs becoming a global social enterprise exporting to over 60 countries while providing sustainable livelihood to 40,000 artisans in 600 remote villages across five states in India, out of which 80% of them are women. Management guru, C.K. Prahalad featured his revolutionary business philosophy in his globally acclaimed book -The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid.?Mr. Chaudhary has also been termed as ‘father of modern social enterprises’ by Prof.Jagdish N. Sheth from Emory University, USA. Sheth said, “Jaipur Rugs has become a role model, that business can serve society and at the same time ... can be a capitalistic institution”. In 2019, Raj Sisodia featured Jaipur Rugs and NK Chaudhary in his book, ‘The Healing Organization’ for ‘The Power of innocence’. The book highly celebrated NK Chaudhary’s steps towards healing the customers and transforming the society with love. He has won awards including E&Y Entrepreneur of the Year Award, CNBC TV18 Emerging India Award, Social Impact Award conferred by former president Pranab Mukherjee amongst?others. As a simple man, he is devoted to the Indian hand-knotted rug industry with an aim to position it rightly in the world and to empower its real owner and creator - the Indian weaver. His philosophy of totality, inclusion and for-profit solutions to society are widely discussed. Listen in as he shares significant moments in his life with some amazing life lessons. Also tried going beyond my comfort zone and it is in Hinglish this time!

For the full conversation click on:

Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/9b990cfe-cef0-4fbf-8c0e-216add181426/episodes/833a48bf-020b-4b96-a598-a982c818219e/u-n%E2%80%99-i-with-rashmi-shetty-u-n'-i-with-rashmi-shetty--n-k-chaudhary

YouTube:

https://youtu.be/NIa_XJIy9Es (Video extract)

https://youtu.be/NFkMlLiEzBY ( Full audio)

Podbean:https://rashmithethirdeye.podbean.com/e/u-n-i-with-rashmi-shetty-nkchaudhary/

Apple Podcasts:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/u-n-i-with-rashmi-shetty/id1764419119

Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/episode/0HulgBoP43HeUONVOcCye6?si=AZP-YctPSYGBRhZzsTIWnw

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SELFI is a newsletter where I share my reflections on life. Moments where some simple elements stayed on to create a SELFI moment! Moments that force the #voiceinme to express. Do subscribe if you like what you read and do share it with anyone you think will benefit!

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