MAKE AN AGNOSTIC (NON-BELIEVER) LISTEN TO HER AND HE WILL BEG TO BE CONVERTED....

Ali Peter John

I have had this ethereal experience time and again during the last sixty years of my life with the world of entertainment and I have been talking to people about it and have written about it endlessly ....

I am sitting all alone in a dark room, which suddenly comes to life and a light fills the room , heart and my soul (it is the only time when I realise that I have a soul). Nothing in the room or outside , nothing in the world and no one and nobody matters to me during the time when I am sitting in meditation and devotion , listening to the heavenly voice which I have been listening to ever since I was a child and have been listening to it down the years and till know when I have grown old , but that voice is still as young and full of life as ever

It is the voice of God's most wonderful creation which has been a blessing to not only India, not only to the world but to the entire universe and even heaven.

The voice of Lata ji sings about the various colours of life , about the finding and losing in love , about belonging and separation , about the joy of life and the sorrows of life , in praise of the beauties of nature and the beauty of being a part of this life which is so full of life and love, about the love for ones country and the bravery of the soldiers on the border and the martyrdom of young man who gladly give up their lives to save the country and its people and the voice sings about God like no other voice must have pleased God....

It is almost three hours since I have been listening to this god-touched and blessed voice and I am not a part of the world I belong to but the world to which Lataji transports me to .I sing with her voice , dance with it , pray with it , march with it and even love , live and die with it ....

Will I or this world find another Lata Mangeshkar ? Will a voice like the voice of Lata Mangeshkar thrill and entertain and enlighten and elevate the world like her voice does ? Will even God succeed in creating another Lata Mangeshkar ?

I feel very fortunate that I have lived in the air breathed by Lata Mangeshkar, the wind which has blown for her , the flowers which have spread their fragrance for her , every man , woman and child who has been a part of the celebration that her life has been and will be .

I am sure that millions will echo my feelings about Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar , better known among many of all ages as "Didi".

THE WOMAN WHO IS ALMOST DIVINE, SO MUCH LIKE A PRAYER

Ninety years ago, on October 28, a little girl was born as the eldest daughter of a well-known singer, Master Deenanath and his wife, Mai. The father saw something very special in her and named her Lata. He was right. She took lessons from him in classical music from the age of three and then went on to act in films as a child artist and later as an actress because she had to look after a big family because her father had died very young. She got her first break as a singer in an almost unknown film and then just kept singing till she grew into the Bharat Ratna (the jewel of India). Applause, plaudits, awards and words, one more precious than the other have been a part of her life. I give you some of the quotes about her coming from some of the celebrities and luminaries from different fields of entertainment and other fields of life.

DILIP KUMAR

What is Lata? A diminutive little thing… a five foot something wrapped in a white sari. But, her voice? It is like a shaft of pure light, a glow that illuminates this world, as it were. Generations to come will be grateful to these tapes and CDs that preserve Lata’s amazing virtuosity. Lucky are those, who have known her from close quarters… haven’t seen the ‘little devil’ for a while now!

AMITABH BACHCHAN

When the voice achieves perfect harmony with a note (sur), it is as if the soul has stirred up to become one with the Supreme Being. That’s how I feel when I listen to Lataji.

ASHA BHOSLE

Have you ever seen a waterfall retrace its path…? I have seen it… rather heard it in Didi’s voice. The notes of her taan tumble forth like a waterfall plunging down a cliff and go back exactly the same way

C. RAMCHANDRA (he made her sing – ‘Ae mere watan ke logon’)

Unparalleled – there’s no other word

THE COMPOSER OF LATA’S FIRST HINDI SONG, DATTA DAVJEKAR

I’m sure she performs some sorcery while singing, so that one cannot stop humming refrains of her songs over and over again.

GHULAM HAIDER

If she keeps her head on her shoulders, sky is the limit for her.

GULZAR

Lataji’s voice is a cultural phenomenon of our times. It’s a part of our daily intake. We pass no day without hearing that melodious voice at least once – unless one is deaf.

HARIPRASAD CHAURASIA

Traditionally, Saraswati (knowledge, art) and Lakshmi (wealth) are not supposed to be residing together. But look at Lataji

HRIDAYNATH MANGESHKAR

Does the stem know what colour and what fragrance it has imparted to the flower? Does Didi know what colours she has bestowed upon the musical notes, how fragrant is our music with her voice?

ILAIYARAAJA

Nothing will remain the same and anything can be replaced but one thing that will remain in the world is Lataji’s divine voice

JAVED AKHTAR

The earth has but one sun, one moon and one Lata

KAVITA KRISHNAMOORTHY

Listening to her, I have grown up believing that Indian music is not just a source of entertainment but a way to reach God.

YASH CHOPRA

Generally, the singer is known to pursue music. In Lata’s case, it would seem, music pursues her

KHAYYAM

There was a doorbell one afternoon. I happened to open the door – and wonder of wonders, it was Lataji herself! She had personally come to congratulate me on my National Award (for ‘Umrao Jaan’). She also effusively praised Ashaji for her contribution to the song. She is as simple as she is great. If I were asked to decide the Bharat Ratna Award…

NARGIS

I never needed to use glycerin while emoting to sad songs rendered by Lata Mangeshkar

PANDIT RAVI SHANKAR

I reserve special respect for an artiste who has both, acute sensitivity and sharp intellect. God has bestowed these upon Lata in abundance.

NAUSHAD

The very heart of India throbs in your voice… ‘Dhadakta hai dil-e-hindostaan awaaz mein teri’

SALIM KHAN

Many an artiste has touched the pinnacle of success, but Lata is a rare one who, once having reached it, never came down.

SUNIL GAVASKAR

Truly, a ‘Bharat Ratna’

ADITYA VIKRAM BIRLA

At first, I stood in awe of her. But soon, her disarming qualities of head and heart, her down-to-earth simplicity and her utter humility, untarnished by international fame – endeared her to me. Where work is concerned, she leaves absolutely nothing to chance.

LATA MANGESHKAR-2

TIME HAS FAILED TO TOUCH HER VOICE

One morning, more than eighty- years ago God was restless and was pacing heaven in a rare mood. He knew he had created some of the most extraordinary things and beings. But He was still not satisfied. The Creator craved to create a being to be sent to earth, to a place called India.

A human being, but also almost divine.

A being with a direct link with him

He finally decided to create a woman

Whose voice would sing and bring endless ecstasy

To millions and millions of human beings

All over the world and add glory to His already glorious name

He created a woman with a divine voice

He created Lata Mangeshkar, His most precious gift to life

He made her the eldest daughter

Of a great but poor singer, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar

Her father trained her in the art of using her voice.

But he died very young, leaving his wife, Mai and other children behind

Lata was the eldest, she had to take charge of the family when just thirteen

It was tough but little Lata little knew that she was a special creation of God who had planned to work wonders with her

Lata acted in some films to keep the home fires burning

Then she started singing and today eighty-three years later

Lataji can still sing like a seven -year old angel of God

And what wonders Lataji has worked during all these years.

She has sung a record number of thousands of the best songs in all the languages of India which have reached the hearts of people and given them glorious moments

Made life memorable for them

Lataji has sung for God and the world with the same dedication

She has sung before emperors, kings and other powers

But most of all she has sung for the most common man and woman, the people of God

She has made the mighty bow before her and the big and small worship her

She is the nightingale who is the Bharat Ratna of India today

A precious jewel in Bharat Mata’s crown

Just think for a moment what life would be without Lataji.

And you will realize how incomplete and dreary life would be

Lataji has won a string of honors but the greatest honour she feels she has received is the love of the people….

What can I, a nobody, say about Lataji who is a gift to me

Lataji who is a blessing for me …

She has made my life worth living and I know there will be millions who would agree with me

You are forever and even after time….