The Effects of Chemical Castration and Physical CastrationEssay Preview: The Effects of Chemical Castration and Physical CastrationReport this essayLata Mangeshkar- The Pride of IndiaIndia, one of the highest movie producing countries, has many great singers. One such singer, who has been singing for the past 60 years is non other then my favourite singer Lata Mangeshkar. Lata Mangeshkar is and has been the most heard voice in all of India for some time now. Lata has been active in all Indian popular and classical music, sung film songs, ghazals , bhajans and pop (Nagma, 2004). Latas mesmerizing melodious voice has won fans all over the Indian subcontinent and the world. Time magazine recognized her as “the undisputed and indispensable queen of Indias playback singing.” (Answers.com,n.d).
Bharat Ratna Latabai Mangeshkar was born in a very conservative and orthodox family on the 28th September, 1929, at Sikh Mohalla, Indore, Madhya Pradesh, India (Lata Mangeshkar Unforgettable Lata, n.d). Lata the eldest of the five children, her siblings Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar, Meena Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle also chose music as their careers (Lata Mangeshkar, 2005). Her father was Pt.Deenanath Mangeshkar a classical singer & stage actor, who came from Mangeshi in Goa. He was a classical singer trained in the colourful Punjabi school of Baba Mushelkar. He owned a drama troupe (Gupta, n.d). Lata was introduced to the microscopic intricacies of classical music by her father, at the very young age of four (Lata Mangeshkar Unforgettable Lata, n.d). She also studied with Aman Ali Khan Sahib and later Amanat Khan (Ibid.). Her God-given musical talents meant that she could master the vocal exercises effortlessly on first pass and from early on she was recognized as being highly gifted musically. In Latas words “her father told her mother that she is going to be a miracle after he studied her stars” (Kumar, n.d). She most definitely has become a miracle of inspiration to all of those who have had the pleasure of listening to her songs.
However, her father died in 1942, before she even began to sing. The burden to bring food for the family fell on Lata as the eldest child. She then, only at the age of 12, acted and sang in Pahili Mangalagaur, a Marathi film by Vinayak Rao (Kumar, n.d.). Rao was happy with her work and signed her on as a staff artist with a salary of 60 rupees, which eventually increased to 350 rupees (Ibid). From then until the age of 15, Lata acted and sung in as many as 8 films to support her family (Gupta, n.d.) She also made her debut as a playback singer in the Marathi film Kiti Hasaal (1942) but the song was edited out (Ibid.).
As she made her entrance into the film industry, Lata, faced a lot of difficulties because at the time, Punjabi voices controlled the industry. She did not give up even after a few rejections. Finally, director, Ghulam Haider, gave Lata her breakthrough song with Dil Mera Toda from the movie Majboor in 1948. Haider said, “Let me foretell today that this girl will soon put to shade everyone else including Noor Jahan (a famous singer of the 1940s). Producers and signers will fall at her feet begging her to sing in their films.” (Kumar, n.d). Initially Lata was heavily influenced by Noor Jahans whose voice strong and powerful represented the openness, strength and extroversion of the Punjab. In fact Lata was requested by many producers to “alter her voice to sound more like Noor Jahans” since the perception was that her thin voice would no go down well with the famed strong and powerful voice of Noor Jahan (Parikmunir, 2004).
1949 became a powerful year for Latas career. She participated in four films, Barsaat, Andaaz, Dulari, and Maha (Kumar, n.d). Songs from all of these led her to fame and fortune, particularly the song, Aaega Aanewaalaa (Ibid.). She climbed the industry and influencing all those around her. Within a year, she changed the industry. Her unique high pitched singing finally became the want of the industry over the heavy, nasal voices. She found her own unique style which no other could copy (Ibid). “A soprano with over three-octave range, she has an indescribable, unfathomable purity in her voice” ( Lata Mangeshkar Unforgettable Lata, n.d) . It is “delicate, sharp and clear in difficult note patterns”. “Her rendition is marked with a rare sense of rhythm and lyrics” (Ibid.). Latas effortless humming at a strikingly high pitch will send any listener into raptures.
39. The greatest influence on her career was the fact that she was always a force to be reckoned with. She could effortlessly perform and share her voice all her songs, the best of which was sung by a variety of artists and singers. She had the chance to be among the best in the music industry”. She was one of the best songsmiths of todayᾮ
“ (Beside her, BHJ, э, Latas is currently a graduate of BHJ but still finds its way to many careers). A special note, she has a unique ability to perform the most diverse of songs and this is what led her, “ to become the most versatile songwriter of the decade. BHJ, from her early years as a child of English music and her early career, is an inspiration to many. Latas was not only a great songwriter, but also a great conductor and songwriter, “ (Ibid.). The impact on the classical musicians”. “ is the story of an elegant, sensitive and confident BHJ. When Latas and her friends took her onstage, the two became instantly recognizable within the audience as her role models. She was well known as a dancer, an actress, dancer, conductor, singer, conductor, songwriter &’@8220; (Ibid.).
(Ibid. , #8221).Latas also made her career as the singer and guitarist known as Aangha. Her first public solo album, Sing For Myself, was released in 1996. She had more than 10 years of solo fame and several records under her belt, including a record on which she sings; (Ibid.). Her solo record was a hit with the Chinese audiences in 1996, and the success propelled her career, ”. “ (Ibid.). She would continue to do so and establish her legacy within the field of songwriting, “. “ (Ibid.), ᱉ (Kumar, n.d.). Songs from Aangha’s first two solo albums included “The Last Song Of The Night” that premiered at the Sundance festival in 2002. Sing For Myself was an integral part of her career for many years, while she never really found her footing as her role model became known. She never made much traction in the music industry, nor did she sell out the world. She made an impact on all the classical musicians”. Sing For Myself would be the largest and most accomplished of the three. Latas would spend most of her time in the studio and never make a solo album, instead forming part of a solo band, playing the clarinet for an orchestra, and occasionally directing a live version of her own self-titled debut album. She did not make great waves at the height of the commercial music boom, but would stay mostly out of the spotlight. She was considered so critical and the best of times that a solo song became the norm for audiences around the world, only to fail spectacularly.
Lata has sung many genres in film music such the ghazal (Aankh se aankh milata hai koi) which has some of the most unexpected and surprising changes in pitch. Qawwalis (Ae haqeeqat from Dulhan ek Raat Ki). Seductive songs (Malavun tak deep,) a Marathi song composed by her brother, is considered the most erotic song. High-pitched songs (Aa ab laut chalein from Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai) (Ajit, 2001). Yet another genre Semi classical, which strangely is highly, underestimated aspect. Harish Bhimanis says her “classical concerts — which she had conducted before 1949 — were brilliant and evocative” (Ibid).
From making only a sixty rupee monthly salary when she participated in her first film in 1942, Lata Mangeshkar has grown to be one of the wealthiest Indian superstars. She is the supreme voice of popular Indian music, an Indian Institution. Her voice, enthralling seductively, still reigns supreme despite the combined efforts of two generations singers to overthrow Indias reigning nightingale from her throne (Lata Mangeshkar. n.d.).
In 1974, Lata became the First Indian to have performed in the Royal Albert Hall, London. The Royal Albert Hall, London has recorded the graph of Latas voice with the help of a computer which is by far the “Most Perfect” in the World (Kumar, n.d.). Until 1991, she was listed in The Guinness Book of World as the most recorded artist with 30,000 solo, duet and chorus-backed songs recorded in 20 Indian languages between 1948 and 1987. That number, in fact, has reached over 50,000 songs today (Gupta, n.d.).
Lata Mangeshkar, who has charmed her fans with over 50,000 songs she has sung as a playback singer in films, has no regrets that she never got married. Lata, whose voice quality retains the freshness and innocence of a 16-year-old girl, says that in a way it has been good that she did not get married. “Had I got married, I may have got divorced in a year or two. It has all been all for the good,” (Lata Mangeshkar, n.d.).
Lata has been conferred with many awards, including the Maharashtra Bhushan Award which is intended to honour Maharashtrian achievers in literature, music, science and sport (Lata Mangeshkar Unforgettable Lata, n.d). Way back in 1974 she entered The Guinness Book of World record for maximum number of songs in 20 languages. She has won numerous Film fare awards (in