By: Shruti Gupta Naam gum jayega, chehra yeh badal jayega. Meri awaaz hi pehchaan hai.....For whom would these words ring truer than for the diva whose melodious voice rendered them unforgettable. For Lata Mangeshkar, her voice is her identity, and her music her soul. As Lata turns 75 on September 28, she has a long and successful innings behind her and is still going strong. It`s been an astonishing 70-year run for Lata, considering that she started taking music lessons from her father Dinanath Mangeshkar, an accomplished classical singer, at the age of five. Her natural talent for singing was apparent even at that young age, and she also took lessons from Aman Ali Khan Sahib and Amanat Khan. Life dealt her the first blow with the death of her father in 1942, and the responsibility of providing for the family fell on Lata`s young shoulders. For the next six years she busied herself with acting in Marathi films to earn the bread and butter. This was also the time when she made her debut as a playback singer in a Marathi film (Kiti Hasaal in 1942). The Marathi song never saw the light of day. A few recordings for Hindi films followed, but they too went unnoticed. However, there was history waiting to be written in the world of Indian cinema. The breakthrough came in 1948 with Dil mera toda (Majboor) . Films like Barsaat, Andaz, Dulari and Mahal followed, and by 1950 Lata was reigning the scene. The magic that began more than half a century ago continues to make waves. Contemporary hits like Dil To Paagal Hai, Maachis, Hum Aapke Hain Kaun and Dil Se have proved that from Aaayega aane waala to Didi tera dewar diwana, Lata`s versatility has known no bounds. Fame and recognition have followed Lata at every step. Her soulful rendition of “Aye mere watan ke logon" had moved the then Prime Minster Jawaharlal Nehru to tears, while his Pakistani counterpart said that he would happily exchange "Lata for Kashmir". Renowned classical singer Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan also acknowledged her talent by saying "Kambakht galti se bhi kabhi besura nahi gati" (She never sings badly, even by mistake). The Royal Albert Hall of London recorded a computerised graph of Lata`s voice, and declared it the `Most perfect voice in the world`.
Lata`s achievements include, besides the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Bhushan, the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, Noorjehan Award, Maharashtra Ratna, Hakim Khan Sur Award, and various other felicitations for lifetime achievement. She is the only Asian to have received the Platinum Disc of EMI London. She has also earned an entry into the Guinness Book of World Records for singing the maximum number of songs in the world. But with all her fame and glory, Lata retains her humbleness and her reverence for her art. She always sings barefoot as a sign of respect to where she is singing.