Happy Birthday Lata Mangeshkar! Melody queen turns 83

Like every year, melody queen Lata Mangeshkar, who turns 83 today, plans to keep her birthday a simple and quiet affair, away from the hustle and bustle of Mumbai. The legend, who ruled the golden period of Indian cinema music for almost seven decades, says she is not singing much these days as she does not relate to modern music. [caption id=“attachment_472258” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Courtesy: ibn live[/caption] Mangeshkar, whose voice has been equated to the ‘Voice of God,’ however, has no regrets about the changes in the music scene and finds it “inevitable.” “Change is inevitable in this world. The era between 1947 to 1995 in film industry was different. I was part of this era. I don’t relate to the present era and this is natural. I have nothing against it. Everything has changed, the films, the actors and the music,” Lata told PTI in an interview, ahead of her 83rd birthday. Asked about her plans for birthday, the icon said, “I don’t believe in birthday celebrations. Like every year, I will be out of the town. I will leave Mumbai a day before my birthday.” The Nightingale of India  has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung in over 36 regional and foreign languages. Though the singing has become less over the years, Lata has no plans to retire. “I still sing but only those songs that I like. The only difference is that I will not sing something that I don’t like.” A lot has changed in the film industry over the years but there are people Lata considers close to her like Yash Chopra and Amitabh Bachchan. Starting her career in 1942 with songs in Marathi, Lata’s first Hindi song was ‘Paa lagoon kar jori’ for Vasant Joglekar’s movie ‘Aap Ki Seva Mein’ in 1946. Two years later, composer Ghulam Haider gave Lata her first major break with the song ‘Dil mera toda’ in ‘Majboor’ and after that there was no looking back for Lata didi, as she is fondly called. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Bollywood movies and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages. However, her major work is in Hindi. Recipient of the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award in the country, she has lent her voice to generations of Bollywood actresses from Madhubala to Kajol. She is the most sought-after singer by top filmmakers from Yash Chopra to Sanjay Leela Bhansali. From light classical music to film songs, from ghazals to bhajans and pop, Lata has sung a variety of numbers like ‘Tumhen yaad karte karte’, ‘Ajeeb daastan hai yeh’, ‘Bahon mein chale aao’, ‘Bangle ke peeche’ and ‘Choti si umar main’ as well as devotional songs like ‘Paoji maine Ram ratan dhan pao’ and ‘O palan hare’. ‘Aayega aanewala’, ‘Pyar kiya to darna kya’, ‘Satyam shivam sundaram’, ‘Kabhi kabhie mere dil mein’, ‘Neela asman so gaya’, ‘Meri bindiya teri nindiya’, ‘Dholna’ and ‘Tere Liye’ are just a few of the hit numbers from her huge body of work. Her singing calibre and exceptional voice quality took her to the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ for recording the maximum number of songs during 1974-1991. Lata has bagged several awards in her singing career. These include Padma Bhushan  in 1969, Padma Vibhushan in 1999, Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1989, Maharashtra Bhushan Award in 1997, NTR National Award  in 1999, Bharat Ratna in 2001 and three National Film Awards. Here are some of her most remembered songs :   Tere Bina Zindagi se koi from the film Andhi

  Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh from Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai

  Inhi Logon Ne Le Liya Dupatta from Pakeezah

  Satyam Shivam Sundaram title track

  Lag Ja Gale from the film Woh Kaun Thi

  Bheegi Bheegi Raaton mein from the film Ajnabee

  Mere Naina Sawan Bhadon from the film Mehbooba

  Raina Beeti Jaye from the film Amar Prem

  Main Solah Baras Ki from the film Karz

  Dholna from the film Dil To Pagal Hai

  Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye from the film Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge

  with inputs from PTI