An Ode to a Nightingale

So she is 81 and yet when she sings the world stops to listen. Will be a rare Indian who has not heard her. this is Lata in different moods .  This is not a exhaustive list by any means just songs that one instantly acknowledge as quintessential Lata.

Defiant : Pyaar kiya to Darna Kya  from Moghul E Azam. A beautiful Madhubala and Lata together create dignity in defiance to let go of Love in face of wrath .

Romantic: Lag jaa gale ke phir yeh from Woh Kaun Thi . Lata sings for , Madan Mohan. There is so much love about this song: the picturisation, Sadhana’s breathtaking beauty, Manoj Kumar, so handsome and looking so smitten yet bewildered— and Lata. Lata’s voice, enticing, alluring, yet tinged with a fatalism, a sense that these are charmed moments stolen from eternity, moments that will vanish in a heartbeat. Fabulously romantic.

Betrayed:  Rehte the kabhi dil mein Jinke from Mamta  past love, and a deep sense of being used by someone very dear… daava thha jinhe hamdardi ka, khud aake na poochha haal kabhi (“those who claimed to be sympathetic, did not care even to ask how I was”) is superbly rendered by Lata in a song that’s bitter yet not melodramatic (if you don’t watch the picturisation). Like the song from Taj Mahal, this one too has subdued music which I think brings out the sense of deep hurt that Lata infuses in the song.

Hopeful: Aayenga aanewala ,Mahal The quintessential Lata song, and one I can hear as many times as it’s played. This song, brimming with desire for an as yet unknown lover, and the hope that that lover will appear someday—catapulted the 20-year old Lata to fame. Sublime, and the start of the song—the aalaap—is matchless. And Lata’s voice, clear as a bell and in perfect control of each note, is exquisite.


Resigned:Ajeeb Dastaan Hai yeh ( Dil Apna aur Preet Parai) This has been one of my favourite songs from as far back as I can remember. There is so much to Ajeeb dastaan hai yeh: the congratulation that is not merely polite; the sense of being let down; the looming loneliness, the deep sorrow, the awkwardness at suddenly being the object perhaps of public gossip and/or pity;—and, ultimately, a resignation to one’s fate. This is the way it is, and it will have to be endured.Lata’s voice is soft, gentle, melodious, and imbued with the unhappiness of the situation. One of the most exquisite songs in Hindi cinema.