Shraddhanjali to Lata Mangeshkar

 The voice of The Nightingale of India has been stilled. The Grim Reaper has taken his toll today. For a Hindi film music aficionado like me, it is impossible to think of any collection of Hindi film songs in any genre not to have songs sung by Lataji. 

The best tribute I can give to her memory is just to list out some of my favourite songs of hers, as they strike me:

* Raina Beeti Jaaye (Amar Prem), Baiyyan na dharo (Dastak) and Rasik Balma (Chori Chori) - for the classical depth and the underlying pathos

* Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna (Guide) for the sheer ebullience

* The less heard 'Raaton ko jab neend nahi aaye' (Memdidi) or even the 'Beta wah wah' from the same film, which a very young Tanuja sings on screen to her dog - both these light songs, the first which is a hostel masti song, present such a different experience from the gravitas which one often associates with a Lata Mangeshkar song

* Aap ki nazron ne samjha (Anpadh) and  O sajana (Parakh) for the sheer beauty of these songs 

* Yun hasraton ki daag or Unko yeh shikayat hai both from Adalat , showcasing her presentation of the beautiful, emotive Urdu lyrics

* Aa jaane jaan (Inteqam) - one of her very few cabaret songs

* Aye Mere Watan ke logon - her non-film patriotic song which is reputed to have brought tears to Nehruji's eyes

* The poignant 'Luka Chuppi' from Rang de Basanti, a song which brings a lump to your throat

* Even Mai kaa karoon Ram, the fun song from Sangam had her distinctive touch

I know that this random list hardly scratches her vast reservoir of reputedly thirty thousand songs and also that I myself could probably make at least another dozen of such lists without repeating a single song. This is just an almost impromptu humble tribute to a singer who has been an integral part of my music experience and enjoyment for the last five decades of my life. 

Postscript: I am not too familiar with Tamil film music. The other day, when listening to a random mix of Ilayaraja hits generated by YouTube, one particular song suddenly grabbed my attention because the lady singer in the duet (SPB was the male vocalist) sounded very good and just like Lataji. A quick check of Google confirmed indeed that the singer was Lataji - the song was Valaiosai from the film Satya. 

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