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Ode to the nightingale, Lata Mangeshkar

An enigmatic figure with the golden voice, India's once most popular playback singer Lata Mangeshkar also has a big heart

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Once in a blue moon, a certain 86-year-old legend reappears in the headlines. Of late, the news has been that she has reached out to the aid of her contemporary, former singer Mubarak Begum, who was hospital-ised and is in no condition to bear the medical expenses herself.
Lata Mangeshkar, unlike others of her ilk, has firmly kept in touch with her past. Mubarak Begum and Lata had rendered a duet in their fledgling days, under the baton of famed composer Naushad.
With the vagaries of time and fads, Mubarak Begum retreated into the shadows, while Lata became a living legend. Although Lata didi (as she is called fondly) has turned reclusive of late, living in Prabhu Kunj, an apartment building on Mumbai's busy Peddar Road, she apparently keeps track of other artists who're in need of support and care.
Mubarak Begum, at the age of 75, lives in a cramped one-room tenement in the distant suburb of Jogeshwari. Her repertoire of memorable film songs include Mujhko apne gale laga lo, Kabhi tanhaiyon mein meri yaad aayegi, Chal chal musafir and Wada humse kiya, to cite just a handful of examples.

To the tune of givingAlthough she does not publicise her charity work, Lataji has performed at several charity concerts and fundraisers, has the Lata Mangeshkar Medical Foundation, a family trust, to her name, and is known to have contributed to the construction of schools and hostels.

From all accounts, Mubarak Begum has had to make do with a paltry pension over the decades of being relegated to Sunset Boulevard. Reportedly, her son works as a driver. After the death of her daughter who suffered from Parkinson's disease, Mubarak Begum's health deteriorated rapidly.
Consequently, it does make for sunshine news that India's most famous nightingale has extended a helping hand to her down-on-her-luck peer, arranging for her contemporary's financial needs and further treatment at the Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune. Here's a one-of-a-kind story, then, in Bollywood's largely self-centred, survival-of-the-fittest scheme of things. Before this, Lata, who is believed to possess a robust sense of humour, had called up television's laugh raiser, Kapil Sharma, when his elaborate studio set was reduced to ashes by a mysterious fire. Monetary help for the comic anchorman-and-actor was offered so he could be back, regaling TV audiences with his tongue-in-cheek show Comedy Nights with Kapil.
I bring up such aspects about Lataji to point out that although she's no longer as active as she was right until the last decade, she's surely clued into the events swirling around her in showbiz.
If her voice isn't exactly in the flawless note it used to be, it's still incomparable. Right from her private albums of ghazals and bhajans to the top-charting songs of Page 3, Veer-Zara and Rang De Basanti, that crystal clear voice still rules the airwaves. Indeed, her alaaps are the signature leitmotifs of films produced by the Yashraj banner and Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, asserting that the appeal of her voice cuts across generations.
Indeed, Lata's image of a legend - call her an institution if you will - who's chosen to be sequestered at home, is at odds with her zest for life, music and cricket. An avid follower of the sport, she never misses a test match shown live on television. As for her health, her dentist says, "Her 32 teeth are as perfect as pearls, except for a lower tooth which has developed a gap. In any case, that's a hereditary trait in the Mangeshkar family." Even now, the singer's brother, composer and singer Hridaynath Mangeshkar, lives with his family in the same apartment building. Her sister, Asha Bhosle, who has moved from Prabhu Kunj to a swankier high-rise a 15 minutes' drive away, explains, "I still retain the apartment where I have lived the best years of my life, right next to didi. We were just a doorbell away. I have moved because I needed more space for my son Anand, daughter-in-law Anuja, and my grandkids. But I visit didi regularly, at least once a week, if not more, when I'm in town. She's in good health, touchwood. If she has cut down on work, like I have, it could be because she isn't exactly inspired by the kind of film songs offered to her nowadays. Music badal gaya hai."
When I ask Ashaji, if it would be ever possible to video-interview them together for a documentary, the immediate response is silence. Knock knock. She states, "You will have to ask her. I'm game but only if she's okay with it. Much has been made about rivalry between us but all I can say is, that she has her distinct style and I have mine. Isn't it said that comparisons are odious?"
In any event, Lata didi has been spared the media's constant inquiring gaze. Doubtless, she could still be recording in the studios 24x7 if she wanted. Devoted to persisting with her daily riyaaz, she also avoids food which would, in any way, affect her voice. Incidentally, if she likes the lyrics, she is known to waive off her professional fee without a second thought.
So when Lata didi rushes to the rescue of an ailing colleague from ages past, you know that show business has a heart, after all.