Subhash K Jha

For the last few months, Lataji has been setting aside every Sunday to rehearse for her live concert in March. This proceeds from the concert will go to the hospital opened by Lata Mangeshkar and her siblings in the memory of their father Pundit Dinanath Mangeshkar.

The eight-storey hospital in Pune is a tangible manifestation of Lataji's voice that has healed and comforted ailing souls for 60 years.

Her eyes light up as she speaks about her favourite project. "I am proud to say we are a state-of-the-art hospital. We have avoided the atmosphere of dread and gloom associated with hospitals. By the grace of God, it is running well. People are very satisfied with its services. Thirty per cent of the patients are treated free of cost. I have always felt concerned about healthcare in India. I remember we had a maidservant who had gone to a doctor for a headache and the doctor extracted her tooth. In our hospital, everyone has a smile on his or her face."

In the conference hall of her Pedder Road residence in uptown Mumbai, musicians are playing her songs at high decibel levels. The Nightingale herself sits in a crisp cotton sari. Arranger and conductor Anil Mohile is a familiar face at every Lata Mangeshkar event. The songstress smiles, "I have known Anilji since he was a teenager. He is such a talent and so much in control during my concerts. What would I do without him?"

There are many musicians in the Mumbai film industry who owe their careers to the headstart that Lataji gave them. The late Laxmikant of Laxmikant-Pyarelal is one. L-P repeatedly expressed their allegiance to the Voice Of Asia and their undying debt. Though, was it just a coincidence that Laxmikant-Pyarelal's career downslide started when Laxmikant declared an unexpressed war with the singer?

Other composers like C Ramachandra to Raamlaxman lost their career when they decided to prove that they could survive without Lataji's voice.

Talk about Laxmikant and Lataji sighs, "I don't know what happened to him. I always wished him the best. Mischief-makers have tried to create a rift between me and those who I was closely associated with."

Not too many people know that Lataji's talented brother Hridayanath Mangeshkar was to compose for Raj Kapoor’s ambitious opus Satyam Shivam Sunderam. When the project passed into Laxmikant-Pyarelal's hands, Lata Mangeshkar protested vehemently.

She refused to sing for Satyam Shivan Sunderam, until Laxmi-Pyare offered to leave the project. "Not too many people know the real story," she says. "I never trouble anyone unnecessarily . But I won't compromise on the quality of my singing. Nor will I stand for rudeness or injustice. I remember once this female singer was waiting to record her song after mine. As we met, she commented, 'Other singers work equally hard. So how is it that you get so much to sing?' I quickly retorted, 'I sing my songs, others probably exercise their throats'."

Lataji recalls how one of her favourite composers Shanker-Jaikishan would insist on making her sing high-pitched compositions composed specially for a male voice. For example Ehsaan tera hoga mujhpar (Junglee) and O mere shaye khuba (Love In Tokyo. Recalls Lataji, "I remember once Shanker-Jaikishan called me to sing a really high-pitched marching song. I refused to sing the tune until the scale was lowered even though I was taunted by my male colleague in the recording room."

On February 23, Lataji recorded another high-pitched song for Yash Chopra's new production Mujhse Dosti Karoge to be filmed on Kareena Kapoor.

The rehearsals are on in full swing. Neatly handwritten lyric sheets are placed on Lataji's lap as she sings one memorable number after another from Abhimaan, Jhuk Gaya Aasman, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge and Dil Se in preparation for the concert.

Every song that Lataji has recorded since she began singing is first handwritten by her when she reaches the studio to sing. "It is difficult for me to decipher other people's handwriting," she explains, softly. Some of the lyric sheets date back 40-50 years.

Visitors keep dropping into the conference room to pay their respects. An elderly couple waits until Lataji is through with a song. They touch her feet, make polite conversation and move on. A young man waits for her attention. His mother wants to meet Lataji, and she gently complies.

She perks up as A R Rahman's Diya jale starts playing. "Didi, let’s do Diya jale," a member of the huge orchestra suggests.

"It seems Diya jale is destined to be known as Jiya jale for all time," she smiles with a twinkle in her eyes.