That she was the ‘nightingale of India’ is well-known, however not a lot is understood about her rapport with Carnatic musicians. The primary interplay was most likely courtesy the gramophone. A biographical sketch of Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu in one of many early problems with Sruti journal talks about how the legendary violinist was in reward of Lata Mangeshkar’s constancy to pitch and purity of word. He would ask his disciples to hearken to her information and emulate these traits. He was not alone on this statement. Based on Carnatic music aficionado Ok.S.S Rajan, the late Voleti Venkateswarulu too was an ardent admirer.

With some Carnatic musicians, Lata shared an in depth bond, beginning with Ok.B. Sundarambal. The 2 had a number of widespread threads of their life tales — shedding their father at a younger age and boldly taking over the household’s accountability. Each had been all the time clad in white.

In Pa. Chozhanadan’s biography of Ok.B. Sundarambal (Kodumudi Kokilam KB Sundarambal Varalaru, Rishabham Pathippagam, 2002), there’s a pretty {photograph} of the 2 collectively.

The story behind the {photograph}, as narrated by Chozhanadan, is that Lata having arrived in Madras shortly after the discharge of Gemini’s Avvaiyar, was taken to see the movie. She was shocked by KBS’ vocal prowess and once they met, she ran her fingers down the latter’s throat saying she needed to really feel the cords that had sung such songs. She then desired to have a photograph taken with KBS and it was fulfilled by Vaidy, a photographer from Carnatic Studio at Mount Street/Patullos Street nook.

After returning to Bombay, Lata despatched a letter to S.S. Vasan of Gemini Studios, beneath whose banner and course the movie was made. In it, she writes that she considers the movie a becoming consequence of Vasan’s love for music and devotion to god. She additionally speaks of how her eyes welled up when she watched KBS sing and act as Avvai. “When nice artistes sing, we get to see their devotion to the artwork and the extent of their years of apply. If I had been Ganesha, I might ceaselessly be singing the praises of this devotee. I’ve no different phrases to precise my respect for Smt. Ok.B. Sundarambal.” (Translated by me from Chozhanadan’s guide in Tamil.)

M.S. Subbulakshmi was one more singer whom Lata honored. She used to say that she hardly ever missed a live performance of hers when she carried out in Bombay. There are a number of images of the 2 collectively — from the early ones, the place a clearly star-struck Lata is looking at Kalki Gardens to the later ones, the place the 2 are in animated dialog. Most music-lovers would have wished to be a fly on the wall and hearken to what the 2 nightingales mentioned.

In 1994, the Deenanath Mangeshkar award, instituted by Lata in reminiscence of her father, was conferred on MS. In a current interview, the latter’s grandson, V. Srinivasan, has spoken of how MS couldn’t go to Bombay to obtain the award and so Lata flew into Madras to current it.

In 1986, Lata Mangeshkar was the chief visitor at Sri Krishna Gana Sabha to commemorate violin maestro Lalgudi G Jayaraman’s fiftieth solo efficiency, the place each MS and M.L.Vasanthakumari had been current.

“Within the Sixties, Lataji turned a terrific admirer of my father’s music after she heard his LP report of Tyagaraja’s ‘Nadasudharambilanu’ (Arabhi/Rupakam). She attended his performances in Bombay and likewise felicitated him on one such event.

She invited my father and his sister, Srimathi Brahmanandam, to carry out collectively. He additionally visited her home at her invitation. As soon as when my father, my sister Vijayalakshmi, and I had been in London to carry out at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Lataji got here and stayed until the tip,” remembers Lalgudi G.J.R. Krishnan.

Final 12 months, at Music Academy’s digital convention, scholar and author Lalitharam gave a presentation on nagaswaram maestro Karukuruchi Arunachalam. He spoke of Lata’s admiration for the artiste.

On one event, when she attended his live performance in Bombay, he performed impromptu her track, ‘Yeh zindagi usi ki hai’ from the movie Anarkali (1953). Lalitharam additionally shared the YouTube hyperlink of the recording.

Lastly, did Lata ever sing within the Carnatic type? There are at the least three situations — all equally pleasant. The primary is Salil Chowdhury’s tribute to Muthuswami Dikshitar and his ‘Vatapi Ganapatim’ (Hamsadhvani/Adi) by his track ‘Ja tose nahin boloon Kanhaiya’, sung by Lata and Manna Dey, with lyrics by Shailendra, within the 1956 movie, Parivar. Within the movie Pardesi, a 1957 Indo-Soviet collaboration, Lata sang the Hindi model of Ramanathapuram Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar’s Shankarabharanam/Adi Tillana to which Padmini danced. Music director Anil Biswas tailored it with lyrics by Ali Sardar Jafri and Prem Dhawan. Based on scholar Ritha Rajan, even the 1957 Suvarna Sundari ragamalika, ‘Kuhu kuhu bole koyaliya’ set in Sohni (Hamsanandi), Bahar, Jaunpuri and Yaman (Kalyani) by Adi Narayana Rao (lyrics by Bharat Vyas) is closely within the Carnatic mode, particularly its suite of swaras. There could also be extra.

There was clearly a lot give and take and quite a lot of mutual admiration between Lata and the Carnatic world.

The Chennai-based creator and historian writes on music and tradition.