KOZHIKODE: The demise of legendary playback singer Lata Mangeshkar has broken the hearts of tens of thousands of people in and outside the country and so has the news shattered a family in Kozhikode. Street singers Babu Bhai and wife Latha from Kozhikode's Mavoor had been praying for Lataji since the day she was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai.
For the couple, who has been singing in the streets of Kozhikode for more than three decades, Lata Mangeshkar was their god as it was by singing her songs the couple had survived the tough times in Kozhikode raising six children. The same had given the couple the opportunity to travel to Qatar for a week-long music programme completely sponsored by a Doha-based organisation and later to Dubai for a Bollywood musical night.
Talking about the melody queen, Babu Bhai's wife Latha said, "We heard about Lataji's condition the same day when our 20-year-old son was admitted to Kozhikode Government Medical College Hospital with heart-related ailments. We have been praying for both Lataji and my son since then, as both are very important people in our lives. When the news of her demise broke this morning, it was indeed heartbreaking. We are sure, till the very last day of our lives, we will be relishing the songs sung by Lataji, as she has been my lucky charm and also the hope to live."
Named after the melody queen
Talking about the tale behind her name, Latha said, "I'm very fortunate that my parents named me after the singer. Both my father and mother migrated to Kozhikode from Gujarat decades ago in search of a job. But they ended up becoming street singers and they always sang the songs of Lataji, Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi. "When I was born in 1962, without a second thought, my mother named me Latha, as she was an ardent fan of the nightingale of India," she added.
Recalling her favourite songs from Lataji's collection, Latha said, "I started singing with my parents at the age of 10. The first song of Lataji my mother taught me was 'Ek pyaar kaa nagma hai' from the movie 'Shor'. Later, I started singing the same song with my husband who was also a great follower of Lataji. Since I had not got formal education, my husband started teaching me songs of Lataji and one among them was 'Lag jaa gale' from the movie 'Woh Jo Hasina'. I also sang Lataji's 'Pyar kiya to darna kya' from 'Mughal-e-Azam', 'Tujhe Dekha Toh' from 'Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge', 'Satyam Sivam Sundaram', 'Beeti na bitai' from 'Parichay', 'Rangeela re' from 'Prem Pujari'. We had also tried to learn some of her songs composed by A R Rahman and all these were taught to us by our kids. People in Kozhikode have given us immense love and support for our singing, which is the reason why we still live in Kozhikode with our children. We could also get a house constructed which was completely supported by the music lovers of Kozhikode. Since I was born to this world, we have been living and relishing the songs of legendary singers and Lataji tops it."
Babu Bhai and Latha always wanted to meet Lata Mangeskhar but could not.