JOHANNESBURG: PTI Correspondent in South Africa, Fakir Hassen, recalls the two meetings he had with singing legend Lata Mangeshkar, who died on Sunday at the age of 92 in Mumbai due to multi-organ failure after over 28 days of COVID-19 diagnosis.
One of the five greatest singers the Indian industry has ever known, I have had the privilege of meeting Lataji twice.
In 1985, still going strong at 55, with a voice matching that of a 20-year-old, she was also indirectly responsible for my first ever flight on a plane to another country, even if it was just to neighbouring Swaziland, less than an hour away! Lata and her troupe had arrived for a show in Swaziland because at the time strict sanctions by India against the minority white government in South Africa would not allow any artists to perform in the country.
"I was contributing then to the fledgeling radio station for the Indian community in South Africa, Radio Lotus, from Johannesburg, although the station was only broadcasting in the greater Durban area," recalls Hassen.
"Isabel van der Linde, then in charge of the fledgling Radio Lotus, asked me to prepare urgently for an interview with Lata Mangeshkar who was arriving in Swaziland for performances there because she was not allowed into South Africa until many years later because India had banned its citizens from going there as it led the international fight against apartheid," the reporter recalls.
A special flight was arranged on the same afternoon to meet the singer who had already become a legend by then.
"I was also expected to file some audio material urgently for the station which in the end was not very much, but which drew a huge response and resulted in hundreds of people flocking to Swaziland for her shows," Hassen recalls.
Lata had a limited command of English, and speaking through an interpreter, did not say very much except to thank the many fans she knew she had in South Africa, urging them to find ways that would eventually allow her to perform for them on their home turf.
It was a guarded statement that carefully avoided any direct political remarks that might have resulted in the apartheid government of the time easily blocking visas for South Africans to attend her shows in Swaziland.
"Many years later, I was Station Manager at Radio Lotus, which had become a national broadcaster by then, when Lata held a workshop with local musicians and singers at the then University of Durban-Westville," Hassen recalls.
Lata was on her first tour of shows across South Africa, which was on the cusp of democracy under Nelson Mandela.
It was in 1991, a year after Mandela had been released from 27 years as a political prisoner.
One of the requirements that had been introduced by the authorities was that any overseas artists performing in South Africa had to undertake some development of local artists.
"I asked her whether she would not consider re-recording some of her great hits of the past in her own voice again, using the new technology that was available to produce them in better technical quality than had been the case in the past," recalls Hassen.
"Nahin! Kabhi Nahin!" ("Never! Never ever!") was the very emphatic and immediate answer from Lata.
Explaining herself, Lata lamented today's studio conditions with its pristine technical environments as she said singing was not just about standing in front of a microphone and going through the motions.
"There was an almost religious dedication and commitment by every participant in those days, whether it was one of the dozen violinists or ten percussionists on traditional Indian instruments, not just keyboards simulating them.
"There was also passion from the singers that spurred on the musicians and vice versa, and the same went for the technicians.
That ambience can never be recreated, so even if we were to redo those same songs again with the same people, they will never be the same.
"Just continue to listen to the originals and appreciate them," Lata added with a smile.
Known as the Queen of melody, she started training in singing at the age of five.
She began her career as a singer in 1942 and has been credited to have sung 25,000 songs in as many as 36 Indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali and others over a period of seven decades.
Some of her unforgettable songs include 'Lag Jaa Gale', 'Mohe Panghat Pe', 'Chalte Chalte', 'Satyam Shivam Sundaram', 'Ajeeb Daastaan Hai', 'Hothon mein aisi baat', 'Pyar kiya to darna kya', 'Neela aasman so gaya', 'Pani Pani Re', among countless others.
Considered one of the greatest playback singers in Indian cinema, she received several film awards and honors like Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Dada Saheb Phalke Award, and multiple National Film Awards.
She was also the recipient of Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 2001.