When Lata Mangeshkar obliged Hyderabad journalist’s song request

Lata Ji and her team reached Hyderabad a couple of days before the concert and with Adinath’s help I fixed an appointment for an interview at 11 AM.

Hyderabad: It was a month before her public performance in Hyderabad Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hai March 9, 2001; Lata Mangeshkar addressed a press conference at one of the star hotels in the city. She was giving her live performance in Hyderabad after 1962.

During her media conference, when a question was asked since she is giving her live performance after four decades in the Hyderabad, the then capital of Andhra Pradesh, would she sing her only song in Telugu film Niddurapora Thammuda, she said she forgot the tune and lyrics and she may not be able to sing it. After the press meet, I approached her nephew Adinath Mangeshkar whether Didi would sing the song if lyrics and tune are given to her. Adinath, whom I made friends through his website Musiccurry.com, asked me to send the lyrics and send the song and said,” Let’s try”. With not much exposure to the internet where we still depended on dial-up mode, I have send the lyrics written in Hindi, faxed them and sent the song through wave format to Adinath with a request to pass on the same to Lata Didi.

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Lata Ji and her team reached Hyderabad a couple of days before the concert and with Adinath’s help I fixed an appointment for an interview at 11 AM. On the fixed day I reached ITC Kakatiya 10 minutes before the schedule interview. I was waiting outside her suite. At 11 AM two young girls from another newspaper barged in to her suite. A few minutes later, Adinath came out hurriedly and asked me whether the girls who went in are from my organisation. I said no. After some time Adinath came to me and said, “Mr Divakar, I don’t know what those girls asked, Didi is very upset and angry. I leave it to you and how you handle when you go in. I am going,” and he left the place.

When I entered her suite, Lata Ji is visibly upset and her face revealed it. The first thing I did was to touch her feet in reverence and she cooled down a bit. Before I could start any conversation, she asked me whether young reporters who are sent on an assignment are given a prior training? I told her most of these youngsters are from the journalism schools where they are trained. Instead of asking her any questions, I started talking about her only Telugu film song Niddurapora Thammuda, which was composed by Susarla Dakshina Murthy Garu for the film Santhanam. Towards end of the interview I again requested her to sing it. She said she did not get time to practice the song. Then I asked her how about Kuch Dil Ne Kaha from the film Anupama which is one of my favourite songs. She said unfortunately she also did not prepare to render that song.

But on March 9, which was live telecast by the Zee TV, she spoke about the request made for the song Kuch Dil ne Kaha by a local journalist and sang the mukuda. I was not present at the programme, but my good friend Stanley Theodore of the Statesman was there and he called me up to say, “The moment Lata said about a reporter requested for the Song Kuch Dil Ne Kaha, I thought it must be you.”

BY VJM Divakar