Meri awaaz hi pehchan hai: Hindi songs that defined Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar is credited with thousands of songs in as many as 3 6 I ndian languages overa period of almost eight decades, but there were s e some tracks that stuck with her, something the melody queen also went on to acknowledge in her later years. In an i nterview in 2021,

Mangeshkar said she still r emembers how veteran l yricist-poet Gulzar’s words “meriawaaz hi pehchan h ai” fromthe song“Naam Gum Jaayega” in his 1977 directorialKinaara cametoreflect herown storied journey in music withher fans conflating her v oice with her identity. “Meri awaaz hi pehchan hai” means “My voiceis indeed my identity”.

Mangeshkar, who passed away Sunday morningfollowing a multipleorganfailure at theage of 92, had saidshe remembers vividly the day she did the playback f or the song.

“Everyone in the country knows that Gulzar sahabwrites beautifully. He also speaks beautifully. When I was s inging (this song), he came to me a nd gently said, ‘Meri awaaz hi pehchan haiaur ye hai pehchan’. He said something like this.But later, I alsostarted s aying that ‘myvoice ismy identity’ . And now whoeversingsthat song or writes about me saysthose lines,” she had said.

But justlike her many diverse songs are her many listeners who have t heir o wnfavourite or favourites they remember thesinger by. For Masaan director Neeraj Ghaywan i t is another songpenned byGulzar -- “Humne d ekhi hai un aakhon ki” from the 1969 film “Khamoshi”,directed by Asit Sen.

The song, picturised onWaheeda Rehman, makes a case for those bonds that s houldn’tbe“tainted” bythe societybyputting a label to them.

“Na ye bujhti hai, na rukti hai, nathehri hai kahin,noor ki boond hai sadiyon se baha karti hai... sirf ehsaas hai ye roohse mehsoos karo...” tweeted Ghaywan. “LataMangeshkar l ives on!” the filmmaker said.

Mangeshkar’s melancholic liltto “Ajeeb daastaan hai ye”, lip synced byMeena Kumari”, in1960’s “Dil Apna AurPreetParai” is one of the most iconic songsofall time.

Over 50 years later t oo, the song c ontinuesto resonatein pop culture: “Bombay Talkies”, the 2013 anthologyhad one s egment directed by KaranJoharwhich borrowedits title fromthe song. “Ajeeb Dastan Hain Ye” u nderlinesthe absurdities and i ronies of life, something which was viewed with a different lens in the form of another anthology called “Ajeeb Daastaans”,which premiered on Netflix in 2021.

The haunting loneliness of “Lag jagale”, the declaration o f both love andwar in the rebellious “Pyaar kiyato darnakya”, the song offreedom a ndaspiration in “ Aaj phir jeene k i tamanna hai”tothe naughtinessinlove with “Baahon mechaleaao”,Mangeshkar h ad done it allinher heyday.

And yet, the singing legend’s twilight yearswere just as illuminating witha “ Jiya jale” here and a “Tere liye” there.

Mangeshkar wasadmittedtothe ICU of the BreachCandy Hospital inSouthMumbai in early January after she tested p ositive f orCOVID-19with mild symptoms and was also diagnosedwith pneumonia.

She remained in the I CU for more t han two weeks,following signsof marginalimprovement in her health,following which the doctors treating her had taken her off the ventilator on January28.

However,she was put onthe ventilator again as herhealth started deteriorating from February 5 after which the team of doctors employed aggressive therapy to revive her. The singer may have passed away b uther songs willlive on in the collective memory of Indians. (PTI)