'Lata ji ... Didi to me': A tribute by Sanjiv Goenka

Lata ji ... Didi ... to me, Preeti and my children - somebody who was family. My mother and she were very close and treated each other as sisters. The first time I met her was at our home in Delhi, where she, Ushaji and her niece Rachna and Raj Singhji had come over. Lataji was staying at our home in Delhi. We were together for two days and those two days have been etched in my mind ever since. There was no ego, there was no expectation from her side. In the mornings she would do riyaz, it was a sheer delight to sit quietly and hear, observe, that voice without any music, extraordinary, those notes are still so fresh in my mind. She behaved like an aunt - always giving, warm, caring and sensitive. She would reach out for the smallest of things. Her care was beyond compare. It was only subsequently that I realised that this was the Lata Mangeshkar, the legendary

singer

, the legend herself. So unassuming, so warm, so down to earth and so so benevolent.

Over the years there were several interactions - at performances, when she used to stay at our homes in Kolkata and Delhi; during family occasions; during havans which my father organised every year. I fondly remember when my daughter Avarna was three years old, Lata ji was staying with us in Kolkata. Avarna was trying to recite nursery rhymes and Lata ji was teaching her the correct pronunciation, it was so effortless, this was her level of affection. Each time she was just a family member.

When I started taking an interest in Saregama affairs, I realised how voluminous, how significant her contribution to Saregama has been. Almost all, over 95% of her songs, are with Saregama. Her first song for Saregama was a Marathi song named 'Natali Chaitrachi Navala' which was released in 1942. Over the years she has sung over 5,000 songs for Saregama. Till date her song Lag Ja Gale from "Woh kaun Thi" stands tall and stirs up emotions which are beyond words. And for Saregama, all these songs are cherished, they are invaluable, they are part of our history, they are our culture, they are part of our initial founding years as a nation. I doubt if anyone can ever forget a song like "Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon", she sang for generations of stars and sounded as young as ageless can be. She created magic with several music directors, but she had a special bond with Madan Mohanji. Yashji and she gave some of the best hits. Till the end, her voice was extraordinary, it was God’s gift not only to her but to us as a nation.

For Saregama, she is a legend,

For us, she is a family member we lost today.