Every square inch of this country is soaked with Lata ji’s songs: Shantanu Moitra

On Sunday, at 8.12 am, Lata Mangeshkar, the Queen of Melody and an embodiment of Maa Saraswati to many, passed away at a Mumbai hospital due to multi-organ failure.
Music director Shantanu Moitra feels that the whole nation is shocked by her demise. “I found the beach near my house absolutely empty, which isn’t the case, usually on Sundays. I was just wondering what’s this quietness for, when my mother gave me the news.Her demise has impacted everyone."

Moitra believes he was fortunate enough to have Lata ji sing four lines for his composition for the celebrations of 100 years of Indian cinema. “I was given the responsibility of creating a song, and I wanted Lata Ji to sing the first four lines. That’s how I met her and it was so incredible chatting with her. I was supremely impressed because we had an hour long conversation in Bengali. When I asked her how do you know the language so well, she said it was a matter of survival, because there were a lot of Bengalis in the industry. She loved Bengali food and she said she wished to talk more in Bengali for better practice," he adds.

Moitra highlights that listening to Lata ji had been a part of his life even as a child, “I would listen to Lata Mangeshkar on the radio while getting ready for school. My mom would sing Lata ji’s songs while making lunch for me. We played Lata ji’s songs in the college canteen, even girls would sing a lot of Lata ji’s songs, and so on. She was a part of every emotion of our lives."
During his visits to the interiors of India, the state buses would play Lata ji’s songs. "Even while camping in the night somewhere nestled in the Himalayas at a faraway village, we would have her songs on the playlist. I have travelled to not-so touristy places abroad, and witnessed Indians listening to her in foreign lands and feeling good that everything is good back at home,” he added.