09 January,2011 10:41 AM IST | | Subhash K Jha
No, she is not writing an autobiography. But when Lataji, known to be exceedingly guarded about her life and achievements, finally allows close family members and long-time admirers to open the vault of her memories, it's just as significant.
A concerted effort to chronicle her saga in an exhibition of her unseen photographs (both of her and taken by her) is on. Suitcases and trunks filled with photographs and documents, that were hitherto lying unattended and disorganised at the Nightingale's residence Prabhu Kunj on Peddar Road, are to be retrieved by her brother, composer Hridanayanth Mangeshkar, with the active help of young composer Mayuresh Pai.
The treasure includes rare photographs of Mangeshkar that chronicle her evolution from a timid 12 year-old girl, obligated to become the family's bread-earner after her father's death, to the formidable 81 year-old singer.
A 2011 calendar with Lataji's rare photographs and comments on the various composers she has worked with, from Ghulam Haider in 1947 to AR Rahman in 1998, is also being launched. "All the rare pictures in the calendar have been put together by my brother (Hridayanath), Rashesh Shah (Bharat Shah's son) and his wife. They painstakingly sifted through the records. I've given Pai nearly 1,200 old photographs. He is free to use them as he thinks appropriate."
Lataji was reluctant to go through pictures and documents from her past. She finds it vain and uninspiring. "I've never believed in resting on my laurels. Whatever praise and recognition has come my way I've accepted with humility and gratitude, but I don't believe in marketing myself. I don't even listen to my songs once they are recorded. When I hear myself on television, I quickly switch channels," she says.
Not too many fans know this, but every time Lataji has to pick favourites, she gets the jitters. "If you name certain people and songs, you are bound to leave out others and offend them. However, recently I've been sticking my head out." Aapki Seva Mein Main Aur Mere Saathi, a new 5-volume album by the SaReGaMa, has Lataji selecting her favourite duets with colleagues ranging from Mohammad Rafi, Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar to sister Asha Bhosle.
