At 82, Lata Mangeshkar remains the undisputed queen of all she sur-weighs. And now comes the inside track that she is ready to record the indomitable lines of numerous Hindi poets, including Harivanshrai Bachchan in her invincible voice.
Apparently, the speculation came to the Nightingale after surveying the present musical scene. Says a source with regards to Mangeshkar, "Didi's voice is in amazing form at the moment. She sounds in peak form. She has seldom felt more enthused in recent times. She desires to do something special. Film lyrics and compositions don't inspire her any more, so she decided to sift throughout the works of eminent Hindi poets to sing their lines. Some of the poets she has zeroed in on are Mathailisharan Gupt and Harivanshrai Bachchan. Many more unsung poets would figure in her album which might be without equal homage to Hindi poets."
Shedding light on her ambitious project, Lataji says, "I HAVE BEEN toying with this concept for a few years now. I THINK we've celebrated Urdu poetry extensively in song form. Even in films where I've sung exquisite Urdu lines by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Gulzar, Javed Akhtar and plenty of more. But I BELIEVE there is a lacuna when involves Hindi poets in song form. I NEED to sing Hindi lines by poets who wrote great poetry but in a standard man's language. Mathilisharan Gupta and Harivanshrai Bachchan are on my list."
The list of Hindi poets who would feature in her historic album continues to be be drawn. The factors for selection is eminence, accessibility and purity of language.
Lataji has roughly made up her mind to persuade clear of film songs. She says cautiously, "I WILL NOT sing 'Sheila Ki Jawaani'. The film songs today don't inspire me to any extent further. I FEEL it is time I did the entire singing that I'VE always wanted to, but never had the time to. My project on Hindi poets gives me an opportunity to handle a side of my singing that I've wanted to for a very long time".
Recently, Lataji sang a song in Nepali. She holds the enviable record of getting sung in nearly every Indian language.
Says Lataji, "I've sung in the entire Indian languages except Haryanvi. Now there's just one unfulfilled dream. If I'LL return to my riyaaz and rediscover my classical roots, my father can be more than happy wherever he is."
