enjoying themselves and even participating in the show.
The occasion? It was the concluding ceremony of Master Dinanath Mangeshkar's birth centenary celebrations. Organised by Chaturang, the celebrations were held in Goa, the birthplace of the Mangeshkars' father, who died in a pitiable condition in 1942,
leaving the family struggling to eke a living.
The interview was more in the vien of a free, frank and informal chat, remembering their father, his raagdari and the hard life they endured to reach the height of success.
"The dard which we find in Lata and Asha is the
result of the hardships they went through. In fact, our whole life has been full with tears, which creates the Karun Ras, taking it to the ultimate height of self-searching and Shanti," said Pt Hridaynath.
Both he and Asha Bhosle tried remembering their father, but could not dredge up more than the faint images registered in their mind as kids. But, as Asha states, proudly, "The soul is normally freed once a person dies. But Baba's soul is not free. It lives in all of us."
Asha, in her mid 60s, said she is still struggling hard to take her father's music to the people but has not succeeded. Concentrating more nowadays on researching the experiments her father made in classical music, she is planning a special album.
"We would have not reached the stage we are at today had Mai (mother) had not put her foot down and struggled to bring us up with music," said Asha, in a choked voice, as brother and sister remembered how Latadidi would make them sit in a line and sing when there was no food in the house.
"In fact, it is Baba's voice and Mai's firmness which has made Lata Mangeshkar," said Asha, amidst applause. She proudly told her brother how she inherited not only her father's features but determination, too.
Replying to a question on how she created her separate identity by countering two musical legends of the days -- Lata and
Noorjehan -- Asha said the only way was to give something different to the audience. Though, she admits, she didn't have much of a choice: "A beggar cannot ask for a sweet dish!"
Thanking the Western singers of those days, which helped her create her own identity, Asha also felt that reading great writers -- if not formal education -- paved the path to come up in life independently.
Needless to say, songs played a very very important part in the interview. Indeed, it was a musical journey -- from Dinanath to Hridaynath Mangeshkar.
