Lata - 75 Years

" Nightingale of India" , " Voice of the Millennium" , " living legend" -- all these descriptions sit very lightly on her shoulders. Lata Mangeshkar celebrated her 75th Birthday a few days ago. Her treasure trove of songs & sheer variety leaves one breathless ( Not to forget a Career Span of almost 60 Years of singing).

Despite allegations of Rivalry & not allowing other singers to grow ( Especially Asha,Vani Jairam,Anuradha Paudhwal) & her constant tiffs with bigwig music Directors ( She never sang for O.P.Nayyar & had big showdowns with Shankar-Jaikishan,S.D.Burman,L-P,Mohd.Rafi at various phases in her Career) , there is no denying the unalloyed sweetness of her voice and her amazing versatility .

As someone, Who is a big Hindi film music buff , I hereby try to present my Favorite 10 Lata Solos. Its a very tough job to pick 10 best songs amongst her thousands but I have tried to do a balanced job. I have chosen only Solos and not duets.

Lata Top 10 Songs ( Solos ) :

1. Yeh Zindagi usiki hai ( Film : Anarkali , Music : C.Ramachandra) This is perhaps one of the best Solos of the 50's.Lata has sung the song beautifully.She scales the higher Octaves with ease in this song.

2. Pyar Kiya Tho Darna Kya ( Film : Mughal-e-Azam , Music : Naushad) Is there something new I could say about this song ? An all time favorite,it is a sheer magic of Picturisation & rendition.

3. Aaja re Pardesi ( Film : Madhumati , Music : Salil Chaudhury) The unalloyed sweetness of Lata's voice & the haunting tune makes it one of my favorite songs. Salilda's score for Madhumati (& Anand) is unforgettable.

4. Rasik Balma ( Film : Chori Chori , Music : Shankar-Jaikishan) A wonderful classical song based on the Raaga " Shudh-Kalyan" . Lata's association with S-J produced many memorable solos & duets.

5. Aapki Nazrone Samjha ( Film : Anpadh , Music : Madanmohan) I doubt if any other singer could have done justice to this song . A vintage Lata-Madanmohan song.I was amazed the first time I listened to it and continue to be amazed everytime .

6. Jo Humne dastaan ( Film : Woh Kaun Thi , Music : Madanmohan) Another gem from Madanmohan. Haunting melody and Lata's voice is soothing.This movie was remade in Tamil too ( I think Jayalalitha was the Heroine and the movie was titled " Yaar Nee").

7. Aaj Phir Jeene Ki ( Film : Guide , Music : S.D.Burman) Guide had fabulous music by one of my favorite music directors -- S.D.Burman. This Song has a very unconventional start (Began with the Antara )and perhaps that makes it all the more appealing.

8. Na Koi Umang ( Film : Kati Patang , Music : R.D.Burman) One of the best sad solos of Lata. Panchamda has composed a great score.

K.Balachander used this song very well as a background hanting melody to convey the sadness of his heroine in one of his Tamil movies.

9. Megha Chaayi Aadhi ( Film : Sharmilee , Music : S.D.Burman) Wonderful music. The song has a long orchestration music and starts chirpily but then takes a sudden tonal change to loneliness.

10. Diya Jale ( Film : Dil Se , Music : A.R.Rahman) One of the last " great" songs of Lata. Her voice still had the magic and the Mallu " Chorus" makes the song all the more special.