I was a kid when I first heard Lata Mangeshkar’s song in Barsaat -- Ab mera kaun sahara? I was mesmerised by the pathos and enchanted with the voice. I still am, 70 years later – with many thousands of Lata’s gems.

Lata inspired superlatives as few people do. Shah Rukh Khan says he’s sorry that since he is a male, Lata will never sing for him. Says Javed Akthar “If you collect all the fragrance, all the moonlight, all the honey in the universe, their collective magic can’t create a voice like Lata.” At Lata’s famous concert at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1974, Dilip Kumar compared the universality of Lata’s music to a flower’s fragrance, the waters of a brook, a mountain breeze, the sun’s rays, a child’s smile! The audience erupted.

Most people feel a personal connect with Lata. Some event in your life, personal or professional, may remind you of a Lata song. As a schoolboy in Bangalore, walking through Cubbon Park to my school, I was stopped by a Lata song from a building nearby – Saari saari raat teri yaad sataye from Aji Bas Shukriya. The melody was hypnotic. I stood and listened to the song till it was over before I resumed walking.

Years later, I was fortunate enough to speak to Lata at a Filmfare awards function. She told me that the Saari saari song was unique. It was composed by Roshan, but while the song was being recorded, Naushad walked in and the two composer legends chatted warmly. Roshan asked Naushad to direct Lata for this song. “How can I do so, this is your song,” said Naushad. “No, you must,” pleaded Roshan, and Naushad did so. “That’s the first time I interacted with two great composers for one song,” she remarked.

Lata’s voice could fill you with rapture, it could make you weep, it could electrify, titillate, seduce, soothe. If you listened to the songs of Barsaat or Anarkali, Mother India or Mughal-e-Azam, Guide or Abhimaan, you would hear Lata’s voice glide with elan from joy to anguish, from romantic longing to philosophical angst, from a celebration of life to a call of despair.

Lata’s songs distilled some of the greatest moments in Hindi cinema. One immortal song followed another – some 30,000 songs in 36 languages. She won public adoration, honors including the Bharat Ratna, and glory that few see in their own lifetime.

What accounts for the Lata magic? A voice of divine sweetness, with a wide range (she could negotiate all octaves with ease); knowledge of music, thanks to her upbringing; commitment; and an incredible capacity for hard work. She absorbed anything new like a sponge. She learned breath control from Anil Biswas, voice modulation from both Ghulam Haider and Naushad, and Urdu from a maulvi (after Dilip Kumar once said that Maharashtrians’ Urdu exudes the flavour of dal-chaval).

Among fellow-singers Lata had a special relationship with Mukesh (he persuaded Lata to accompany him to a concert in the US, but he died of a heart attack there and a distraught tearful Lata escorted his body back to India); with composer Madan Mohan (her songs for him had a special sweetness, said Khayyam) and with director Yash Chopra (she sang many chartbusters for his films).

Which are Lata’s greatest songs? Here are my own favourites.

Duets

Jaag dard ishq jaag – Lata & Hemant in “Anarkali”

Nain so nain – Lata & Hemant in “Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje”

Aja sanam – Lata & Rafi, “Chori Chori”

Romantic songs

Mujhe kisise pyar ho gaya from “Barsaat”

Nainon me badra chaye – “Mera Saaya”

Do hansonka joda – “Gunga Jumna”

Bindiya chamkegi – “Do Raaste”

Joyous songs

O chand kila — “Anari”

Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai — “Guide”

Jiya jale jaan jale — “Dil Se”

O Sajna – “Parakh”

Sad songs

Aaja re ab mera dil pukara – “Aah”

Mera dil yeh pukare aaja – “Nagin”

Dua kar gham-e-dil – “Anarkali”

Nagari nigari dware dware – “Mother India”

Megha chaye aadi raat – “Sharmilee”

No wonder Dilip Kumar once remarked “Lata resides in all of us”.

The writer is a senior journalist who served the UN in India

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