मेरी आवाज़ ही पहचान है ... (My voice is my identity!)
Memories associated with Vasant Panchami take me down the memory lane of my early school days. celebrating the auspicious day for Maa Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge and wisdom, was a break from regular school routines. She is also revered as the teacher for speech and music. We would sit near puja mandaps and sing prayers. Mother looked so divine and serene in her white saree and looked like the perfect teacher imparting knowledge to us. The visarjan puja would be performed at the end of the day as we bid her farewell.
Though this celebration happened once a year, to my father who was not a musician or a singer but an ardent lover of music, Maa Saraswati was celebrated every day in our house. For him, he felt Maa Saraswati through the voice of Lata Mangeshkar Ji. In my childhood there were no TVs, cassettes, or video players in our home, forget about modern-day iPods and smartphones. All I remember is he owned a little old radio. Whenever the ethereal voice came through the radio it echoed in every room of our little house. Whenever Lata Ji's song played, especially a Mira bhajan or a soft romantic song, I remember my father saying many times that she is Maa Saraswati incarnated on earth. My sister who had a keen interest in music (she later completed her degree in music) sat with her paper and pen to jot down the lyrics if she liked a song. If she missed a few lines she got impatient and would wait to hear the song again on a later date. I would always hear both father and sister humming their favorite numbers by Lata Ji while doing their chores. That is how I grew up listening to so many timeless songs that stayed with me till today. Now with so many devices at our disposal, I can listen to her mesmerizing voice as much as I want and not get bored instead yearning for more. Such was the magic in her voice.
As I pen lyrics for Odia songs today, I understand how important it is for the singer to feel the bhav behind those words. It is the bhav that touches the heart before even the meaning of a song syncs with one’s mind. She leads by example for all the singers for generations to come what a real singer should be.
As I remember her today innumerable songs of hers flood through my mind as if the same radio plays in my mind non-stop. I have read enough times that Gods and Goddesses do take avatars and teach us lessons through their living. In my heart and mind, there is no doubt Lata Ji was an incarnation of Maa Saraswati herself. It can’t be just a pure coincidence that her immortal soul left us as we were bidding farewell to Maa Saraswati at the end of the auspicious day.
As many people said in their tributes, I echo their sentiments and feel fortunate to be born during her time. She will always be with us expressing our pleasure or pain, celebrating or praying through her immortal voice.
Shat Naman to her immortal soul!
@Manorama Choudhury
March 4th, 2022
(On the same day Pandit Damodar Hota also passed away. He was an exponent of Odissi and Hindustani classical music, musicologist, composer, and well-known guru from Odisha).
This was originally published in Drishti Magazine, pg. 30, translated by Maneesh Srivastav
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