Farouk Luqman’s column on legendary Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar was quite refreshing. As a matter of fact Lata is without peer, nobody can match her naturally gifted voice.

Indeed, Noor Jahan, Shamshad Begaum had good voice, but something was amiss when we compare them with Lataji. Lataji sang in 20 different languages and that too with perfection, which is no mean feat. Lataji after being conferred upon Bharat Ratna and eight filmfare awards refused to accept any more wards that speaks volumes of humbleness and humility of the melody queen. Lataji sang with almost all singers of her time.

Apart from singing songs, Lataji gave her voice for ghazals and performed remarkably. She also sang ghazals with the “King of Ghazal,” Mehdi Hassan, from Pakistan. In the initial stages Lataji encountered problems with pronunciation of Urdu words. For this purpose she once approached legendary and the biggest Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar to correct her Urdu diction.

Some years back, Maharashtra government had proposed to build bridge at Peddar Road, Mumbai, to ease traffic woes, but the proposed bridge was to pass across Lataji’s apartment. Fearing noise pollution and intrusion of privacy, she requested the Maharashtra government not to build the bridge.

Upon her request, the Maharashtra government gave up the idea of building the bridge. This incidence highlights how much respect Lataji commands not only in her hometown but also across the length and breadth of the country and even abroad. — Anees Lokhande, Alkhobar