Knowingly and unknowingly, Legendary Lata Mangeshkar has touched the souls of billions of people with her music, one being singer Anuradha Paudwal. While the veteran breathed her last on February 6, at the age of 92, her music will live long. The people who were lucky to know Lata ji in person are left with beautiful memories of her. Even though Anuradha met the singer only a couple of times, their relationship has been surreal.
In a recent interview with Pinkvilla, Anuradha Paudwal shared how she convalesced listening to Lata ji’s Bhagwat Geeta. She reinvented her voice in the bargain, and despite having her own impressive trajectory, the legend remained in her life as a Guru. Beyond the allegations of monopoly and machinations, Anuradha maintains that she shared a spiritual relationship with Lata Di – someone Anuradha didn’t have to meet in person but who lives in her music.
Anuradha recalled that as a young girl, she once fell ill with pneumonia and lost her voice completely. At that time, Lata ji had recorded Bhagwat Geeta under the title – Lata Recites Bhagwat Geeta. The track was released to commemorate her 25 years in cinema. Being confined to bed, Anuradha shared that she spent her days listening to Lataji’s Bhagwat Geeta, and by then she had learned the verses by heart. The singer said that she didn’t realise but her voice had changed completely. “It was a transformational experience. To date I do my riyaaz with Lataji’s Bhagwat Geeta,” Anuradha said.
When asked whether it was an uphill task to make her presence, in an era of the Mangeshkar sisters, Anuradha stated that any no point in her life was she ambitious. The singer said that she only had gratitude for whatever came her way. “Lataji is my Guru. A Guru is only to be revered. You can never compete with your Guru,” she added.
It is no news that Anuradha has reprised a bunch of Lata Mangeshkar’s songs in her career. According to the singer, the songs which she reprised were not versions, instead were pujniya (sacred) to her than her own songs. Anuradha shared that her aim was to sound very close to the original renditions to maintain the sanctity, hence she recorded the songs with extreme reverence towards Lataji. “A composer pours his soul to create a composition that’s advitya (unparalleled). At least, we should not mess with it,” she opined. Anuradha mentions that she has worshipped Lata Mangeshkar like Maa Saraswati and calls her relationship with the legendary singer “spiritual… suron ka rishta.”
