Lata ji humare liye Saraswati maa hain: Pyarelal

Yesteryear composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal and late legend Lata Mangeshkar created history by working on over 700 songs together. On the singer’s first death anniversary today, Pyarelal Sharma, one half of the composer duo, says he misses her “immensely”. “Lata ji was a part of every important moment of my life. A few days before she fell ill, we spoke for almost an hour. She was like a mother to me. I feel she is still around,” says the composer, as he goes on to share Mangeshkar’s role in their iconic careers.

“Lata ji se humara rishta bahut gehra raha. Woh humare liye Saraswati maa hain. Hum Laxmikant-Pyarelal jo bhi bane, Lata ji ki wajah se bane. We were quite young when we were first introduced to Lata ji. Laxmikant (Shantaram Kudalkar) ji ko unhone Shankar-Jaikishan (late composer duo) se milwaya aur kaam dilwaya. When she saw that I was good at playing the violin, unhone humara ek music group bana diya. Lata ji always supported us. We went on to create history by recording 712 songs together. She was jovial and fun-loving, but would also scold us at times,” shares the Wo Jab Yaad Aaye (Parasmani; 1963) composer.

Recalling Mangeshkar’s reaction when they reached out to her for their debut project, Parasmani, Sharma says, “When we requested her to sing our first song, she was surprised and said, ‘Tum itne chote ho, tum music director ban gaye?’ She happily recorded the songs of Parasmani and we gave her a cheque of Rs101.”

He adds, “She would sing our compositions in her own style, be it Bindiya Chamkegi (Do Raaste; 1969), Ek Duje Ke Liye (1981) songs or Satyam Shivam Sundaram title track. Woh jo bhi gaati thi, us gaane ko amar kar deti thi.”

Sharma, 82, says besides being a wonderful singer, the Bharat Ratna recipient was also multifaceted: “We were recording the title track of Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) and more than 100 live musicians were at the studio. Humare liye unhe conduct karna mushkil ho gaya tha. So, Lata ji conducted one section of the song. She became an arranger for some time. That memory is still so fresh in my mind.”

He goes on to recall another fond memory of Mangeshkar and says, “Jab hum Ek Duje Ke Liye ki recording kar rahe the, Lata ji ne mujhse kaha, ‘Pyare, tu itna achha music arrange aur compose karta hai, tu western symphony kyun nahin likhta?’ I was touched by her thoughtfulness and guidance. When I finally released a symphony, called Om Shivam, a few years ago, she was so happy. Unhone mujhe ek Shiv ji ki murti di jo mere ghar mein sthapit hai.”