Sona Mohapatra calls for ‘concentrated steps’ to preserve Lata Mangeshkar’s legacy

As the country mourns the demise of legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, singer Sona Mohapatra wants to start initiate conversations to preserve her legacy, claiming that we don’t always to archive our music properly in India.

“We have grown up listening to Lataji’s music. Her voice is one force that unites us across boundaries and languages, and it was proved when we all were unified in grief after her death… There is no difference of opinion about the fact that she was truly the leading light of mainstream music. We have to move on from the idea of grief, and celebrate a lifetime of inspiring the country and subcontinent,” asserts Mohapatra.

While the late singer’s contributions can’t be measured, Mohapatra feels they can definitely be preserved. “Lataji will continue to inspire us for many lifetimes to come. I think this is not only an opportunity for us to grieve over her demise, but (also a chance) to put out a clear message saying, ‘We need a concerted effort to archive her legacy to protect her music from getting spoiled’. A lot needs to be done because Lataji’s legacy of over 36,000 songs should be preserved for all future generations. Because there is something to learn from every song of hers,” says the 45-year-old.

And by preserving, Mohapatra doesn’t mean putting Lataji’s song clippings on social media. “In India, we don’t tend to archive our music properly. A lot of our music is getting lost because they was analogue recordings and they weren’t preserved in the digital age correctly. As a result, the music recording quality keeps changing, becoming more and more shrill. It needs technical expertise and funds to be archived,” she shares, ruing the lack of a proper archival system for music.