Meri Awaaz Hi Pehchan Hai: Hindi songs that defined Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar is credited with thousands of songs in as many as 36 Indian languages over a period of almost eight decades but there were some tracks that stuck with her something the melody queen also went on to acknowledge in her later yearsIn an interview with PTI in October 2021 Mangeshkar said she still remembers how veteran lyricistpoet Gulzars words meri awaaz hi pehchan hai from the song Naam Gum Jaayega in his 1977 directorial Kinaara came to reflect her own storied journey in music with her fans conflating her voice with her identityMeri awaaz hi pehchan hai means My voice is indeed my identityMangeshkar who passed away Sunday morning following a multiple organ failure at the age of 92 had said she remembers vividly the day she did the playback for the songEveryone in the country knows that Gulzar sahab writes beautifully He also speaks beautifullyWhen I was singing this song he came to me and gently said Meri awaaz hi pehchan hai aur ye hai pehchanHe said something like this But later I also started saying that my voice is my identityAnd now whoever sings that song or writes about me says those lines Mangeshkar had saidIn his homage to the Nightingale of India Bollywood star Akshay Kumar also quoted the lines from Naam Gum JaayegaMeri Awaaz Hi Pehchaan Hain Gar Yaad Rahe and how can one forget such a voice Deeply saddened by the passing away of Lata Mangeshkar ji my sincere condolences and prayersOm Shanti Kumar tweetedBut just like her many diverse songs are her many listeners who have their own favourite or favourites they remember the singer byFor Masaan director Neeraj Ghaywan it is another song penned by Gulzar Humne dekhi hai un aakhon ki from the 1969 film Khamoshi directed by Asit SenThe song picturised on Waheeda Rehman makes a case for those bonds that shouldnt be tainted by the society by putting a label to themNa ye bujhti hai na rukti hai na thehri hai kahin noor ki boond hai sadiyon se baha karti haisirf ehsaas hai ye rooh se mehsoos karo tweeted GhaywanLata Mangeshkar lives on the filmmaker saidMangeshkars melancholic lilt to Ajeeb daastaan hai ye lipsynced by Meena Kumari in 1960s Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai is one of the most iconic songs of all timeOver 50 years later too the song continues to resonate in pop culture Bombay Talkies the 2013 anthology had one segment directed by Karan Johar which borrowed its title from the songAjeeb Dastan Hain Ye underlines the absurdities and ironies of life something which was viewed with a different lens in the form of another anthology called Ajeeb Daastaans which premiered on Netflix in 2021The haunting loneliness of Lag ja gale the declaration of both love and war in the rebellious Pyaar Kiya to Darna kya the song of freedom and aspiration in Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai to the naughtiness in love with Baahon me chale aao Mangeshkar had done it all in her heydayAnd yet the singing legends twilight years were just as illuminating with a Jiya jale here and a Tere liye thereMangeshkar was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit ICU of the Breach Candy Hospital in South Mumbai in early January after she tested positive for COVID19 with mild symptoms and was also diagnosed with pneumoniaShe remained in the ICU for more than two weeks following signs of marginal improvement in her health following which the doctors treating her had taken her off the ventilator on January 28However she was put on the ventilator again as her health started deteriorating from February 5 after which the team of doctors employed aggressive therapy to revive herThe singer may have passed away but her songs will live on in the collective memory of IndiansThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever