DO PAL KE JEEVAN SE
“Kuch paakar khona hai, Kuch khokar paana hai Jeevan ka matlab toh aana aur jaana hai Do pal ke Jeevan se ek umr churaani hai.” From the song ‘Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hai’ (Lyrics by Santosh Anand. Music by Laxmikant Pyarelal. Sung by Lata Mangeshkar.) T oday Lata Mangeshkarji turns 91. Early in the morning, Soumya, the college-going daughter of our neighbors and family-friends, Sanjeev and Sandya Nair, had sent to me and my wife a lovely-old Lata-song. Soumya is passionate about singing, particularly Lataji’s classics. She uploads them, regularly, on her YouTube channel. “Hello Uncle, hope you enjoy this song… I have dedicated this to my idol, Lataji,” she wrote. I smiled looking at the distinct two-plaits specially donned, today, by our 18-19-year-old, Soumya… I remembered the eventful, inspiring and one-of-a-kind journey, close to a century, of the legend of Lata Mangeshkar! I, also, remembered my dad, in the sixties… when he was in his thirties and I was not...