On Friday October 9, 1998 this writer had both the fortune and
misfortune of seeing and listening to the last active legend of vocals
from South Asia to have emerged out of the Urdu/Hindi/Punjabi language
realm. At the Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center in the San Francisco
Bay Area City of Oakland, the who's who of the Indian American
community in Northern California and a sizable number of Pakistani
fans came to see Lata Ji. It was a fortune that I had the opportunity
to finally catch up with the "Nightingale of India", the most honored
and prolific singer that country has ever produced. The misfortune was
putting up with an extremely obnoxious security and very indifferent
organizational apparatus (or was it just being a Pakistani in an
Indian program?) that prevents a more in depth and visual (pictorial
report) here. It was indeed unfortunate that in spite of a great
performance by Lata Ji ("Mashallah" at the age of seventy, still going
strong and Ah! what a voice) that I had to write some of the above
lines. Because if anything else this show honored not only the amazing
vocal craft of Lata and increased her die-hard following by one from
across the border, the night was an additional honor for one of our
very own, the best of our best, Madam Noor Jehan. Not only was our
Malikah-e-Tarannum honored by Lata Ji in words, but she proceeded to
sing a special song of Madam's liking in her honor. Needless to say
that Pakistanis were happy and floored.

If the readers of this writing are not aware of previous articles by
this reporter, South Asia has produced a minimum of 3 vocal legends in
the past 50 years. As this is based on one opinion, there is plenty of
room for dissent and since many of us have not been around since
Saigol, there is also the age issue. But the names of Lata Mangeskar,
Noor Jehan and the meteor who left us too soon, the late Nusrat Fateh
Ali Khan come to mind. The reason for including the Punjabi language
earlier along with Hindi and Urdu was that the latter two have
remained unmatched thus far in that language as well. But seriously,
if one asks the very crafty and fine music directors from the time
before the Partition of India, these gentlemen have been using Lata Ji
and Noor Jehan as competitors in their efforts to bring out the best
from each. And since Noor Jehan was Lata Ji's senior by a few years
(and also an accomplished actress whose movie "Anmol Ghari" is still
remembered with much fondness by many an Indian senior) it was Lata
Mangeshkar that had to play catch up.

So the question is not who is the best of the best because Madam Noor
Jehan has recently been fighting for her life in a Ohio hospital and
obviously no longer sings. But I place this question before the
readers: How Good would Lata Ji have been if she was not given the
standard of Noor Jehan to pursue? Many will argue that she surpassed
her competition, but while we compare these two vocal Titans, let us
not talk about winners or losers. It is because of them that
entertainment in both India and Pakistan won. So as Lata Ji
mentioned at this show, the famed music director Naushad once told her
to sing a song while keeping her "saheli" (A special friend) in mind,
she said that she was puzzled. When asked to elaborate on who the
"saheli" was? He said he meant Noor Jehan. Now we know why. It was
because Naushad Sahib only wanted Lata Ji's best.

The show in Oakland itself was an introduction of almost the entire
Mangeshkar singing clan minus Asha Bhosle. But as they say, when you
place a candle before the sun, guess who gets more attention? Lata Ji
was the sun in case anyone is wondering. I for one was also impressed
by Farida Jalal's professionalism, and Sudhesh Bhosle turned out to be
a great entertainer. Overall it tended to be a fun evening (unless one
had to deal with the organizers). The show was as near to sold out as
possible. It was also an evening of Indian pride as "Jai Hind" and
"Vande Mataram" were the conclusion. And if the Pakistani Rock Band
Junoon can sing "Jazbah-e-Junoon" to dancing Indian youth in India
then Pakistanis too can appreciate Indian national/patriotic songs
here in the USA just for their quality. The Indian community is indeed
lucky enough to have Lata Ji as one of their national symbols.

Now back to the reason why this is the first Indian program that this
reporter has ever covered (and possibly the last). There were two high
points that can be recalled. One was the singing of "Tum na jaane kis
jahan mein kho gaye" one of her best ever. The second was her personal
tribute to Noor Jehan by singing one of Madam's favorites "Aey Dilay
Naadaan". Coming from a person with the stature of Lata Mangeshkar,
this tribute goes far beyond anything that a little known
Pakistani-American writer and journalist from Sacramento, California
could ever hope to match (even though I did try when no other
Pakistani writer felt the need). I do know that the article on Madam
Noor Jehan was published first in the Pakistani-American press, and in
Pakistan. I did receive a word of thanks via e-mail from one of
Madam's family members on that attempt. One can only wonder if it ever
went across the border?

The final points here are for Lata Ji and Noor Jehan and possibly the
entire Indo-Pakistani community. For over 50 years Lata Mangeshkar has
enriched our collective lives. In a spirit of a new detante, it is
refreshing that we can share the musical heritage of these two amazing
voices continuing from pre-partition Bombay's Filmistan Studio
days. Now I doubt that even these two ladies could have solved the
Kashmir Dispute for us but they at least get us to talk. So first of
all to Lata Ji , the reason I wanted to meet you in Oakland was not
just as another fan trying to get an autograph and a picture (It would
have been nice but not essential). As a person who firmly believes
that Madam Noor Jehan's song "Mujh se pehli si Mohabbat" is still the
greatest song ever sung in the language of Urdu and to this day I
remain its "Qaidi"(Prisoner), this insignificant writer would like to
thank you personally for having honored her in such a way. You have
millions of followers worldwide. Now you have one more. Madam Noor
Jehan not only commanded respect, but from a country where the arts
are no longer pursued with the vigor that is visible in India, she
demanded it. Your words have given an extra credibility to those
demands. She has recently been taken very ill and was or is in the
United States for treatment. Lata Ji, I am sure that your words meant
a great deal to her. You possess one of the greatest singing voices in
South Asian history. But there is a lot more to you then your
songs. The word I was looking for here is class.


So to close, if I may borrow a couple of lines from what is my
favorite of your many songs, from the film "Pakeezah" called "Chalte
Chalte" (because it has significance here). The words are "Yeh Chirag
Bujh Rahe Hain, Mere Saath Jalte Jalte". Thank you Lata Ji for once
again recognizing your "Saheli" Noor Jehan. This writer and a people
are in your debt.