Lata Mangeshkar has sung thousands of songs in over 36 languages, including Bengali. Conferred with the Banga Bibhushan in 2016, with over 180 songs in Bangla — the second highest after Hindi — the Melody Queen has sung for a number of legends like Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, Bhupen Hazarika, Salil Chowdhury and R.D. Burman among others.
From vinyl to cassettes to CDs and now online music, she transcended generations with her melodious renditions. Rabindrasangeet, modern Bengali songs or even Puja specials are an acknowledgment of the bond between Lata Mangeshkar and Bengali listeners. That her songs are immortal even in the 2020s can easily be established when during Durga Puja, Bengali neighbourhoods still play evergreen songs sung by Mangeshkar.
It was an era of musicians coming together to create timeless art. Singers and lyricists in their respective roles, and even as composer, chose Mangeshkar as their ambassador. Her body of work will remain immortal. Here we list a few of our favourite Mangeshkar’s songs in Bengali.
With Satinath Mukherjee
Lata Mangeshkar’s first hit song, Aakash prodip jwale, written by Pabitra Mitra and composed by Satinath Mukherjee, paved the way for her success in Bengal.
With Hemanta Mukhopadhyay
Mangeshkar’s debut in Bengali music was with singer-composer Hemant Kumar for HMV’s Rabindrasangeet album with songs like Tomar holo shuru and Madhu gondhe bhora back in 1953. Prem ekbari eshechilo nirobe, composed by Mukhopadhyay, was one of her early hit Bengali songs. O palash, O shimul and Nijhum sandhaye pantha pakhira are some of the romantic hits composed by Mukhopadhyay for Lata Mangeshkar. The two even sang De dol dol dol together, a Puja special release. Runner chutechhe has two versions of the song, one by Mukhopadhyay and the other by Mangeshkar.
With Bhupen Hazarika
Rudaali is probably one of the most popular collaborations between Lata Mangeshkar and Assamese singer-composer Bhupen Hazarika. But their association also includes Bengali songs, besides Assamese. Rongila bnashite ke daake, written by Pulak Bandopadhyay, is a memorable hit song, followed by Mone rekho, mone rekho.
With Sudhin Dasgupta
Among the eternal romantic Bengali songs is the Manna Dey-Lata Mangeshkar song Ke prothom kachhe eshechhi from the film Sankha Bela, featuring Uttam Kumar and Madhabi Mukherjee. Composed by Sudhin Dasgupta and written by Pulak Bandhopadhyay, this remains a must-sing song in every Bengali reality music show till date. Aaj mon cheyechhe is another melodious hit track from the same film.
With Hridaynath Mangeshkar
Her younger brother, composer Hridaynath Mangeshkar, teamed up with Salil Chowdhury as a lyricist to deliver a few gems like De dol dol dol, E din toh jabe na, and Nao go ma phul nao.
With Salil Chowdhury
The duo of Salil Chowdhury and Lata Mangeshkar changed Bengali popular music forever. With a series of hit numbers, both in Hindi and Bengali, theirs was an unbeatable partnership. Folklore has it that once, during a particularly difficult recording of a song composed by Salil Chowdhury, she fainted. “It’s a fact. I did faint while singing one of his songs. Salilda’s tunes were a special challenge for me. And the fact that many of his Bangla compositions were later sung in Hindi made it doubly difficult for me,” she had said in an interview.
Popular Hindi songs like O sajna barkha bahar aayi, Ja udd ja re panchhi and Tasveer teri dil mein were huge hits in Mumbai as were Na jeo na, Ja re urey ja re pakhi and Ogo ar kichhu to nai in Bengal. An evergreen number from the film Chayanika, Mone Rakha Gaan for children is Saat bhai Champa. It’s a peppy tune and it immediately transfers you to a fantasy world. O mor moyna go, Na mono lage na, Pa ma ga re sa, Nishidin nishidin and Keno kichhu kotha bolo na are a few from the endless list of all-time favourites from the duo. In 2014, 19 years after Salil Chowdhury’s death, Lata Mangeshkar recorded a newly discovered tune by the late composer.
With S.D. Burman
Songs from Aradhana remade in Bangla for the same film have classics like Aj hridoye bhalobeshe (Kora kagaz tha) and Chondro je tui (Chanda hai tu). The Bengali album was as big a hit as the one in Hindi.
With Kishore Kumar
Priyotomo, ki likhi tomay is the only Bangla song composed by Kishore Kumar for Lata Mangeshkar. The song was penned by Mukul Dutta.
With R.D. Burman
Na bolo na, kichhu bolo na, a Bengali makeover of Kuch na kaho, from 1942: A Love Story, is one of the last songs composed by Pancham. This was a posthumous song sung after the demise of R.D. Burman in both Hindi and Bengali. Anusandhan, the Bengali remake of the Amitabh Bachchan-Raakhee starrer Barsaat Ki Ek Raat saw Pancham and his Lata Didi come together for popular songs like Amar shopno je and Otho otho shurjai re in 1981.
With Bappi Lahiri
Among the most iconic songs composed by Bappi Lahiri in Bengali is Mongol deep jele — sung by Mangeshkar — for the film Pratidan, featuring Sharmila Tagore and Naseeruddin Shah, written by Gauriprasanna Mazumder in 1983. And one of the most popular film songs in Bengali is Bolchi tomar kaane kaane from the Prosenjit Chatterjee-Farah Naaz starrer Amar Tumi; it is an eternal romantic song.