AN ODE TO THE NIGHTINGALE OF INDIA

This poem of Keats seems to reverberate perfectly with the Life and Times of the Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar, whose sonorous voice continues to delight the minds of both the young and old music lovers not only in India but also across the world. While John Keats in his poem states that the voice of the Nightingale would continue to delight the listeners even if he were to be no more, in the case of Lata,her albums, which carry her golden voice, would bring joy to the music lovers till eternity. The passing away of Lata Mangeshkar leaves behind a void, which can never probably be filled in. She continues to be a source of inspiration for budding singers aspiring for Stardom.

Lata Mangeshkar was born on 28^th September 1929 at 22.40 hours at Indore, presently in Madhya Pradesh ( and formerly the Princely state of Indore forming part of the Central India Agency in British India ). Her father, Deenanath Mangeshkar was a Classical Singer while her Mother, Shevanti was from Gujarat. She was the eldest child in the family and her siblings, Meena, Asha, Usha  and Hridaynath were all accomplished singers. She received her first music lesson from her father at the age of five.

In 1942, Lata Mangeshkar lost her father. The 9^th lord in the 8^th, a Dustana and debilitated in Navamsa and the aspect of Mars on the 9^th were the causative factors. He died in the dasha of Saturn ; Mars bukthi commenced on 20.09.1942, indicating an adverse period for father. Saturn with 3 Bindus in the BAV chart is also weak. The SAV chart also shows 24 Bindus which is a below average figure for the Ninth house. The aspect of Saturn on the Pitr Karaka Sun is also detrimental to longevity of father.

MIGRATION TO BOMBAY

Lata Mangeshkar migrated to Mumbai (erstwhile Bombay) in the year 1945. Vinayak Damodar Karnataki, (alies Master Vinayak), the owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company was a close friend of Mangeshkar family. He was the person to help launch her career in the tinsel world. In 1945, Lata was under the combined influence of Mercury and Saturn as lord of dasa and bhukthi, both of whom happen to be auspicious trinal  lords . Vinayak passed away in 1948, while she was in Ketu Dasha, Moon bhukthi wherein the dasha lord is a dire enemy of the bhukthi lord.

LOCATING THE GODFATHER

After Vinayak's death, music director Ghulam Haider mentored her as a singer. At that time producer Sashadhar Mukherjee was working on the movie Shaheed. It was Ghulam Haider who referred Lata to Mukherjee, but the latter was not impressed by Lata's voice in order to be a singer in his movie. Ghulam Haider was offended and took a challenge that in the future producers and directors would fell at Lata's feet and beg her to sing in their movies. Haider gave Lata her first break in the movie Majboor (1948) which became her first big breakthrough hit. In September 2013, in an interview taken on her 84^th Birthday, she said " Ghulam Haider is truly my Godfather. He was the first music director who showed complete faith in my talent".

One of her major hits was " Aayega Aanewaala", a song in the movie Mahal (1949) composed by music director Khemchand Prakash and lip-synced on the screen by Madhubala. She was running the bhukthi of Mars and Rahu  within Ketu dasha at that time .Ketu, by being the second dasha in her life, denoting Sampat (wealth) was bound to do good.

WORKING WITH S.D. BURMAN

Before 1957, S.D. Burman chose her as the leading playback singer for his musical scores in Sazaa (1951), House No. 44 (1955), and Devdas (1955). In 1957, a rift developed between her and S.D. Burman, when transit Jupiter was in the 3^rd in Virgo and there was an inauspicious Saturn - Rahu conjunction in the 5^th. She was also in Venus dasha, Moon bhukthi, two lords being Dwirdwadasha (2/12) in Rasi and Shashtashtaka (6/8) in Navamsa. So this friction looks inevitable. In 1963, she returned to collaborate with S.D. Burman.

COLLABORATION WITH LAXMIKANT - PYARELAL

Her collaboration with the duo of Laxmikant and Pyarelal commenced in 1963. At that time she had commenced the bhukthi of Jupiter in Lagna, which is quite auspicious. The collaboration with Laxmikant - Pyarelal grew stronger over the years. She sang over 700 songs with them over a period of 35 years, many of which became huge hits.

JUPITER IN THE FIRST HOUSE

Jupiter in the First house is supposed to be a great blessing.In Latha Mangeshkar's chart the first and foremost thing that comes to mind is the presence of Jupiter in the Ascendant.Here we will discuss and summarise what scholars on Astrology have to say about Jupiter in Lagna.

When Jupiter is in the first house, the results will be excellent. One will be healthy, firm but delicate, fair complexioned and attractive. One will have a physique as beautiful as a God's. One will be strong and long-lived. One will be enlightened, frank, egoistic, humble, modest, cultured, grateful and liberal hearted. One will be calm hearted, devoted to two different Gods, interested in charity and religion. One will practice what one has  learnt, act thoughtfully, perform pious deeds, be intelligent scholarly and knowledgeable. One will have a spiritual interest and will love mysterious sciences. One will be sweet, popular, benevolent, truthful and sweet spoken. One will have a firm temperament, be mature and respected by all. One will be fond of wandering. One may keep one's thoughts to himself. One will be valiant and born in a famous family. One may be good looking, attractive, fearless and patient. One is liberal, independent, truthful, judicious, religious and respected and will perform  pious deeds. One will be enlightened and will have a wide forehead. One will have beautiful clothes. One will be endowed with clothes, ornaments, gold, jewels and wealth. One may be recognized and favored by the state. One might get honor and wealth from the king. One will establish one's excellence among people through one's talents. One will be respected by society   due to one's good character. One will have a happy childhood. One will attain all types of happiness. One will spend money to attain pleasure. One would be fond of benevolence. Obstacles in   one's life are instantly removed.

VENUS IN THE 4^TH HOUSE

Another striking feature of Lataji's chart is the presence of Venus in the 4^th house. Here we will discuss and summarise what scholars on Astrology have to say about Venus in the 4^th house.

One is hard working, benevolent, skilled, well behaved, happy, talkative and valiant. One will be liberal and benevolent. One will be inclined towards religious work and one's mind will be engrossed in worship and rituals. One will be devoted to God and will always be happy. One will remain the same always in happiness and adversity. One will not be heartened by success or disheartened by loss. One will be intelligent and educated. One will be respected by people and be worshipped by them.. One may perform important deeds, which may bring honor and respect to the native. People consider themselves blessed and favored by this person. One may be honored and respected by the state. One will be the object of one's mother's affection since birth, will be devoted to her and will serve her. One will be endowed with all types of worldly happiness. One will be satisfied and will not want anything from one's long life. One owns a good house, good vehicles, good ornaments, clothes and fragrances. One's house may be more beautiful than a temple. It may be decorated with flower garlands and beautiful material. One may have a lot of wealth in the form of silver. One's house will be full of wealth and milk and yogurt. One may inherit non-movable assets and other paternal inheritance. One will get opportunities for promotion and success. One will be affectionate towards friends and relatives. One will be blessed with friends, land and property. The first part of one's life will be excellent. One dies in good circumstances. One may earn wealth through one's own efforts.. One might be unstable till the age of 32. The latter part of one's life passes comfortably. One of the parents may die early. Planetary combinations indicate that that one will always lead a happy life.One will be blessed with horse, palanquins, golden thrones and other comforts.

Summing up we might say that the full indications of Jupiter in Ascendant and Venus in the fourth could be seen in the life of Lata Mangeshkar.

AUSPICIOUS YOGAS IN LATA MANGESHKAR'S CHART

MAHA BHAGYA YOGA

This Yoga is present in the case of Night-time birth, when Lagna, Moon and Sun are in even signs (Phala Deepika 6/14).

The person is blessed with all feminine qualities, and virtues, graceful, good  fortune, good character, lots of wealth, and progeny.

KAHALA YOGA

Lords of the 4th and the 9th in mutual Kendras, and the lord of Lagna is strong.

The person is aggressive, courageous, ignorant, commander of an army, owner or ruler of several villages. The person has material possessions, and ownership of land, houses and vehicles.

BHERI YOGA

The lord of the 9th house is strong, and Lagna lord as well as Jupiter and Venus occupy  quadrants

The person is of a royal bearing, of a noble birth, well behaved, bereft of disease, blessed with wealth and worldly comforts, as well as with a spouse, children  and fame.

VIPARITA VIMALA RAJA YOGA

The 12th lord is in the 6th, 8th or 12th house (Phala Deepika 6/69).

This makes the person virtuous and contented. The person will be equipped with good behaviour towards others, will enjoy happiness, will be independent, following a respectable profession or conduct, and will be known for good qualities.

RAJA YOGA 1

Lords of the 4th or the 10th are in conjunction with the lords of the 5th and the 9th (Brihat Parashara Hora Shastra 41/37).

Result : The person will share a kingdom. This leads to kingship or royal status (In modern context this means a high governmental status)

RAJA YOGA 2

The lord of the Navamsha sign which the Moon occupies, resides in a Kendra or Trikona  from Lagna or Mercury (Sarvartha Chintamani 9.28).

The person is or becomes a commander or equal to a ruler.

RAJA YOGA 3

A mutual relationship exists between the lord of the 4th house on the one side and the  lord of the 5th or 9th on the other.

The person will share a kingdom. This leads to kingship or royal status (In modern context this means a high  status).

DENIAL OF MARRIAGE

In Lata Mangeshkar's Horoscope there are yogas for denial of marriage. From Lagna, the lord of 7 is a dustana and this can be seen from the Mars - Ketu combination in Libra. Similarly from Moon, the lord 7 is in the 6^th. The pleasures of the bed are denoted by the 12^th, wherein we have malefic Rahu,  aspected by  Mars. In the D - 9 chart of Navamsa, which denotes marriage, the 7^th house has Ketu, while lord of 7 is in 12, a dustana. So, in an overall sense we can say that Lata Mangeshkar was destined to live as a Spinster.

AWARDS AND RECOGNITIONS:

Lata Mangeshkar has won several awards and accolades for her achievements in the film world. Let us now try to correlate her awards with the planetary influences.

As can be seen from the above most of the awards were obtained in the periods of Venus and Jupiter. Similarly Rahu aspected by Mars is going to give the effects of Mars. Mars is Vargortama and has very good Shadbala. Therefore Mars and Rahu also were very good for Lata Mangeshkar,especially in their dashas and buktis.

SPIRITUAL VIEWS OF LATA MANGESHKAR

While we are discussing the chart of Lata Mangeshkar let us go through an interview she gave to Bombay Times which will give us an insight into her character and spiritual mindset.

I've read the Gita and certain preachings I strongly believe in — one being to do one's duty without caring for the fruits. I remember when I entered the film industry in 1947, my father had just expired. At that point, my only wish was to earn money for my family. The name, fame and adulation which followed by 1948 was God's wish. I had neither expected nor asked for fame. To date, I pray to God before each recording. I constantly thank God saying, 'I'm not so big, you made me big.' These thoughts are always on my mind.

One cannot escape one's destiny, but by thinking good thoughts, helping others and doing good deeds, I feel, we can lessen a sorrowful fate up to a point. Ram, we believe, is Vishnu's avatar. Despite being a king's son he had to endure an exile for fourteen years. That was his destiny. But because he did good deeds during this period, killing Ravan being one of them, he saw good times again and succeeded in creating 'Ramrajya'.

What we are experiencing today is 'Kaliyuga'. Though I might not be alive, I firmly believe that God will descend upon this earth once again to set things right. If I were to meet God, I would ask him to put an end to the injustice in this world. I wish he would tum this world into a beautiful garden where mankind lives in peace. And though I do believe in rebirth, the only thing I would ask of God for myself is that I should not be born again. "(As told by Lata Mangeshkar  to Kanaka Singh, originally published in Bombay Times on May 11, 2000)

ILLNESS AND DEATH

Lata Mangeshkar passed away in Jupiter dasha and Venus bukthi. Jupiter as lord of 8 is a Maraka for Taurus ascendant. Venus (in the 2^nd from Moon) is also Maraka. Jupiter and Venus are inter - se enemies Transit Jupiter in 8 as dasha lord is evil; so is bukthi lord Venus in the 6^th conjunct Mars. Also there is an evil Mars - Venus conjunction in the 8^th from Lagna in transit.All these factors accounted for her exit from the world.