Lata: Veer Savarkar's "Manas Kanya"

The legendary singer Lata Mangeskar bid goodbye to the world on February 6, 2022. Several unknown stories, incidents, and images started to circulate on social media sites. One such story was her family's relationship with freedom fighter Vinayak Damodar Savarkar i.e. Veer Savarkar.

 

Veer Savarkar was a freedom fighter and one of the pioneers of the Hindutva ideology, however, his name and his contribution to Indian society have been manipulated in many ways by the so-called liberals. Yet, the Bharat Ratna recipient had never shied away from supporting the staunch nationalist. 

 

According to a Twitter thread, it is said that Veer Savarkar had helped Lata Ji financially way before she entered into Hindi cinema. Lata Ji's father Deenanath Mangeshkar and Savarkar were fast friends. When Lataji had not yet started singing in movies and the Mangeshkar family were not so well to do Savarkar had lent some money to his friend. Later on, Veer Savarkar was imprisoned, his property and degrees were snatched and the fortunes of both families were reversed after Lata Ji started singing actively in movies.

 

 

After her father's death, she got to know of the loan her father had taken from Savarkar and she also knew that the Savarkar family was living in penury. She went to return the money but Savarkar refused saying, "The loan was between 2 friends, she is as much his daughter and fathers don't take money from daughters". It is said that Lata Ji's drawing-room had two portraits - her father Deenanath Mangeshkar and other Veer Savarkar.

 

Years later when Marathi singer-composer Sudhir Phadke was making a movie on Savarkar's life, he didn't have funds and was collecting donations for it. When Phadke went to ask for donations for the movie, Lata Ji became so emotional that she removed both her diamond bangles and handed them to him with tears in her eyes. Those were her favorite piece of jewelry and so she gave her most cherished possession for the movie.

 

As said above, every year, without fail, Lata Ji used to remember and cherish the memory of Veer Savarkar on his birth (May 28) and death anniversary (February 26). Earlier this year, she tweeted on his birth anniversary, “Namaste. Today is the birth anniversary of Veer Savarkar, a true son of Mother India, a freedom fighter, and a father-like figure. I bow down to him.” During his lifetime, Veer Savarkar was referred to as ‘Tatya’ by Lata Mangeshkar, which is a term used in deference for a father or elderly male relation.

 

 

Similarly, on his death anniversary, Lata tweeted, “Today is the death anniversary of great freedom fighter Veer Savarkar ji. We all, here in the Mangeshkar family bow down to him.” She had also taken on the critics of Savarkar, who have questioned his contribution to the nation’s freedom struggle. In her tweet, Lata Ji had said, “Namaskar. Today is the birth anniversary of Veer Savarkar. I bow to his personality, and his patriotism. Nowadays, a few people have been criticizing Savarkar Ji. However, those people do not know the stature of Savarkar's patriotism and self-respect.”

 

 

 

 

 

Once India's nightingale also tweeted that she was honouring the ‘great and multi-faceted personality’ on his ‘Jayanti.’ She shared a video along with her tweet, which was audio of the song Shat Janma Shodhitana, which had been composed by Lata Mangeshkar’s father Deenanath Mangeshkar. This song was written by Veer Savarkar for her father’s play Sanyasta Khadag.

 

 

 

She tweeted, "Veer Savarkar and my family has deep connections, that’s why he wrote a play “Sanyasta Khadag“ for my father’s theatre company, the platy first launched on 18th Sep 1931, the song featured in the play is very popular.”

 

PM Narendra Modi, in his Lok Sabha speech also spoke about Lata Mangeshkar family and Savarkar. He reminded everyone of how the Congress-government sacked Lata Mangeshkar’s brother from All India Radio for reciting a poem on Veer Savarkar.

 

“I am revealing the history of those who talk about individual freedom. Lata Mangeshkar’s family was from Goa. But the country must know how Congress behaved with her family. Her younger brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar was sacked from his job at All India Radio. His fault was that he had presented a poem on patriotism by Veer Savarkar,” Modi said in the House.