Gopal Nilkanth Dandekar (popularly called GoNiDa) was a celebrated Marathi author and a Sahitya Academy award winner. In his book 'Tripadee', he gave an absorbing account of his experiences as Lata Mangeshkar's tutor during the making of Bhagvad Geeta and Dnyaneshwari albums, highlighting the singer's dedication, intelligence and musical genius. Here is an abridged extract of that article, translated by Veena Sathe Pathak.

'Swar-Kalindiche teeree'
On the banks of a musical river
By: G.N. Dandekar from 'Tripadee'
Translated by: Veena Sathe Pathak
Article provided by: Anand Juvekar

Returning to Talegaon one evening after being out of town for a couple of days, I found an express delivery letter and telegram waiting for me. ‘Reach Bombay on 4th positively. Lata Mangeshkar’.

The letter explained why. ‘The recording of Gita begins on April 9, and your help is needed to work on Sanskrit pronunciations. Please arrive by 7th, so we get enough time to practice. If you don’t come, we will have to cancel the recording’.

I recollected then that Bal(Hridaynath) had expressed his wish to record Didi reciting the twelfth chapter of Bhagavad Gita, along with Dyaneshwar’s pasaaydaan. Realizing the gravity of the situation, I headed to the post office to call Pedder Road. Coincidentally, Lata picked up the phone. 

“We’re all waiting for you eagerly”, she said. 

I decided to put everything aside and get on the bus the next morning. “Keep pithla bhaat ready by noon.”

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Didi and Bal were at the door to greet me.

Bal updated me with the plan. “One side of the record will have the pasaaydaan, and three abhangs, and it is decided to record the fifteenth chapter instead of the twelfth''. 

“We have only 36 hours before the recording. The fifteenth chapter has twenty verses, let’s do ten today and ten tomorrow. Can you manage that, Didi?” I asked.

“Why not?”

Shlok delivery is an art. Each sound needs to be delivered unhurried, every syllable standing on its own, not crowding any other before, or after it. Like a string of pearls gently cascading from one hand into the other. 

Didi had learned some Sanskrit from Pandurangshastri Hardikar a few years ago. She had sung songs in many languages and had received accolades. She was a very sharp learner. Here however, she was going to voice none other than Sri Krishna’s wisdom penned by Sage Vyas! 

HMV was keen on releasing a LP record to a global audience, with a commentary in English. That meant additional pressure on perfection.
 
I was aware of Didi’s method of learning songs. The composer would sing the tune to her 2-3 times, and she would play close attention. She would then softly sing it a couple of times, and tell the composer to get the musicians ready. Then there would be a couple of takes and the song would be recorded. 

I said, “Didi, the Gita isn’t new to you. You are going to sing it with the Pasaaydaan and Sant Dyaneshwar’s works, none of which are alien to you. Your rendition has to be such that even the pundits will sway their heads in appreciation. I will begin by reciting the whole chapter, slowly and clearly. You will read it silently with me.”

“Shree Bhagwaan Uvaach….Urdhvamoolamadhahshaakham…..”

Didi was listening intently. 

“It’s your turn now.”
The royal swan of the swar sarovar was taking lessons! I was chanting the words slowly and precisely. She was listening and quietly mouthing the words to herself. 

“Please sing a little louder.”

She smiled, and in that divine voice, repeated melodiously- ‘Urdhvamoolamadhahshaakham….’

It was unbelievable! It was as if I was listening to an echo of what I had said. The exact same emphasis on syllables like I had done.  I explained to her the importance of nasal twangs in sounds, the importance of syllables in blends and other nuances. 

She is brilliant, and the joy of teaching someone like her is indescribable. The session went something like this- every line was practiced five times. After the four lines of a verse (shlok) were done, the entire verse was recited five times. Once it was practiced to perfection, we moved to the next. 

This sounds easier than done. For one, the telephone was in that room, and it would keep ringing.  We could not disconnect it fearing an important call could be missed. These calls were from people who had nothing better to do, who just wanted to listen to Didi‘s voice, and some were actually out of town folks who wanted bragging rights that they spoke to Lata Mangeshkar when they were in Mumbai. Telephones are a convenience, and they’re also a great inconvenience. Whenever the phone rang, the flow would be disrupted, and we had to start all over again. 

I would shake my head, like a little child, she would bite her tongue and ask, “What went wrong, Appa?”

“It is ‘adhaschordhvam’, not ‘adhaschvordha’…

She would smile, pinch her ears, and say “Sorry, Appa, won’t happen again”. Then she would say the word 10-15 times. 

Sometimes I felt that I was being very hard on her. Her voice is like honey from a Parijaat (Night Jasmine) tree. What difference would a small mistake make? However, Didi did not agree to this. She wanted to be perfect. I wanted the same!

After a total of six hours, we were done with the first ten shlokas. When I left the room, Bal was waiting for me. He ushered me to the study.  A huge portrait of Vivekanand graced the wall. A lot of literature by eminent scholars was neatly arranged on shelves. His six stringed tanpura, harmonium were on display. He was trying to fit the verses to a tune and needed my help. 

“Please tell If I mess up with a word, or if there are issues with hrasva-deergha.”

As he began to play, Raag Bhoop flooded the room. His assistant, Dilip Dholakia arrived and joined the brainstorming. What a prestigious task for me, to tell Bal Mangeshkar that a particular word did not fit into the composition!

They kept at it, and soon, we had something going, but not to our satisfaction. Then Didi entered. Bal presented the composition to her. Almost immediately, she sang the verses, and lo and behold! What a divine touch! Everything felt perfect!

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The next morning, I was at her doorstep again. The same routine as yesterday continued. The same impediments too. Finally, she asked that the phone be removed from the room. However, the stream of visitors was constant. We managed to cover eight shlokas in 6-7 hours. 

Then back to the study, practicing with music. The Pasaaydaan, and three abhangas were ready. Bal wanted to have different ragas for the fifteenth chapter of the Gita. Raag Bhoop and Madhuwanti were ready, but Bal’s fingers were working on Darbari, Jayjaywanti and Malkauns. He would set up a line, break it up, and work on it again. This went on for some time. Finally, I said I was tired and needed a walk. They agreed and we decided to meet at HMV studios the next morning. 

The studio wasn’t new to me, the building, the iconic dog listening to his master’s voice and the setting. However, this was Didi’s recording. That set this experience apart and made it very special. 

Bal and Dholakiya had arrived early at 8:30 am. The musicians began to arrive. Tanpura, violin, swarmandal strains began to fill the space. Hariprasad Chaurasia walked in with his flutes. The man creates magic with his breath!

On the dot of 10:30 am, the door opened and Didi walked in, clad in white, flanked by Usha and Meena. It felt like a fresh crisp spring breeze had blown in. Everything seemed to perk up. The musicians started working earnestly, recordist Madgaonkar adjusted microphone settings, so no sound was overbearing.

The plan was to record Dyaneshwar naman, pasaaydaan and the three abhangas on that day. 

It was decided to sing two verses (ovee-s) Om namoji aadya and Deva tu chi Ganeshu, to a rhythm. These are generally not set to music, so the rhythm was coming in the way of words. Bal was engaged in a tussle trying to balance it out.

Meanwhile, Didi wrote down all the verses and abhangas in her own hand. She always writes down everything she sings, even if someone gave her a printed copy of the same. I studied the paper for mistakes. There were none. Her handwriting was special, neat, with a slight leftward slant. Then Didi marked the paper with signs that only she could decipher. They were special notes about finer nuances. She was now ready to sing. Bal came to me and asked me to sit in the recording booth and listen carefully. “If you find any error, please stop the recording immediately and come outside to tell us what it was. It’ll be taken care of.”

I sat inside the booth. On the cue of ‘rehearsal’, the conch shell started blowing, the voices of Bal, Usha, Meena and Didi started chanting ‘Om…’ and the mridanga began to play. Then came the divine voice- ‘Om namoji aadyaa….ved pratipaadyaa….’ I could barely contain myself in the booth. It was a surreal experience of listening to Dyaneshwar’s words in that setting. 

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The recording of  ‘Ghanu vaaje ghuNaghuNaa’ was okayed. I stepped outside the booth but couldn’t say a word. I looked at Didi. She simply smiled. 

The first virahini was done, now the second one- ‘Pail to ge kaauu kokataahe….’

Hari Chaurasiya played the flute at the beginning of this abhang. It set the tone beautifully! Bal had set up the rhythm in the Punjabi style and when Didi began to sing, it was as if whatever I had heard earlier of this abhang was gone. This was IT!

Everyone in the recording room wasn’t even Maharashtrian, Dholakiya was gujarati, Chaurasiya was Oriya, HMV’s Luthra ji was Punjabi, but Didi’s singing made everyone wait for the crow to fly and give a sign that He was coming home. 

The tabla is generally energetically upbeat, but when Didi started singing the joyful ‘Mogaraa phulalaa’, it provided serious understated support befitting the mood- an incredible experience!

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Our Gita lessons continued.

We were at HMV studios on April 11, and Didi practiced with Bal and the musicians. Then she and I did one take. It was exhilarating, and it appeared to me like the voice of an ascetic carried from the woods across the banks of the Ganges. 

After a couple of rehearsals, the final take began. Incense sticks, conch shells, tinkling bells and then the voice!

The recording went on in earnest. The first four verses were done, and Bal came up to me. 

“How’s it going?”
“Perfect, carry on”. 

A photographer arrived, took pictures. 

She continued. The word ‘dhyaa’ in ‘adhyaatmanityaa’ sounded a little weak, and she redid it. She could have insisted that she was singing it right. Everyone would have sided with her, but she was stringent about perfection. Biting her tongue, she said, “I will not err again, Appa.”

We started again.

The next roadblock was at ‘manahshashthaaneendriyaaNee’. The long sound of ‘nee’ in the word was mispronounced as short ‘ni’. Everything was going smooth, and it was like a sudden damper. I looked up. Didi had stopped. Madgaonkar was perplexed, and she said, “I’m making a mistake.” 

I went out, and she said sheepishly, “I pronounced the long ‘nee’ as short (‘ni’). Appa, let us practice the word ten times”. After saying it ten times, she went back to singing. 

With a student like that, what more could I ask for! 

Didi smoothly glided through the ragas as she sang- ‘uttam puruShastvanyah….’

She was doing an amazing job with the verses. I was worried about the last one because it had some difficult words. However, she simply sailed through it. When it was over, she came in and asked if it was okay. I nodded, and said that if I were a king, I’d have presented her with land. 

She quickly bent down and touched my feet. “Just your blessings”. 

I was touched. “I don’t know how valuable they are, but you asked for them, so here. ‘Yathechchha kalyaaNamastu!”

No school would have been good enough for such a talented student. The values inculcated in her by the family, her sharp intellect, her humility, all of it culminated in this fifteenth chapter. She had been working tirelessly for the past 25 years and she had built this temple of accomplishments. More were added to it every day, and she continues to inspire people globally. 

Amidst all this, Bal saw to it that she offered this beautiful bouquet of Dyaneshwar and the fifteenth chapter of the Gita. She had poured her heart into it, and both were content with the result. 

There was some criticism about pronunciations of words like ‘duhkha’ that required a h sound between syllables instead of k which is what is commonly said (‘dukkha’), and sadly, she had to face the brunt of it. 

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Then I received another letter from Bal. “We are now planning to do the ninth and twelfth chapters. Need your help.”
I went to Mumbai and immediately asked Bal if he had heard about the criticism of the fifteenth chapter. He nodded. I said it was painful for me that she had to bear the brunt of it. So, it would be nice if they could find a new teacher.

Bal said Didi’s opinion was different. The team would remain the same, if it didn’t, the new project would be dropped. 

I decided to be more vigilant this time and showed up at the door at 9 am. She was ready. Clad in a crisp, freshly laundered saree, we began with the fragrance of incense sticks wafting in the air. 

The drill wasn’t new to either of us. The challenge was to practice pronunciation and being mindful of the time. In twenty minutes, the whole chapter needed to be sung. The twelfth chapter was much like the fifteenth but the ninth had 34 verses. Time management was key. 

She is very disciplined, and her work ethic is unmatched. 

One book in my hand and one in Didi’s, we started with the twelfth. ‘evam satatyuktaa…..’

The lessons were done, all the problem-sounds and blends were focused on and practiced to perfection. Every little detail was looked into and what emerged was a flawless rendition. ‘shya’,’shra’, ‘kSha’ and ‘Sha’ were all rolling out with precision. 

Back to the studio we went. She recited a couple of verses and asked if they were good. I nodded and went into the booth. The recording began. It was all going well. Then, came the line ‘avyaktaa hi gatirduhkham’ and the same old issue with ‘duhkha’ came to the fore. I stood up. Bal stopped the recording. I pointed out the error. The recording thus far had gone so smoothly that Madgaonkar suggested that just that word could be recorded and added to the rest of the recording later. “Is that possible?”…“Of course!”

After the rest of the chapter was completed, the word needed to be recorded again. Dholakia announced, “duhkha, take one!” Everyone laughed. 

After the twelfth, work on the ninth chapter began. By now, Didi was familiar with the routine, and soon the chapter was ready to move to the studio. After a few rehearsals, recording was done quickly. 

The ninth, twelfth and fifteenth chapters were now recorded. The ninth was the grand finale. When one listened to it, it appeared as if Didi had been singing it since her childhood. 

Sri Krishna’s words as written by Maharishi Vyas were shining with brilliance through her rendition. This was a rare and unique blend of all things sublime.