How Lata Mangeshkar put a tiny hamlet in Goa on the world map

Singing sensation, Lata Mangeshkar, a singer who defined music for generations, breathed her last at Breach Candy Hospital, in Mumbai, on Sunday.

It is no secret that Lata Mangeshkar was born in Indore and spent most of her life in Mumbai, but not many are aware of the Melody Queen's special connect with Goa.

Lata's father, Dinanath Mangeshkar, a well-known musician and stage artist, was born in Mangeshi village in Priol, a tiny hamlet located 21 km from Panaji, during the Portuguese rule in 1900.

The main attraction of this tiny hamlet is the Mangesh temple. The temple, built in the typical Goan style, is over 450-years-old, and dedicated to Lord Shiva in his form as Mangesh, or Mangirish.

This is also the place where Dinanath's father, Ganesh Hardikar, was a temple priest, while his mother, Yesubai, was a devadasi at the temple, who sang and danced before the temple deity on festival days.

Although Master Dinanath was born in Mangeshi, he shifted to Maharashtra at a very young age to set up his own drama company. However, before leaving Goa, he underwent a name change, states noted Goan author, Tino de Sa.

“When Lata ji was born, her father’s surname was Mangeshkar, but actually her grandfather’s surname was Hardikar. When Lata's father moved out of Goa to Maharashtra as a young man, he assumed the surname of ‘Mangeshkar’ in an attempt to retain his links with his childhood temple town,” says de Sa.

The real name of the late Mangeshkar was ‘Hema Mangeshkar’.

Lata Mangeshkar was known by many names. For some, she was the "Nightingale of India". For others, she was “Gaan Kokila”. But, not many people know that Lata Mangeshkar’s actual name was Hema.

At the age of 22, Deenanath Mangeshkar married his first wife, Namrata, and they had a daughter, whom they named Latika. However, the child died in infancy, and soon, his first wife passed away, too. Later, Deenanath married his sister-in-law, Shevanti and their first child, Lata Mangeshkar, was born in 1929.

"Lata Mangeshkar was named Hema when she was born. However, her father, Deenanath Mangeshkar called her Lata out of affection, and in the memory of his first daughter, Latika, who died in infancy. Later, the name Lata also stuck with her and she became a legendary singer," shares de Sa.