Radha Mangeshkar

Some Lesser Known Facts About Radha Mangeshkar

• Radha Mangeshkar is an Indian singer and music composer, who is the third generation of the prominent Mangeshkar family.

  

• Her grandfather, Pt. Deenanath Mangeshkar, was a well-known Marathi theatre actor, Natya Sangeet musician, and Hindustani classical vocalist.

  

• The popular Indian singers Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar, and Meena Khadikar are her paternal aunts.

  

• Growing up in a family with a music background, Radha was always surrounded with music. She developed an interest in music at a young age and began learning singing from her father at the age of seven.

• In childhood, she performed the initiation ceremony ‘Ganda Bandhan’ (a ceremony of tieing a sacred band around the wrist as a token of respect for one’s guru). During the ceremony, her father (also her music guru) tied a thread on her wrist.

  

• At the age of 9, she began her music career by performing on stage in Bhavsargam (a musical journey of some famous Indian cinematic and theatrical songs in Marathi and Hindi) along with her father.

  

• Subsequently, she did stage shows like ‘Shivkalyan Raja,’ ‘Nakshatran che dene,’ ‘Akshay Gane Abhanga Gane,’ Dil ki Nazar Se,’ and ‘Didi ani Mi.’

  

• She is an expert in Hindustani Classical Music and has created her own legacy in it by creating her own style.

• Radha Mangeshkar has shared the stage with many popular Indian singers like Hrishikesh Ranade, Jeetendra Abhyankar, Vibhavari Apte, Suvarna Mategaokar, and Rajesh Datar.

• Apart from doing stage shows in India, Radha has also performed in musical shows in countries like the United States, United Arab Emirates, Muscat, the United Kingdom, Australia, Hong Kong, Kuwait, and Singapore.

  

• Radha has also hosted her solo shows like ‘Kahe Meera Soor Kabira’ (a show based on north Indian saints Meera, Surdas and Kabir and performed in Marathi and Hindi) and ‘Rabindra Sangeet’ (a show based on compositions of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and performed in the Bengali language).

  

• In 2009, Mangeshkar released her solo music album titled ‘Naav maze Shami.’ The album contained five tracks- Naav Maaza Shami, Bai Gele Phirayla, Maher Maze Aatle, Sutlela Ambada, and Thakun Basali Maay Ga. The music of the album was composed by Hridynath Mangeshkar and the album was launched by Lata Mangeshkar.

• She has a deep belief in Lord Ganesha.

  

• Radha has received many awards from several music associations.

  

• In an interview, when Radha was asked about the pressure she felt as a part of the Mangeshkar family, she replied,
  

  I feel blessed to belong to a family which has produced artists with golden voices. And I respect and value this treasure. I am avoiding pressure on me. And feel the need to go easy with it. But, unwanted pressure from people around and media comes automatically.”

• During an interview, sharing her childhood memories, Radha said that she used to be a busy singer in childhood. She added,
  

  When I was a child, she was a very busy singer. She would be out in the mornings and return late in the evenings. Still, we had our times together. It was a rule at home to have dinner together — no matter how late somebody came in. We would go on family holidays during the summer. We were like any other family. The only difference is that other people go on vacations to shop while we would go on educational holidays. We would visit the historical monuments in Europe. All of us in the family are interested in history, culture and archeological sculptures. When you hear her (Lata Mangeshkar) sing, it’s clear that she is an intelligent singer. She’s just as intelligent when she speaks. She is also a very funny person and makes people roll on the floor with laughter. She has an amazing sense of humour.”