On Her Anniversary, Mumbai Opens Music College Named after Lata Mangeshkar

MUMBAI, (IANS) – A newly constructed Lata Mangeshkar Chowk in Ayodhya has been opened on September 28, the late singer’s 93rd birth anniversary. Lata Chowk has a 40-foot veena, a musical instrument associated with Goddess Saraswati, weighing 14 tons. Ram Sutar, who designed the veena, also attended the ceremony. Lata Mangeshkar’s nephew Adinath Mangeshkar represented the singer’s family at the inauguration ceremony.

In Mumbai in a fitting tribute, the ‘Bharat Ratna Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar International Music College & Museum’ was inaugurated at the Kalina Campus of the University of Mumbai. Many political leaders and music personalities like Usha Mangeshkar, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Meena Khadilkar, Adinath Mangeshkar, Ashok Patki, Sonu Nigam, Anup Jalota, Pankaj Udas, Mayuresh Pai, Taufiq Qureshi, Lalit Pandit, were in attendance.

The university will offer six certificate courses of one year each in Hindustani classical music, flute, tabla, sitar, harmonium/keyboard, and sound engineering.

Lata Mangeshkar had wanted to start such a music college in memory of her father, Master Dinanath Mangeshkar, and the former Maha Vikas Aghadi government’s former Minister Aditya Thackeray had shown her the 000-square meter plot.

plot of land which she had liked.

After her demise, the ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray had announced that a world class music college would come up in memory of ‘Lata didi’, as she was known during her lifetime.

Later, the government had set up a 14-member expert advisory board for the college courses which included Chairman Hridaynath Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar, Adinath Mangeshkar, Suresh Wadkar, Mayuresh Pai, Zakir Hussain, A.R. Rahman and other personalities.

To start with, the teaching posts will be on an emoluments basis and clerical/ typist jobs will be filled on an external basis, machinery, equipment, and other requirements will be purchased, all at a cost of nearly Rs 1.75 crore per month.