English translation of award-winning 'Lata: Sur-Gatha' to release in January next year

The English translation of award-winning book ''Lata: Sur-Gatha'', on the life and times of iconic singer Lata Mangeshkar, will hit the stands early next year, announced Penguin Random House India (PRHI) on the eve of the 93rd birth anniversary of the late Bharat Ratna awardee.

''Lata: A Life in Music'', originally written in Hindi by writer-poet Yatindra Mishra, is translated by noted writer and translator Ira Pande. The book has won the 64th National Film Award and the MAMI Award for Best Writing on Cinema (2016–17).

''Lata di is an artist of global repute; it has been a real honour to see this well-loved and awarded book find new readers in English,'' said Mishra in a statement.

Mishra's decade-long dialogue with Mangeshkar has resulted in a book that goes beyond the conventional and explores the lesser-known aspects of this great artist, introducing the readers to the artist as an intellectual and cultural exponent and providing a rare glimpse into the person behind the revered enigma.

It is touted to be an exclusive peek into her life -- both personal and professional.

Known as the Queen of melody, Mangeshkar started training in singing at the age of five. She began her career as a singer in 1942 and has been credited to have sung 25,000 songs in as many as 36 Indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Kannada, Bengali and others over a period of seven decades.

She died due to multiple organ failure at the age of 92 on February 6 last year.

Commenting on the English edition, translator Ira Pande said: ''to translate Mishra's book while bringing forth the sweet purity of Lataji's voice, her genuine humility and dedication to her music has been both a challenge and a joy.'' Pande has done the English translation of Shivani's ''Apradhini: Women Without Men'', a collection of her mother's writings on women, and Prabha Khaitan's autobiography, ''Anya se Ananya'', from Hindi into English as ''A Life Apart''.

At the confluence of cinema, music and literature, the tome is widely considered as the most towering biography of the voice of the nation that also documents socio-cultural changes from the late British era through post-Independence India right up to the 21st century.

The book, according to the publishers, is a story of the ''various myths, mysteries, truths and contradictions that make a human an icon and make an icon incredibly humane''.

''It is the go-to source to know more about the life story behind the most recognized voice across generations,'' said Chirag Thakkar, commissioning editor, Penguin Press, PRHI.

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