Farhana Farook / DNA

Mumbai, Aug 18: Whether it was ‘Bekas pe karam kijiye’ in ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ or ‘Dil ki kashti bhanwar mein aayee hai’ in ‘Palki’ eulogising Prophet Mohammed, the legendary  Lata Mangeshkar’s voice has always carried a resonance of spirituality and secularism.

Asserting that ‘sangeet ka koi mazhab, koi seema nahin hoti’, Lata has an interesting album on the anvil that will see the best of India and Pakistan coming together.

Titled ‘Sarhad’, the album’s lyrics are penned by Javed Akhtar. “Pakistani singers including Farida Khanum and Ghulam Ali will feature in this album.

We will be including a song by Mehdi Hasan, which he had composed especially for me. Besides that, Sonu Nigam, Hariharan and Suresh Wadkar will also be part of this. There will be one number, which will have all of us in chorus,” reveals Lata.

Lata’s personal devotion to Lord Ganesha can be traced back to her childhood when her father Dinanath Mangeshkar had brought the Lord’s idol home during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival. To this day, the Mangeshkars follow the practice with great zeal.

In fact, Lata has sung an entire album of Sanskrit sholkas titled ‘Sarvamangal Ganesh—The Lord of the Beginnings’ dedicated to Ganesha.

“Whether it’s Ganesh or any God, recitation of mantras alone is not enough. This album is like a few flowers that I place at the Lord’s feet,” she says.

Wary of ‘instant’ music where technology disguises voice aberrations, Lata has a message for aspirants wanting to make a career in music.

“Love your work. If you work only for money and fame, your music will lack soul,” she says. As a parting note, the veteran adds, “However, I never find my own songs perfect!”