JAISALMER: It was in 1990 that Queen of melody
Lata Mangeshkar spent more than two weeks in
Jaisalmer
during the shooting of the movie
Lekin
of which she was the producer. More than three decades after her stay, locals distinctly remember her love for the local cuisine and the architecture.
Famous historian and litterateur
Nand Kishore Sharma
said that in 1988 Lata along with her two sisters Usha and Asha Bhosle came to Jaisalmer in search for picturesque locations. "She was so impressed with the sand dunes and the local art and culture and she decided to shoot her film Lekin and she came back in 1990 as a state guest for the
film shooting
," he said.
The three sisters had visited all the tourist spots in Jaisalmer and spent a huge time at
Maru Sanskritik Kendra
, a museum.
"She showed a great deal of interest in the traditional musical instruments and listened to the folk tunes for hours at the museum," said Sharma.
Later the sisters invited local Manganiyar artists and for two days, repeatedly heard them play the folk song 'Kesariya Balam'. "For two days, we kept performing the folk song for them. A variation of the song was also used in the movie by her brother Hridyanath Mangeshkar, who was the music director," said well known Manganiyar artist Hassan Khan.
She is remembered as a simple and down to earth women. "Despite she being offer boarding as the state's bungalow, she chose to stay at the the hotel when the film's unit was staying," said Girdhar Malhotra, the manager of the private hotel where she had stayed.
She became a huge fan of delicious Rajasthan cuisine and she loved bajre ka sogra, ker sangri and gatte ki sabji. She was very much impressed with art and culture, stone carving, havelis.
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