Deenanath Mangeshkar

Master Dinanath Mangeshkar (1900-April 24 1942) was the father of well-known singers Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.

Early Life

Master Dinanath Mangeshkar was born in the small village of Mangeshi in Goa in 1900. He was the eldest son of Ganeshbhatt Abisheki and his wife,Yesubai.He started taking singing lessons from Shri Baba Mushelkar at the tender age of five.He joined the Kirloskar Sangeet Madli when he was barely 11 years old.

He won the hearts of theatre-loving people with his good looks and his flawless voice so much that the then giant of the Marathi stage the great Bal Gandharva publicly declared that he would welcome the entry of Dinanath in his organization.

Surname

Being his surname first Abisheki, Dinanath was determined to take his first step in his professional life with a distinctive surname, which did not have the slightest shadow of his past.His ancestral village was called Mangeshi and the name of the family deity was Mangesh.So he adopted the surname Mangeshkar to signify he was the very hand of Lord Mangesh('kar' is Sanskrit for hand).

First Marriage

Seth Haridas Ramdas Lad was the most prosperous businessman of the town of Thalner.Apart from his own mansion, which was guarded by two Pathans round the clock, he owned about sixty houses in town. His daughter Narmada who was fair and beautiful was to marry Dinanath.The marriage of Narmada and Dinanath took place as planned.The year was 1922. Narmada was renamed 'Shrimati' by her in-laws.At the time she was barely 19 and her husband Dinanath 22.After almost four years of marriage,Narmada became a mother of a baby girl.There was little hope that the infant would survive-but survive she did, thanks to the tender ministrations of her aunt Shevanti.But Narmada could not be saved.Late Narmada's father Haridas played his pagdi at his son-in-law saying, if there was anyone to his motherless granddaughter it was his daughter Shevanti.

Second Marriage

The marriage of Dinanath and Shevanti was solemnised at a quiet ceremony within the house.Shevanti's mother chose not to attend.The year was 1927.Shevanti was renamed Shuddhamati in her new house.Though her mother-in-law also called her Shrimati and the name stuck. Shrimati would call her husband Malak (meaning Lord and master).

Later, Shrimati gave birth to five children, four daughters and one son.They were Lata,Meena,Asha,Usha and Hridaynath Mangeshkar.

Death

On Friday,April 24 1942,Dinanathji died of heart disease.42 year old Dinanath had departed leaving behind a stricken 32 year old Shrimati and 13 year old Lata.He predicted acurrately, not just about his own life, but even about his oncoming death.For on Wednesday, he had told his family that after 11:20 a.m. on Friday he would be no more.And his predictions were right. A celebrated artiste died unsung.