Hemlata - Early Life & Background

Early Life & Background

Hemlata was born on August 16, in Hyderabad, India. Her maiden name being 'Lata Bhatt'. Her childhood passed in Calcutta. Hemlata has been in the Bollywood Industry since the age of 13 years. Hemlata came from an orthodox Marwari Brahmin family. Her grandfather late Zorawar Bhatt, belonged to a village Sehla of District Churu in Rajasthan. He was the guru and spiritual master of Maharaja of that region. Lately he settled at Calcutta for the purpose of business.

Her father late Pandit Jaichand Bhatt, who became an Internationally acclaimed Singer, Performer, Musician & Teacher in the field of classical & folk music. He learned music against the family tradition. He regarded as a sole representative of illustrious Kirana Gharana of Lahore and himself a disciple of Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan. Among the many well-known disciples of Pt. Jaichand Bhatt were Pt. Budhaditya Mukherjee (of Bengal), A. L. Chatterjee (Serampore), Gopal Mallick (Calcutta based music director), Ravindra Jain (most notable music director).

Hemlata loved singing since childhood but her father did not get encouraged her as he didnot want to let the Hemlata in the field of music. He was steeped in orthodox culture and was totally against her learning music. Because of her father's opposition she did not expressed her feelling to learn singing. She sang hiddenly in Pooja Pandal but, destiny had it that she would become a singer.

It was around the time Hemlata was 7, Gopal Mallick, disciple of her father, used to be on the organising committees of several big concerts and conferences who recognized her singing talent and gave her an opportunity to perform live before large audience for very big musical concert organised by him at Rabindra Stadium of Calcutta where all time greatest singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Usha Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, Subir Sen, Hemant Kumar, Sandhya Mukherjee, Aarti Mukherjee were to perform. He had espacially invited his Guru Pt. Jaichand Bhatt by persuading him to attend the concert as he wished that Guruji also know the hidden talent of his daughter. Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Hemant Kumar all regaled the audience with their numbers. Lata Mangeshkar was to arrive late. Gopal Mallik took the opportunity and introduced little Lata as a 'Baby Lata' on stage. Maestro V. Balsara was conducting the orchestra. They asked her what she was going to sing. “Jago Mohan Pyare”, she said. They refused to play it as Lataji herself was going to sing it. However, with hesitation they finally agreed to accompany her. “As she sang the first word Jago in a prolonged aalap the whole audience roared in appreciation. She finished the song but couldn’t leave the stage as the audience demanded ‘once more’. And she had to sing the song four times and the appreciation didn’t stop at that—they kept on requesting more songs, she sang 12 other songs including 'Saat Bhaai Champa Jaago Re', in Bengali. Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy announced Gold Medal for 'Baby Lata'.

After that her father also agreed and realised that he had no right to choke the talent of Hemlata and decided to bring her to Bombay.

In between, before her family left for Bombay that Ravindra Jain, came to Culcutta for higher education in music, who used to regularly visit their home to learn music from his Guru Pt. Jaichand Bhatt, Hemlata was just 12 at that time, after taking lesson, he played his own compositions in Bengali on the harmonium and little Hemlata used to sing them. Hemlata’s mother Ambica Bhatt also encouraged her.