Why are Indians obssessed with Lata?

I agree that Lata Mangeshkar is one of the greatest singers of all time, but I wonder why Indians are obssessed with having female voices similar to hers?

Before Lata, we had Noorjehan and Shamshad Begum with heavy bass voices. Lata's entry with her girlish, high-pitched voice was a refreshing change for the time. It even fit in with the image of a model woman - delicate, feminine and flowery.

Today we have Kavita Krishnamurthy, Alka Yagnik, Madhushree and Shreya Ghoshal with similar "feminine" voices.

But, a woman who has a heavier voice is called manly!

For instance: Himani Kapoor of SRGMP Challenge 2005 had a lovely yet unconventional voice. An asinine comment was made, advising her to have a gender change to suit her voice!

By that logic, are Abida Parveen, Sunidhi Chauhan, Usha Uthup, Richa Sharma and Jaspinder Narula also men and need an urgent sex change?

Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin and Mariah Carey do not have conventional female voices such as those initially propagated by Opera singers. But, they can reach high notes with great ease and are legends in their own right. Also, its quite easy to figure out that they are NOT men.

Is the ideal female playback voice delicate and feminine like Lata's? If yes, why? If no, why?

Why do you think Indians prefer listening to voices similar to Lata's as a majority compared to singers like Usha Uthup for instance?

Originally posted by: T.

I agree that Lata Mangeshkar is one of the greatest singers of all time, but I wonder why Indians are obssessed with having female voices similar to hers?

Before Lata, we had Noorjehan and Shamshad Begum with heavy bass voices. Lata's entry with her girlish, high-pitched voice was a refreshing change for the time. It even fit in with the image of a model woman - delicate, feminine and flowery.

Today we have Kavita Krishnamurthy, Alka Yagnik, Madhushree and Shreya Ghoshal with similar "feminine" voices.

But, a woman who has a heavier voice is called manly!

For instance: Himani Kapoor of SRGMP Challenge 2005 had a lovely yet unconventional voice. An asinine comment was made, advising her to have a gender change to suit her voice!

By that logic, are Abida Parveen, Sunidhi Chauhan, Usha Uthup, Richa Sharma and Jaspinder Narula also men and need an urgent sex change?

Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin and Mariah Carey do not have conventional female voices such as those initially propagated by Opera singers. But, they can reach high notes with great ease and are legends in their own right. Also, its quite easy to figure out that they are NOT men.

Is the ideal female playback voice delicate and feminine like Lata's? If yes, why? If no, why?

Why do you think Indians prefer listening to voices similar to Lata's as a majority compared to singers like Usha Uthup for instance?

Answer bolded above.

SS, the words you bolded are, according to me, a gender based stereotype. Its like the societal norm which defines beauty in a woman as being skinny to the point of being anorexic.

See, I am not talking about Lata as a complete singer (involving expressions, etc). I am talking about her voice type, which has been made staple by our music industry. Sunidhi's voice, as Sowmyaa mentioned, leans towards a sweetness, but is an unconventional voice type. That is what I'm aiming this discussion at.

Most female singers in the West do not have the same delicate, girlish tonal quality. The closest I came across in popular music was Enya for one of the LOTR tracks. There may be more that I dont know of.

I suppose it depends on one's tastes as well. But, keeping tastes aside, why is there a vast difference in female tonal quality when we compare India with the West or the Middle East?

If it is because we have a stereotype image of the ideal woman, then should this change? If yes, why? If no, why?

Originally posted by: MNMS

(P.S. Tanaz.. have u listened to Abida Parveen... where??😃 im eager to know)

Maryam, I heard her perform "Damadam mast kalandar" live on Sa re ga ma pa once when she came as a judge. Amazing voice which just touches the soul! 👏 And she was a hard marker. The highest mark she gave was 35 or 40 out of 100. 😆

Originally posted by: T.

Most female singers in the West do not have the same delicate, girlish tonal quality. The closest I came across in popular music was Enya for one of the LOTR tracks. There may be more that I dont know of.

I suppose it depends on one's tastes as well. But, keeping tastes aside, why is there a vast difference in female tonal quality when we compare India with the West or the Middle East?

If it is because we have a stereotype image of the ideal woman, then should this change? If yes, why? If no, why?

Originally posted by: T.

I agree that Lata Mangeshkar is one of the greatest singers of all time, but I wonder why Indians are obssessed with having female voices similar to hers?

Before Lata, we had Noorjehan and Shamshad Begum with heavy bass voices. Lata's entry with her girlish, high-pitched voice was a refreshing change for the time. It even fit in with the image of a model woman - delicate, feminine and flowery.

Today we have Kavita Krishnamurthy, Alka Yagnik, Madhushree and Shreya Ghoshal with similar "feminine" voices.

But, a woman who has a heavier voice is called manly!

For instance: Himani Kapoor of SRGMP Challenge 2005 had a lovely yet unconventional voice. An asinine comment was made, advising her to have a gender change to suit her voice!

By that logic, are Abida Parveen, Sunidhi Chauhan, Usha Uthup, Richa Sharma and Jaspinder Narula also men and need an urgent sex change?

Whitney Houston, Celine Dion, Aretha Franklin and Mariah Carey do not have conventional female voices such as those initially propagated by Opera singers. But, they can reach high notes with great ease and are legends in their own right. Also, its quite easy to figure out that they are NOT men.

Is the ideal female playback voice delicate and feminine like Lata's? If yes, why? If no, why?

Why do you think Indians prefer listening to voices similar to Lata's as a majority compared to singers like Usha Uthup for instance?