The Grammys Fail To Acknowledge Lata Mangeshkar, Should We Not Stop Acknowledging The Grammys?

The Grammy  is getting old. She is  losing her teeth and probably her mind too. Why else  would  she  fail to  acknowledge  the  passing  away  of  our  Goddess Of All Melodious Things Lata Mangeshkar?

She is to music what the universe is  to the galaxy. So  okay,  non-Indians may  not feel as strongly  about  her as we do. But the Grammys  are  music awards. They  are meant to  aknowkedge  the best in the field of music  all across  world. What is music without Lataji?Music IS Lata Mangeshkar  in the Asian sub-continent.By failing to  acknowledge Lataji you have insulted  the  entire  Asian population which  worships her  and acknowledges her as a reincarnation of  Goddess Saraswati .

So in ignoring the  Goddess Of  All Melodious  Things,the Grammys are telling us what we  always suspected:  that India  vis-à-vis the  West would always remain a third-world country. That  even  a thirdrate  musician  from the West is  more  important to the Grammys than Lataji who is  much  much more than a singer.

It isn’t  Lataji who has been snubbed—she is far beyond such mundane acknowledgements. It is us Indians all across  the globe who stand chastened.

As someone who  has worshipped her from my childhood I can only hang my head in shame at how openly disdainful American continues to be of    our heritage. We  nonetheless continue to slavishly  nibble at whatever  crumbs  the West throws our way.

But then I know how much Lataji would have laughed at a time like this when she has been ignored .

I remember  many years ago when she had won the  Padma Vibhushan . The Bharat Ratna  was  yet to come.

“Why haven’t they given  you the Bharat Ratna?” I had pouted.

Her laughter and  her response still rings in my ears.  “Padma Viibhushan or  Bharat Ratna.Kya farq padta hai? Farq yeh padta hai ke aapko farq padd raha hai(what matters is  that  you feel  pained  about it). Mere liye wohi sabsa bada award hai.”

There will never  in  the  history   of civilization be another like you , Lataji. And  to hell with the gimmicky  Grammys and Oscars where  a slap matters more than the  slapper’s  achievements.