Who was Naargitha? The Romanian Voice That Stole Bollywood’s Heart

Born in 1939 in a small Romanian village, Maria Amarghioalei, also known as Naarghita, took the world by storm in the 1960s and 70s. A Romanian woman draped in a sari took the stage across Europe, mesmerizing audiences with her renditions of Hindi Bollywood songs. She wasn't an Indian, yet her voice captured hearts from Romania to Bollywood, her Hindi pronunciation impeccable. This is her incredible story.

A Saree, A Song, And A Dream

Maria had a difficult childhood after her parents got separated. However, her love for Bollywood made her one of the most extraordinary ambassadors of Indian music all across the world. Despite having no Indian ancestry or cultural connections, Naargitha's voice stole Bollywood's heart, one note at a time. 

It all started with a Bollywood film. In 1951, young Maria watched Vagabond, the Bollywood classic directed by Raj Kapoor. If the name doesn't click, it is actually Awaara, starring actors Raj Kapoor and Nargis. She did not only like it but also got obsessed with it, rewatching it multiple times. 

She smuggled a tape recorder into the cinema and recorded the songs into it. She used to play them on repeat until every lyric, every note was etched on her mind.

But there was a problem: she didn't know how to speak Hindi. However, this didn't stop her. Determined to learn the language, she found a professor at the University of Bucharest who taught her Hindi via correspondence. It took her four years to master the language. She even bought a sari, Indian records, and several musical scores.

Naargitha's breakthrough

In 1959, Naargitha recorded her first album. The audience couldn't believe their ears. How could a Romanian woman sing Indian songs so authentically?

And then, something extraordinary happened. In 1967, Indira Gandhi, India's then prime minister, visited Romania and saw Naarghita perform. Astonished, she invited the Romanian girl to India.

Meeting Raj Kapoor 

And nine months later, Naarghita was in New Delhi, India, on a trip sponsored by the Indian government. She stayed in India for six months, and here, she met her idol, Raj Kapoor. The man whose film had made her obsessed with Hindi music. Kapoor was deeply moved, and he took her under his wing, eventually getting close to each other.

When she went back to Europe, she became a sensation with her unique brand of Hindi songs. Her audiences were mesmerized with her and the critics called her 'a unique musical phenomenon'.

"If you hear her voice from behind the curtain, you would swear she is Indian."

She performed in New York, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Prague, Belgrade, Zagreb, Sofia, and Cairo, becoming the true embassador of Indian music all around the world.

However, her musical journey didn't last for long. By the 1980s, Romania's communist regime, under Ceauşescu, banned her from traveling abroad. The woman, once famous worldwide for her voice, began living in silence, forgotten. Naarghita spent the rest of her life alone without any close family, fortune, or stage, with mere memories of the music she once shared with this world.

She passed away in 2013, leaving behind her legacy as the Romanian nightingale who mesmerized Bollywood and the world.