Back in the 1960s and 1970s, there lived in Romania a woman named Maria Armarghioalei who fell deeply in love with Hindi film music. She learned its nuances and acquired such mastery over the language and melody that audiences were left speechless by her talent.
Throughout her stage career, she was known as Naarghita, and in her brief but glittering stage career, she enthralled listeners by singing popular songs from Raj Kapoor’s hit films. What was amazing was that she had no connection with India except for a passionate devotion to Hindi songs and Indian music.
Maria alias Naarghita was born in the commune of Pufesti in the region of Vrancea in Romania. After the separation of her parents when she was three, she was raised by her maternal grandmother. At nine, she moved to Bucharest and began to take dance lessons at the Palatul Pionierilor academy. In 1956, she joined a ballet dance group that was run by a master named Constantin Tanase, who was a very influential figure in the art and cultural activities of Romania.
The turning point
The turning point in her life came when she watched a film named Vagabondul starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis. The word means the same as the English word Vagabond and in Hindi / Urdu it is Awara. Hindi films, especially those of Raj Kapoor, were extremely popular all over Europe, and the storyline as well as the music left a lasting impression on the heart of the young Maria, according to an article in The Paperclip.
Transformed into Indian woman
Maria recorded the songs in her tape recorder and listened to them endlessly. She was mesmerized by the melody and also began wearing a saree. In all outward appearances, she transformed herself into an Indian woman. After months of hard practice, she could sing the songs quite flawlessly. But she didn’t speak Hindi and did not know the meaning of the words.
However, she was determined to learn. So she found a professor at the University of Bucharest who taught her Hindi via correspondence. She spent four years mastering the language. In 1959, she recorded her first album of Hindi songs. A Romanian woman singing in flawless Hindi was an unusual and rare occurrence.
Invited by Indira Gandhi
In 1967, Maria’s career got a further boost when the Indian PM, Indira Gandhi, visited Romania. Gandhi saw Maria (Naarghita) perform and was astonished by the Romanian woman’s exquisite talent. She invited the Romanian to visit India and perform before an Indian audience. Maria was thrilled by the offer and accepted it gleefully.
A few months later, she landed in New Delhi. The Indian government sponsored her trip. She stayed for six months in Delhi and Bombay. She got the chance to meet her idol Raj Kapoor who had made such a big difference in her life. Whenever she sang, the audiences were mesmerized. Critics called her a unique musical phenomenon.
Journey comes to an end
But her musical journey ended when Romania’s dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu came to power. The ruler’s wife, Elena, becoming apprehensive of Maria’s immense popularity, banned her from traveling abroad and enforced curbs on her shows. So the woman who once sang to packed auditoriums in front of adoring music lovers began fading from public memory.
Thereafter, Maria spent many years in almost total neglect. She had no family, and no one was there to cheer her up. She had only the memories of all the beautiful songs with which she had once captivated the world.
She passed away in 2013, leaving behind a legacy that was an extraordinary one. Her life and her demise were almost similar to a tragic role being played by a Hindi film heroine. When she passed away, the Bollywood music industry lost a woman who had spread Hindi film music far beyond Indian shores.
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