Lata Mangeshkar, the legendary playback singer, passed away at ninety-two on 6th February 2022. After testing positive for Covid-19, she was admitted to a hospital in Mumbai where she was diagnosed with Pneumonia and multiple organ dysfunction as well. Unfortunately, the vocalist could not survive the aggressive therapies. The government of India announced two days of mourning over her death. Millions of fans and public figures across the world expressed grief at her passing. Being the most influential singer of India, Lata’s life, accomplishments and contributions to the Indian music industry shall remain engraved forever.
Lata was born into a Brahmin family of performers on September 28, 1992, and named Hema. Later, her parents changed her name to Lata, being inspired by a character named Latika in her father’s play. Her father’s name was Deenanath Mangeshkar and her mother’s name was Shivani. Her paternal grandfather was a Hindu priest in Goa while her maternal grandparents were from Gujrat. She learned Gujrati folk songs such as the Garbas of Pavagadh from her maternal grandmother.
The chanteuse primarily sang in Hindi, Bengali and Marathi languages. She even recorded songs in a few foreign languages and over thirty-six Indian languages. Her father died in 1942 of a heart disease when Lata was only thirteen years old. Master Vinayak, who owned a movie company, took care of her family being a close friend and helped Lata get started in her career as a singer and actress.
Madam Noor Jehan heard Lata sing during her teenage years and told her to practice a lot. Initially, Lata was said to imitate Noor Jehan but later on developed her own style of singing. She introduced a new style of music to the Indian film industry which was a union of both modern and traditional music. Her first hit song was “Aaye ga aane wala” for the movie ‘Mahal’.
Lata received several titles throughout her career of over seventy years. “The Queen of Melody”, “Voice of the Millennium” and the “Nightingale of India” are her most popular titles. She was an occasional music composer too. She was also an honorary recipient of the Bharat Ratna. Her mellifluous voice and the abundant treasure trove of her songs shall always keep her alive in the hearts of her countless fans.
