Veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar passes away at 92

Veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar passes away at 92

Lata Mangeshkar (Hema Mangeshkar; September 28, 1929 - February 6, 2022) was an Indian singer and music composer. She was considered one of the greatest and most influential singers in India. She has been honoured with various titles such as 'Nightingale of India' and 'Queen of Melody' due to her unmatchable contributions to the Indian Music Industry.

In her career spanning over eight decades, she had lent her voice to over 5,000 songs in more than one thousand Hindi and 36 regional films, including genres such as Filmi, Classical, Ghazals, Bhajans, Folk and Pop. Over the years, Mangeshkar was the singing voice for leading ladies of Bollywood from Madhubala to Priyanka Chopra. She worked with legendary music directors, including Madan Mohan, RD Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and AR Rahman.

Mangeshkar had recorded songs in over thirty-six Indian languages and a few foreign languages. However, she recorded songs primarily in Hindi and Marathi. She had four siblings: Meena Khadikar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar and Hridaynath Mangeshkar; she was the eldest among all.

She died of multiple organ failure at 8:11 a.m. on February 6, 2022, after contracting COVID-19 and undergoing days of treatment for post-Covid complications at the Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai, India.

State funeral to be accorded to Lata Mangeshkar

Maharashtra state government on Sunday announced a state funeral will be accorded to the Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar, who passed away this morning. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray mourns Lata Mangeshkar's death, and in a condolence message, he said that it's “heartbreaking that our dear Lata didi is not with us today. There is hardly a corner of the world where her voice was not heard."

Early life and career

Born in 1929, Lata was the eldest daughter of Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar, a Marathi and Konkani musician and his wife Shevanti. Deenanath adopted the surname Mangeshkar to identify his family with his native town of Mangeshi, Goa. Lata was named "Hema" during her birth. Her parents later renamed her Lata after a female character, Latika, in one of her father's plays, Bhav Bandhan.

Lata's father, a classical singer and theatre actor, started teaching her music at an early age. By the time she was five, Lata was seen participating as an actor in plays written by her father. On her first day at school, she left school because her school didn't allow her to bring her sister Asha to school.

The untimely death of her father in 1942 put the responsibility of supporting the family on her shoulders and she never looked back since then. Master Vinayak (Vinayak Damodar Karnataki), the owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company and a close friend of the Mangeshkar family, took care of the family and helped Lata get started in a career as a singer and actress. Lata's first Hindi song was "Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu" for the Marathi film Gajaabhaau (1943). One of her first major hits was "Aayega Aanewaala," a song from the movie Mahal (1949), composed by music director Khemchand Prakash and lip-synced on screen; by Madhubala.

Achievements

Lata Mangeshkar had received several praises and honours throughout her career.

  • She was honoured with various awards throughout her career. She received Padma Bhushan (1969), Padma Vibhushan (1999), Zee Cine Award for Lifetime Achievements (1999), Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1989), Maharashtra Bhushan Award (1997), NTR National Award (1999), Bharat Ratna (2001), Legion of Honour (2007), ANR National Award (2009), three National Film Awards and 15 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards.

  • She also won four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards. In 1969, she gave up the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award to promote fresh talent. Later, she was awarded the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993 and Filmfare Special Awards in 1994 and 2004.

  • In 1984, the State Government of Madhya Pradesh instituted the Lata Mangeshkar Award in Mangeshkar's honour. In 1992, the State Government of Maharashtra also instituted a Lata Mangeshkar Award.

  • In 2009, France awarded Lata the 'Officer of the French Legion of Honour' title, France's highest order.

  • In 2012, Mangeshkar secured 10th position in Outlook India's poll of the Greatest Indian.

  • Also, Mangeshkar is a recipient of honorary doctorates from the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 1989, Indira Kala Sangeet Vishwavidyalaya, Khairagarh, and Shivaji University in Kolhapur.

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