Lata Mangeshkar dies at 92 in Mumbai: 15 facts from her life
Her singing once moved India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to tears. The song was ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon’ sung by Lata Mangeshkar. The song still continues to move hearts.
Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar dies at 92. She was admitted to Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai in early January, after testing Covid positive.Her death marks the end of an era. pic.twitter.com/yb9qX8YKv1
— DailyO (@DailyO_) February 6, 2022
Legendary playback singer Lata Mangeshkar was known by various titles – Nightingale of India, Melody Queen and more. She passed away at the age of 92 on February 6, 2022. She had been admitted in the ICU of the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai since January 8 after having tested positive for Covid-19. Her health condition was improving but it deteriorated on February 5, following which she breathed her last on Sunday.
I am extremely saddened by the demise of Lata Mangeshkar Ji, the Nightingale of Indian Cinema and legendary singer. India has lost its voice in the death of Lata ji, who has enthralled music lovers in India & across the globe with her mellifluous & sublime voice for many decades. pic.twitter.com/C9m3PfexyP
— Vice President of India (@VPSecretariat) February 6, 2022
The singer’s mortal remains will be shifted to Prabhukunj, her Pedar Road residence, and kept for homage from around 12.30 pm. Later, she will be cremated at Shivaji Park in Mumbai around 6.30 pm with full state honours. According to official sources, a two-day national mourning will be declared.
I am anguished beyond words. The kind and caring Lata Didi has left us. She leaves a void in our nation that cannot be filled. The coming generations will remember her as a stalwart of Indian culture, whose melodious voice had an unparalleled ability to mesmerise people. pic.twitter.com/MTQ6TK1mSO
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 6, 2022
Lata Mangeshkar spent seven decades singing and built a name and reputation for herself. She came to be regarded as a legendary singer for having sung over 50,000 songs, giving several classic hits. She was conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1990, Padma Bhushan in 1969 and Bharat Ratna in 2001.
A true history of India, Lata Mangeshkar was. ?? pic.twitter.com/ZSQgvb4r4a
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) February 6, 2022
Her loss has been reverberating not just in the music industry, but in the whole of the country as well.
Here are 15 facts about her and her life that may surprise you:
1. LATA MANGESHKAR’S BIRTH NAME
The world probably would have known the singer by a different name altogether. Lata Mangeshkar was named Hema at the time of her birth. But later it was changed to Lata after the name of a character Latika in a play of her father.
Lata Mangeshkar was the first child born to Shevanthi and theatre actor and classical singer Dinanath Mangeshkar in 1929. She has four siblings - Meena, Asha Bhosle, Usha and Hridaynath, all of who are famous singers and musicians.
2. STARTED WORK AT 13 YEARS OF AGE
Lata Mangeshkar had to start working at the tender age of 13 after her father Dinanath passed away in 1942, to support her family as the eldest child. She started acting and singing to earn a living. In 1942 itself, Lata’s first recorded song for the Marathi film Kiti Hasaal got dropped from the final cut. She also acted in over eight films during her early phase.
3. REGRETS NOT COMPLETING EDUCATION
In an interview with the Hindustan Times, Lata Mangeshkar said she regretted not completing her education, not attending college and also not being trained in classical music. She also revealed that she dreamed of becoming an eminent professor.
4. TOOK LESSONS FROM EMINENT MUSIC PERSONALITIES
Lata Mangeshkar learned the art of singing from the best. She took classical music lessons from Ustad Amanat Ali Khan, Amanat Khan Devaswale and Pandit Tulsidas Sharma, a pupil of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.
5. REJECTED FOR HER VOICE
While Lata Mangeshkar’s voice is considered legendary now and is immediately recognisable, there was a time when her voice was rejected by the Indian film industry. At the time, Lata’s voice was considered too thin compared to playback singers like Noor Jehan and Shamshad Begum who sang with heavy nasal voices.
6. BREAKTHROUGH
Lata Mangeshkar’s major breakthrough came when Majboor released in 1948 featuring her song titled ‘Dil Mera Toda’. Her first major hit came when she sang for Madhubala in the film Mahal (1949), which was titled ‘Aayega Aanewalla’.
7. PERSONAL LIFE
Lata Mangeshkar never talked about her love interests. She remained unmarried all her life. During an interview with the Hindustan Times, when asked about her views on society’s perception of marriage being important for a woman, Lata quoted film director Kiran Rao, who had said that it’s important to find happiness within oneself otherwise trying to find happiness through marriage or children loses its significance.
8. ASHA BHOSLE
There had been rumours of a rivalry between Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar, both successful playback singer siblings. However, Lata had put to rest the rumours a long time ago. She had also revealed in various interviews about her relationship with her younger sister, saying that she did have differences over Asha’s decisions in her youth.
When Asha Bhosle was only 16 years old, she eloped with Lata’s 31-year-old personal secretary Ganpatrao Bhosle. This caused a wedge in the family. Eventually, the couple separated.
9. LEGENDARY TEMPER
Lata Mangeshkar was known for a few more things than just singing. One of them included her temper. Usually, the singer would remove her footwear before going into the recording room; however, when she was angry, she would keep her footwear on.
10. HER RIFT WITH SD BURMAN
Lata Mangeshkar’s cold war with late music director SD Burman went on for nearly 3-4 years. In an interview with the Times of India, the singer said she was really angry at the music director for what he said in an article, “Who made Lata's career? We did. We gave her the songs.”
But when the music director’s son RD Burman intervened and Burman Sr called Lata back for a song, she revealed that her anger melted away.
11. FIRST INDIAN TO PERFORM AT THE ROYAL ALBERT HALL
In 1979, Lata Mangeshkar became the first Indian to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Her performance was with the Wren Orchestra.
12. WHEN SHE BUMPED INTO A BEATLES STAR
Lata Mangeshkar once bumped into the Beatles guitarist George Harrison at sitar maestro Ravi Shankar's studio.
13. LATA LOVED CARS
The singer had an affinity for cars and owned a grey Hillman, a blue Chevrolet, Chrysler and a Mercedes. She was also a dog lover and raised nine pet canines at home.
14. A FAN OF CRICKET
Lata Mangeshkar's favourite sport was cricket, so much so, that she helped raise Rs 20 lakh for the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team. Moreover, she maintained a close relationship with Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar. In 2014, Sachin Tendulkar even gifted the singer an autographed T-shirt.
15. SHERLOCK HOLMES NOVELS AND LAS VEGAS
The veteran singer loved watching movies, and when it came to Hollywood she loved the Bond movies. But other than that, she also owned every Sherlock Holmes novel.
When the singer wasn't watching movies or reading detective novels, she liked to play with slot machines in Las Vegas during her vacations in the US.
"It's an exciting city. I really enjoyed playing the slot machines. I never played roulette or cards - but I used to spend the whole night at a slot machine. I was very lucky and won many times," BBC News quoted her from an interview.
Lata Mangeshkar carved a niche for herself when no one wanted her talent, and built it to become a defining rite of passage during her golden period... just like what actor Jaya Bachchan once said: A heroine doesn't feel like a heroine in a Bollywood film if Lata hasn't sung for her.