Acclaimed singer Lata Mangeshkar breathed her last at Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai on Sunday.
She was 92. The singer, called the Nightingale of India, was admitted to the hospital in January with COVID-19 and pneumonia.
Dr Pratit Samdani announced her death outside of the hospital, while speaking to the media. He said, “It is with profound grief that we announce the sad demise of Lata Mangeshkar at 8.12 AM. She has died because of multi-organ failure after more tham 28 days of hospitalisation post COVID-19.”
Two-day national mourning will be observed in memory of Lata Mangeshkar.
Mangeshkar started her singing career at the age of 13 and recorded her first song in 1942. In her career spanning seven decades, she has to her credit over 30,000 songs in different languages. She has been the voice behind popular tracks like ‘Ek Pyar Ka Nagma Hai’, ‘Raam Teri Ganga Maili’, ‘Ek Radha Ek Meera’ and ‘Didi Tera Devar Deewana’ to name a few.
Lata Mangeshkar was awarded the Padma Bhushan, the Padma Vibushan and Bharat Ratna. She was conferred with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1990. France conferred on her its highest civilian award, the Officer of the Legion of Honour, in 2007. She was also the recipient of three National Film Awards.
In 1974, she became the first Indian to perform at the Royal Albert Hall, London. She recorded innumerable songs in over 36 Indian and foreign languages.
She has worked with prominent music directors of the film Industry – Madan Mohan, SD Burman, RD Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, OP Nayyar . She has lent her voice to many female stars like Waheeda Rehman, Sridevi, Nargis, Madhuri Dixit, Kajol, Preity Zinta to name a few.
The nation mourns the death of the veteran singer. Several politicians, sportspersons, film and TV personalities took to social media to express their condolences.
She was the oldest of the siblings and is survived by her 3 sisters – Meena Khadikar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar and brother, Hridaynath Mangeshkar.
Mortal remains of the legendary singer to be taken to Shivaji Park for public homage.
