Veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar, who was fondly known as the nightingale of Hindi cinema, died on Sunday in Mumbai.
She breathed her last at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, where she had been admitted because of Covid-related complications on January 11.
Lata Didi, as she was known among her family and followers, was 92 and is survived by her siblings -- playback singer and composer Meena Khadilkar, popular singer and restaurateur Asha Bhosale, singer Usha Mangeshkar, and music director Hridayanath Mangeshkar. She was never married.
One of India's most loved voices, Lata Mangeshkar was the recipient of three National Film Awards, seven Filmfare awards, and of course, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1989. She was conferred the Bharat Ratna in 2001, becoming the second singer after M.S. Subbulakshmi to be so honoured, and the French awarded her the Officer of the Legion of Honour.
The singer was hospitalised after testing positive for COVID-19, and was reportedly critical in the last few days. Known to be one of Indian cinema’s most iconic singers, Lata ji received the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, in 2001. She has also been honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the Padma Vibhushan, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, and multiple National Film Awards.
Popularly known as the ‘Nightingale of India’, the legendary singer has recorded songs in more than a thousand Hindi films and has sung tracks in several Indian languages as well as foreign languages.