Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar

Lata Mangeshkar, one of India’s biggest cultural icons and a singer who defined music and melody for generations across South Asia has bid her final adieu. She left us at the age of 92.

Together with her younger sister Asha Bhonsle – a superstar in her own right – the “Nightingale” Mangeshkar dominated Bollywood music for more than half a century and is considered by many to be the Indian film industry’s greatest-ever playback singer. Lata Mangeshkar sang more than 5,000 songs in more than 1,000 Bollywood and regional language films, in addition to recording devotional and classical albums.

Lata (Hema) Mangeshkar was born 28 September 1929. Her contribution to Indian music industry in a career spanning seven decades gained her honorific titles such as the Nightingale of India, Voice of the Millennium and Queen of Melody. She recorded songs in over thirty-six Indian languages and a few foreign languages, though primarily in Hindi, Bengali, and her native Marathi.

In 2001, in recognition of her contributions to the nation, she was awarded the Bharat Rathna, India’s highest civilian honour and is only the second female singer, after M. S. Subbalakshmi, to receive this honour. She was the recipient of three National Film Awards, many Bengal Film Journalists’ Association Awards, four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards, two Filmfare Special Awards, the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award and many more. In 1974, she was one of the first Indian playback singers to ever perform at Royal Albert Hall, London. Her first Hindi song was “Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu” for the Marathi film Gajaabhaau.

However it is a quality of hers, more than her musical acumen that marks her greatness. Even at the peak of her success and subsequent acclaim, she was the most down to the earth person one could have met. Her devotion to God, was perhaps the reason why she realized that, all your successes and acumen, were just the gift that divinity bestowed on you and not of your own making. The devotional songs of hers can melt the hearts of even the angriest of Gods.

And the songs of patriotism are legion. “Aye mere watan ke logon,” is a song that brings tears into the eyes of war hardened soldiers.

But nothing is immortal on earth. And a day will come when we all will have to leave.

Good bye Lathaji.