Legendary Bollywood singer Lata Mangeshkar, 92, died on Sunday morning at Mumbai's Breach Candy hospital after brief illness. She was hospitalised after testing positive for Covid-19 on January 11.
"Lata di died at 8.12 am due to multi-organ failure after over 28 days of COVID-19 diagnosis," Dr Pratit Samdani of Breach Candy hospital told reporters while confirming the veteran singer's death.
As a mark of national mourning in memory of Mangeshkar's death, the National flag will fly at half-mast for two days, news agency ANI reported, quoting government sources. Her mortal remains will be taken to Shivaji Park for last glimpse before last rites, according to reports.
Dubbed as the Nightingale of Indian Cinema, Mangeshkar gave voice to over a thousand songs in numerous Indian languages and was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2001.
Born to theatre actor and musician Deenanath Mangeshkar and his second wife Shevanti on September 28, 1929, Lata was the first of five children. Her siblings Meena Khadikar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar and Hridayanath Mangeshkar are also accomplished musicians.
Mangeshkar began singing from the age of five and trained under Amanat Ali Khan Saab. She sang her first film song for the Marathi film "Gajaabhaau" at the age of 14 in 1943.
Mangeshkar was mentored by music director Ghulam Haider who gave her her first breakthrough song.
Some of her famous songs include melodies like "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya", "Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh", "Piya Tose", "Lag Jaa Gale", "Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jana Sanam" and "Lukka Chuppi".
After the end of the 1962 Sino-Indian War, Mangeshkar sang the patriotic song "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" commemorating the Indian soldiers who died during the war. Written by Kavi Pradeep and composed by C Ramchandra, Mangeshkar sang the song on Republic Day 1963 in presence of the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The song is one of the most popular patriotic songs in India.
In her career spanning over six decades, Mangeshkar sang for music directors like Naushad, SD Burman, RD Burman, Shankar–Jaikishan, Salil Chowdhury, Laxmikant–Pyarelal, Madan Mohan, Kalyanji-Anandji and AR Rahman.
She also sang with legendary singers like Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey, Bhupen Hazarika, Mukesh, KJ Yesudas, SP Balasubramaniam and Jagjit Singh.
Apart from the Bharat Ratna, Mangeshkar was also the recipient of Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Legion of Honour. Apart from numerous film awards, Mangeshkar also won three National Awards for her songs in Parichay (1972), Kora Kagaz (1974) and Lekin... (1990).
Mangeshkar, who never married, is survived by her four siblings.
Soon after the death of the legendary singer, tributes started pouring in remembering her contribution to India cinema. "She leaves a void in our nation that cannot be filled," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said as he expressed 'anguish' over Mangeshkar's death. Paying tributes to the late singer, President Ramnath Kovind said her 'accomplishments will remain incomparable'.
