Legendary Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar passed away at a hospital in India’s western Mumbai city on Sunday (Feb 6, 2022) at the age of 92.
She died of multiple organ failure.
“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 than 28 days of hospitalisation post Covid-19,” said the doctor at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital where Mangeshkar was receiving the treatment.
The Bharat Ratna awardee was admitted to the hospital last month after being diagnosed with pneumonia and coronavirus.
Condolences Poured In:
Tributes have poured in from all sections of the society for the legendary singer. The Bharat Ratna recipient has sung over 30,000 songs in her more than seven decades of career.
“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” Indian PM Narendra Modi tweeted.
“India has lost our nightingale. Cinema and music will never be the same again. Lataji your immense body of work and your iconic voice will be unparalleled forever” wrote Mammootty, Indian actor, producer and distributor.
“Feeling numb. Devastated. Yesterday was Saraswati Puja & today Ma took her blessed one with her. Somehow it feels that even the birds, trees & wind are silent today.
Swar Kokila Bharat Ratna #LataMangeshkar ji your divine voice will echo till eternity. Rest in peace. Om Shanti” wrote Indian singer Shreya Ghoshal.
“If we play her songs one by one, we could hear her for a month and never hear the same song again. Prolific and profound. I mourn with the rest of the country for our nightingale…
My deepest condolences to the family” wrote Kajol.
“Nightingale of India, one of the greatest Legends #Lata Didi is no more.HeartbrokenBroken heart The vacuum due to this colossal loss can never be filled. She lived an extraordinary life.Her Music lives on & will continue to cast a spell until Music is there! Rest in Peace #LataMangeshkar,” wrote Chiranjeevi Konidela.
#LataMangeshkar Ji dedicated her life to music. Her voice was god gifted just like a child’s smile or sunrise that doesn’t have any religion. I had a close connection with her, she supported me in my difficult times. The void left by her is impossible to fill: Home Min Amit Shah told Indian news agency ANI.
I’m deeply sad & heartbroken that #LataMangeshkar is no more. Her songs gave peace; no one can forget her songs & voice. She will forever be alive: Sufi singer Puranchand Wadali told ANI.
State Funeral, Two-Day National Mourning:
Two-day national mourning will be observed in the memory of Lata Mangeshkar, government sources informed on Sunday. The National Flag will fly at half-mast for two days as a mark of respect, and she will be given a State funeral, they added.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday said that Lata Mangeshkar, will be accorded a state funeral.
Mangeshkar, a National Icon:
Lata Mangeshkar was revered to Indians. She was touted as Indian cultural icon and national treasure who made her name in Bollywood – despite only actually appearing on screen in a handful of films.
There was a time when no movie was completed without the voice of Lata Mangeshkar. The classically-trained star rose to fame in India’s booming film industry as a “playback singer”, providing the singing voice to Bollywood’s lip-synching movie stars over the course of a career which spanned more than half a century.
30,000 Songs:
Lata Mangeshkar ruled the Bollywood for almost 5 decades. Touted as the “nightingale of Bollywood”, she was the country’s most in-demand singer, with every top actress wanting her to sing their songs. Her records, meanwhile, sold in the tens of thousands, and she boasted a back catalogue of some 30,000 songs spanning numerous genres and a total of 36 languages.
Birth of Mangeshkar:
Lata Mangeshkar was born in the central Indian city of Indore on 28 September 1929. Her father was a singer, theatre actor and producer of musical plays in the Marathi language. She was the eldest of five children. Meena, Asha, Usha, and Hridaynath, in birth order, are her siblings; all are accomplished singers and musicians.
It is a great loss to bollywood. I will remember lata mangeshkar for her melodious voice. Her songs are immoryal.
Lata Mangeshkar will be remembered.