Lata Mangeshkar the ‘Nightingale of India’

The demise of Lata Mangeshkar aka Nightingale of India has left everyone shocked as the legendary singer took her last breath on Sunday morning.

Lata who was one of the best and most respected playback singers in India recorded thousands of songs in more than thirty-six Indian languages.

Lata who was born on September 28 in 1929 in Indore to classical singer and theatre artist Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar and Shevanti started singing and acting in her father Deenanath Mangeshkar’s musical plays by the age of five. Her siblings Meena, Asha, Usha, and Hridaynath all are accomplished singers and musicians.

When Lata Mangeshkar was only 13 years old, her father passed away due to heart disease, then she became the sole breadwinner of the family.

In 1942 Lata recorded her first song in a Marathi movie Kiti Hasaal but the song was later removed from the movie.

While she moved to Mumbai in 1945 her first major hit came in 1949, with the song ‘Aayega aanewala’ from the film Mahal and soon after she became one of the most sought-after voices of Hindi cinema.

In her over seven decades-long careers, Lata Mangeshkar lent her voice to countless films, albums ghazals, pop and many more.

Her last song was released in 2019 when she had landed her voice to a song based on PM Narendra Modi’s slogan ‘Saugandh Mujhe is Mitti Ki.’

From national film awards to special awards she was honoured with Padma Bhushan, Dadasaheb Phalke Award, Padma Vibhushan, Bharat Ratna among others.

Here are some unknown facts related to Lata that you might not know

Reportedly on her first day at school, Lata didi started giving music lessons to other children and when the teacher asked her to stop, she felt so offended that she decided not to go to school ever.

Around 1962, Lata Mangeshkar fell seriously ill she remained bedridden for nearly three months. The medical investigation revealed that she was given slow poison. After fighting for life for three days in hospital she returned home. Reportedly after the incident, their cook ran away from home, without taking his salary. During this time, late Bollywood lyricist Majrooh Sultanpuri would regularly visit lata to taste her food first and only then allow her to eat.

When Lata didi was in politics she was criticized for not attending the sessions. She had then cited her ill-health for her absence from the Parliament and did not take her salary and other benefits for her services as MP.

It is also said that Lata Mangeshkar used to eat a lot of green chillies to maintain the sweetness of her voice.

The veteran singer was fond of seafood, Gajar ka Halwa and Pani Puri. She used to eat dal-rice, phulka along with sabzi regularly. She used to love all kinds of cuisines, especially Kolhapuri mutton.

The legendry singer started her production house in 1991 with the Gulzar directorial Lekin and launched her music label in 2013.

The perfume Lata Eau de Parfum was named after her in 1999.

Lata Mangeshkar also designed for a diamond company and five of her designs earned 105,000 pounds which she donated to the Kashmir earthquake relief fund in 2005.

Lata's favourite game was cricket and she was reported to have a permanent gallery reserved for her at the Lord’s Stadium.