India's nightingale, Lata Mangeshkar: Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, known by the affectionate moniker ‘Nightingale of India’, passed away early on 6th January 2022 aged 92.
Key Highlights:
- She was cremated today at Shivaji Park in Dadar Mumbai with full state honours.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharastra CM Uddhav Thackeray to Bollywood celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor attended the funeral.
- The government of India has also announced a two-day national mourning to be observed in the memory of Lata Mangeshkar.
- The national flag will fly at half mast for two days as a mark of respect.
- Goa government has declared 3-day state mourning in honour of Lata Mangeshkar.
- Rajya Sabha will be adjourned for an hour on February 7, 2022 after giving an obituary to veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar. She was a RS member from 1999 to 2005.
Lata Mangeshkar's Musical Legacy:
- Lata Mangeshkar (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was a legendary Indian playback singer.
- 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 is considered as one of the greatest and most influential singers in India.
- Her name has been synonymous with music in India and her voice managed to transcend all barriers of caste, religion, creed and culture.
- She recorded songs in over thirty-six Indian languages and a few foreign languages, though primarily in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi.
- She was the eldest of five siblings and was born to a Marathi-speaking family in Indore.
- Her four siblings include Meena Khadikar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar and Hridaynath Mangeshkar.
- Her father was a classical singer and noted theatre artist, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar.
- She received training in classical music from her father and she was later also tutored by musical maestros Aman Ali Khan Sahib and Amanat Ali Khan.
- She represented each generation of Bollywood, right from Nargis and Waheeda Rehman to Madhuri Dixit and Preity Zinta.
- She sang music composed by several legendary music composers including Naushad Ali, Madan Mohan, and S.D. Burman. Her voice and accuracy of holding a note has remain unmatched throughout her career.
- She became the first Indian to perform at the Royal Albert Hall, London in 1974.
- She had sung the patriotic song "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" in the presence of Jawaharlal Nehru, then the Prime Minister of India on January 27, 1963, against the backdrop of the Sino-Indian War. The song, composed by C. Ramchandra, was said to have brought tears in the eyes of the Prime Minister.
Awards and Recognitions:
- In 2001, in recognition of her contributions to the nation, she was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour and is only the second female singer, after M. S. Subbulakshmi, to receive this honour.
- Officer of Legion of Honour (France's highest civilian award) - 2007
- Padma Vibhushan- 1999
- 4 Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Awards -1993
- 2 Filmfare Special Awards
- Dada Saheb Phalke Award- 1989
- Padma Bhushan- 1969
- 3 National Film Awards
- 15 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards,
- In 1969, she made the unusual gesture of giving up the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award in order to promote fresh talent.
- In 1984 the State Government of Madhya Pradesh instituted the Lata Mangeshkar Award in her honour. The State Government of Maharashtra also instituted a Lata Mangeshkar Award in 1992.
- In 1974, The Guinness Book of Records listed Mangeshkar as the most recorded artist in history, stating that she had sung no fewer than 30,000 songs between 1948 and 1987.
