Lata Mangeshkar
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)Bollywood icon Lata Mangeshkar has died aged 92 after contracting Covid-19.
The legendary musician died of multiple organ failure on Sunday morning at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, her physician Dr Pratit Samdani said.
She was hospitalised after contracting Covid-19 on January 11, but was taken off the ventilator after her condition improved in late January.
However, she was put back on life support on Saturday after her health deteriorated again.
India declared two days of national mourning and said Mangeshkar will be given a state funeral before being cremated in Mumbai on Sunday evening. The country’s flags will fly at half-staff.
Condolence messages poured in immediately after her death was announced.
“I am anguished beyond words,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a tweet. “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 mesmerize people.”
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. pic.twitter.com/MTQ6TK1mSO
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 6, 2022
Over the course of nearly eight decades, Mangeshkar was a major presence as a playback singer, singing songs that were later lip-synced by actors in India’s lavish Bollywood musicals.
She was also fondly revered as the “Melody Queen” and “Nightingale of India.”
Born in Maharashtra on Sept 28, 1929, Mangeshkar first sang at religious gatherings with her father, who was also a trained singer.
After she moved to Mumbai, India’s film industry capital, she became a star with immensely popular appeal, enchanting audiences with her smooth but sharp voice and immortalizing Hindi music for decades to come.
She worked with a number of legendary Indian music directors throughout her career including Madan Mohan, Naushad, S.D. Burman, R.D. Burman, the duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal and A.R. Rahman.
She has sold tens of millions of records and her music draws in millions of streams each month on music services such as Spotify.
In 2001, she was awarded the “Bharat Ratna,” India’s highest civilian honor. The government of France conferred on her its highest civilian award, “Officier de la Legion d’Honneur,” in 2007.
