Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar has passed away, her family announced on Sunday morning. She was 92. She was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai in January. She was also undergoing treatment for pneumonia.
In November 2019, Mangeshkar was admitted to the same hospital after she complained of difficulty in breathing and was diagnosed with pneumonia. She was discharged after 28 days.
Mangeshkar had lent her voice for thousands of songs in Hindi, regional and foreign languages. Her mellifluous voice will forever remain etched in the minds of Indians through iconic songs like 'Ek Pyar ka Nagma Hein', 'Lag ja Gale se Phir', 'Aap ki Nazron ne Samjha', 'Tujhe Dekha Toh Yeh Jaana Sanam', 'Sawan ka Mahina' and many more. Mangeshkar is a singer whose voice had come to represent the collective conscience of the nation. Some of her earlier songs like the iconic patriotic number 'Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo', commemorating Indian soldiers who died in the 1962 war, is an evergreen number that moves one at any point of time.
Born into a prominent musical family, Mangeshkar entered the entertainment industry when she was just 13 years old. She juggled acting and singing in Marathi films. She has also composed music for a few Marathi films, and went on to win Maharashtra state government's award for best music director in 1965 for the film Sadhi Manase. She also turned producer for a few films.
Her last full album was for the late filmmaker Yash Chopra-directed 2004 film Veer Zaara. Mangeshkar recorded her latest song in 2019—Saugandh Mujhe Is Mitti Ki'—which was released on March 30 as a tribute to the Indian Army. She was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour in 2001.
She is also the recipient of several other awards, including the Padma Bhushan, the Padma Vibhushan and the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, and multiple National Film Awards.