Bollywood superstar singer Lata Mangeshkar, known to millions as “India’s nightingale” and a regular fixture on the country’s airwaves for decades, died on Sunday at the age of 92.
She passed away in a Mumbai hospital after being admitted to her intensive care unit on January 11 with symptoms of covid-19.
“I am more distressed than words,” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on Twitter. “The kind and caring Lata Didi has left us. She leaves a void in our nation that cannot be filled.”
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
Prime Minister Imran Khan said the subcontinent had lost “one of the truly great singers the world has ever known”.
“Listening to his songs has given so much pleasure to so many people around the world,” he said.
With the death of Lata Mangeshkar the subcontinent has lost one of the truly great singers the world has known. Listening to her songs has given so much pleasure to so many people all over the world.
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) February 6, 2022
The public broadcaster Doordarshan announced a state funeral and two days of national mourning for the singer after news of her death broke.
Mangeshkar was born in 1929 and began her musical training at an early age under the tutelage of her father Deenanath, singing in her stage productions when she was just five years old.
The death of her father when she was only 13 years old forced her to take on the role of breadwinner to support her four younger siblings, and the family eventually moved to Mumbai in 1945.
There she pursued a career as a playback singer, recording tracks for actors to imitate, and her high-pitched voice soon became a staple of Bollywood blockbusters.
In a move reflecting her large following, her government invited her to sing a patriotic tribute to soldiers killed in the 1962 Indochina War at India’s Republic Day commemorations in January 1963. .
Her interpretation of “Oh, the people of my country” reportedly moved then-Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to tears.
In the decades that followed, composers and film producers vied to cast the prolific Mangeshkar in her films.
“I composed keeping in mind the range and quality of Lata Mangeshkar’s voice,” composer Anil Biswas said of her in an interview published in the “Encyclopedia of Hindi Cinema.”
“She had a wide range, and one could think of more complicated melodies than previous untrained singers,” he added.
‘Stalwart of Indian culture’
Along with her younger sister Asha Bhonsle, a superstar in her own right, Mangeshkar dominated Bollywood music for more than half a century and is considered by many to be the greatest playback singer in the history of the Indian film industry.
Mangeshkar had no qualms about taking a stand when it came to raising her prices or asking for a share of the royalties earned by her songs.
Her longevity and her discipline saw her lend her voice to teen actresses who were 50 years her junior.
Critics complained that her dominance left little room for newer singers to flourish, but her audience remained loyal, ensuring that her songs dominated the charts.
She was also known for her quirks, such as never singing with her shoes on and always writing each song by hand before recording it.
Mangeshkar received the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honor, in 2001, and she received the French Legion of Honor in 2009 in recognition of her contribution to Indian music and cinema.
Mangeshkar, who dropped out of school in her hometown of Indore and said she only attended classes one day, was fluent in several languages.
She sang in more than 1,000 movies, as well as recording devotional and classical albums. Her oeuvre spanned some 27,000 songs in dozens of languages, including English, Russian, Dutch, and Swahili.
‘End of an era’
Politicians in Pakistan also expressed their condolences on the passing of the legendary musician, with Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry likening his death to “the end of an era in music”.
He said that Mangeshkar ruled the world for decades and that his “voice magic” would live on.
A legend is no more, #LataMangeshkar was a melodious queen who ruled the world of music for decades she was uncrowned queen of music her voice shall keep ruling the Hearts of people for all times to come #RIPLataMangeshker
— Ch Fawad Hussain (@fawadchaudhry) February 6, 2022
PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif said the world lost a “singing legend who captivated generations with her melodious voice.”
“People of my generation grew up listening to their beautiful songs that will remain in our memory. May he rest in peace,” he tweeted.
In the passing of Lata Mangeshkar, the world of music has lost a singing legend who mesmerized generations with her melodious voice. The people of my generation grew up listening to her beautiful songs that will remain part of our memory. May she rest in peace!
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) February 6, 2022
