Lata Mangeshkar passes away

The Central government has announced a two-day national mourning when the national flag will fly at half-mast to honour Lata Mangeshkar’s memory and contribution to the country.

Lata Mangeshkar.

Lata Mangeshkar, 92, affectionately called the Nightingale of India, passed away in Mumbai this morning following complications from pneumonia and COVID-19 infection. The legendary singer had been hospitalised for over a month at the Breach Candy Hospital. During the past few days she had been on life support.

The Central government has announced a two-day national mourning when the national flag will fly at half-mast to honour Lata Mangeshkar’s memory and contribution to the country. She will be cremated with full state honours at Shivaji park.

The daughter of well-known Marathi singers the late Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar and Shevanti Mangeshkar, Lata Mangeshkar began her career as a child artist singing in Marathi theatre. In the early 1940s, she began singing for Marathi films. Her unmistakable talent took her to the popular Hindi film industry, where she reigned supreme as a playback singer for more than five decades.

She is the recipient of the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Bhushan, the Dada Saheb Phalke award and a host of other national and State awards. Lata Mangeshkar’s collaboration with the legendary Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi created a genre of Hindi film music that remains timeless.