Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Breach Candy hospital in the early hours of Monday after she complained of breathing difficulties, hospital sources said. The singer, who turned 90 on September 28, was in a critical condition, they said. "She was brought to hospital at about 2 am. She is critical and in ICU," a hospital insider told a news agency. Another source said that she had developed pneumonia and left ventricular failure and is on ventilator support.
Now, the latest update states that the singer is back home and is currently recovering. A news agency reported that Lata was treated for chest infection at Breach Candy Hospital and is now back at her home and is recovering.
Lata, who has lent her voice to over 1,000 songs in Hindi alone, was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour in the country, in 2001. Lata Mangeshkar is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. She has recorded songs in over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages, though primarily in Marathi, Hindi, and Bengali.
The Dadasaheb Phalke Award was bestowed on her in 1989 by the Government of India. 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 vocalist, after M. S. Subbulakshmi, to receive this honour. France conferred on her its highest civilian award (Officer of the Legion of Honour) in 2007.
She is the recipient of three National Film Awards, 15 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards, two Filmfare Special Awards, Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award and many more. In 1974, she became the first Indian to perform in the Royal Albert Hall.
(Source: ANI/PTI/The Hindu)