Lata Mangeshkar’s demise today on Sunday, February 6, 2022, has left the entire country mourning. The National Flag has been unfurled at half-mast today at Raisina Hills, the official residence of Prime Minister of India in her honour. The legendary singer fondly called as ‘Didi’ and revered as the Nightingale of India and Queen of Melody passed away at the ripe old age of 92 years.
Lata ji’s career spanned seven decades and she sung multiple songs in over 36 languages but primarily in Hindi and Marathi. Here are some lesser known facts about her:
Birth
She was born on September 28, 1929 in the princely state of Indore (now in Madhya Pradesh) to Dinanath Mangeshkar and his second wife Shevanti. Shevanti’s elder sister Narmada was Dinanath Mangeshkar’s first wife, after her death he married Shevanti.
Name
Lata Mangeshkar was initially named Hema but was her parents later renamed her Lata after a character, Latika, from one of her father’s plays, Bhaw Bandhan.
Eldest sibling
Lata Mangeshkar was the eldest of four siblings. Her siblings were- Meena Khadikar, Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar and Hridaynath Mangeshkar.
Acting career
Lata Mangeshkar learnt Gujarati folk songs from her maternal grandmother and was acting in her father’s plays at the age of 5 much before she took up Bollywood playback singing.
School for a day
Lata Mangeshkar might have received several honorary doctorates from different universities but she went to school only for a day. While some sources say that she was angry and stopped going to school after she was scolded by her teacher for teaching songs to other students, others say that she left school as she was not allowed to bring sister Asha Bhosle to school premises.
Learnt singing from father
Lata Mangeshkar learnt singing from her father Dinanath Mangeshkar. However, she could not spend a lot of time with him as he passed away at a young age.
Bollywood career
The singer took to playback singing in 1940s after the demise of her father in 1942 as the family’s responsibility fell on her shoulders. Her first song Naachu Yaa Gade, Khelu Saari Mani Haus Bhaari, which was composed by Sadashivrao Nevrekar for Vasant Joglekar's Marathi film Kiti Hasaal (1942), was dropped from the final cut. Her first Hindi song was Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu for the Marathi film Gajaabhaau (1943).
Ghulam Haider as mentor
Music director Ghulam Haider mentored a young Lata Mangeshkar and introduced her to filmmaker Sashadhar Mukherjee, who rejected her voice as “too thin”. Miffed with Mukherjee, Haider reportedly told him that she is the next big thing and gave her first major break with the song Dil Mera Toda, Mujhe Kahin Ka Na Chhora in the movie Majboor (1948), which became Lata ji’s breakthrough hit.
Favourite singer
Lata ji has been everyone’s favourite singer but she idolised KL Saigal. However, she could never met her idol during his lifetime.
First Major Hit with Aayega Aanewala from Mahal
Lata Mangeshkar’s song Aayega Aanewala from the film Mahal (1949) became a stupendous hit and she was given credit for singing.
Used to imitate Noor Jehan but later developed her own distinct voice
Lata ji initially used to imitate the voice of Noor Jehan, an acclaimed playback singer and actress of those times. But on Noor Jehan’s guidance and insistence she developed her own style of singing.
Reign over Bollywood
Proving Ghulam Haider right, Lata ji reigned supreme in Bollywood and swept away her competitors. However, she shared a close bond of friendship with singer Geeta Dutt.
Filmfare Best Playback Singer Award
Lata ji has won several Filmfare Best Playback singer awards but the award was first introduced in 1959 after her protest.
Shared close friendship with Nargis and Meena Kumari
Lata didi was a close friend of actresses Nargis and Meena Kumari but felt Nutan did full justice to her voice.
Never sang for OP Nayyar
Lata ji never sang for OP Nayyar reportedly because he worked with her sister Asha Bhosle with whom she was not on best terms at the time.
Sang almost 25,000+songs in a career spanning 7 decades
Lata didi sang almost 25,000+ songs in her career of over seventy years.
Awards
Lata Mangeshkar was awarded India’s highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna, Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, three National Awards, several Filmfare awards and various honorary doctorate degrees.
Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon
She moved India’s first Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to tears when she sang Ae Mere Watan ke Logon on January 27, 1963. The song was used this year during the Beating Retreat ceremony after the Republic Day.
Favourite Music Director
Lata ji ‘s favourite music director was Madan Mohan. They created some amazing songs together, like Zara Si Ahat Hoti Hai, Baiyan Na Dharo, Lag Jaa Gale, to name a few.
Recorded songs in 36 languages
Besides Hindi and Marathi, Lata Mangeshkar recorded songs in approximately 36 languages including Tamil, Bhojpuri, Kannada, Bengali, Assamese.
Career as music director
She composed music for Marathi films under the pseudonym of Anand Ghan. She composed music for Marathi films Ram Ram Pavhana, Maratha Tituka Melvava, Mohityanchi Manjula, Sadhi Manase and Tambadi Mati.
Duets with every great male playback singer
She sang with top male playback singers and had shared the mic with Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, Hemant Kumar, Mukesh, SP Balasubrahmanyam, Shabbir Kumar, Shailendra Singh, Pankaj Udhas, Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu, Sonu Nigam, Adnan Sami, AR Rahman, Jagjit Singh, to name a few.
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Love story with Raj Singh Dungarpur
Lata ji never married because of her incomplete love story with former cricketer and BCCI president Raj Singh Dungarpur. Their love could not culminate into marriage as Dungarpur’s father Maharawal Lakshman Singhji, the then ruler of Dungarpur did not approve of the match and hence both of them vowed to remain unmarried all their lives.
First Indian to perform at Royal Albert Hall, London
Lata Mangeshkar became the first-ever Indian singer to have performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London (1974).
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