Lata Mangeshkar, the legendary singer fondly called the Melody Queen of India, died on Sunday in Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital at the age of 92.
The veteran singer was cremated with full state honours in Mumbai’s Shivaji Park at 6.30 pm on Sunday. Her last rites were attended by many, including actors Shah Rukh Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
Called the ’Nightingale of India’, Mangeshkar was born on September 28, 1929, in Indore. She began her musical career at the age of 13 and became the sole bread-winner of her family. She has recorded several songs for over a thousand Hindi films, besides singing in other languages, including Marathi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, and Malayalam.
While several film personalities, took to social media following her demise, to share memories and photos of her, Mangeshkar’s own Instagram account has been a treasure trove of moments of her life.
Silverscreen India has curated 10 nostalgic photos shared by Mangeshkar herself that will take you down memory lane.
1. Lata Mangeshkar shared several pictures on Instagram of herself with music director Madan Mohan. Their collaborations were frequent and resulted in some of the most evergreen songs of all time.
2. Lata Mangeshkar shared a close friendship with late actor Dilip Kumar. In an interview with The Indian Express, she had said, “I never missed the opportunity to call on him. He was a superstar and I was rising on the horizon as a playback singer, but, when we met, he held me close to his heart like an elder brother and gave me the love and respect that only someone as pure as he could.”
3. The singer’s collaborations with music composers SD Burman and RD Burman are iconic. SD Burman reportedly once said, “Give me a harmonium, give me Lata (Mangeshkar), and I will make music.” In this picture, the two composers can be seen working with the late singer.
4. Late actor Meena Kumari has danced to many songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Sharing a photo of the actor looking on while she recorded a song, Mangeshkar wrote, “She and I were very close. She would often visit the recording studio and I would also visit her home. Her husband used to call me beti (daughter).”
5. Lata Mangeshkar was the eldest of five siblings and singer Asha Bhosle is one of her sisters. Despite several rumours of sibling rivalry, the two have sung around 50-60 songs together during the 1960s.
6. Lata Mangeshkar had met with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The late singer was a recipient of several awards, including India’s highest civilian honour – the Bharat Ratna. Her first honour from the Government of India was the Padma Bhushan, which came in 1969, during the tenure of Indira Gandhi.
7. The veteran singer also met with late former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam. She had shared this photo of the two them on his birth anniversary in 2020.
8. Lata Mangeshkar shared a close bond with late Tamil actor Sivaji Ganesan. Calling him ‘anna‘ (elder brother), she had written on Twitter, “I feel blessed that he took me as his younger sister and I have embraced his family as my own.”
9. The legendary singer had met with late former Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru. According to News18, when Mangeshkar sang Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo at the National Stadium on January 27, 1963, in the presence of the former PM, his eyes had welled up.
10. Lata Mangeshkar had sung music composer Bappi Lahiri’s first composition in the Bengali film, Daadu. She had shared a picture with the composer as a young boy on his birthday in November 2021. Following her demise, Lahiri reshared the photo on Sunday, with the caption, “Maa.”
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