Lata Mangeshkar, an iconic Indian singer, died on Sunday after a nearly month-long battle with Covid-19. Famous leaders, celebrities, and fans from all around the world paid tribute to the famed playback crooner. Pakistani leaders, like many others, expressed their condolences for India’s nightingale.
In poignant tweets, Prime Minister Imran Khan and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz Vice President Maryam Nawaz Sharif joined others in paying respect to Mangeshkar.
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
Maryam Nawaz Sharif voiced her sadness over Mangeshkar’s death, stating that “there will not be another Lata.”
Rest in peace, Melody Queen, Lata Mangeshkar. Your voice, songs & the emotions they evoked will never die. There never will be another Lata. Condolences to the family.
— Maryam Nawaz Sharif (@MaryamNSharif) February 6, 2022
In a society where cinema songs and their lyrics are used by the public to communicate happiness, frustrations, love difficulties, patriotism, and anti-authoritarian sentiments, the significance of a great vocalist like Lata Mangeshkar is enormous, not least because of her illustrious legacy.
Mangeshkar sung approximately 25,000 songs in over 2,000 films in numerous Indian languages, most notably Hindi, Marathi, and Bengali, throughout the course of his seven-decade career.
Mangeshkar was born on September 28, 1929, in Indore, a state in what was then British India, to a family of singers. Dinanath Mangeshkar, her father, was a well-known classical musician and theatre actor. Lata Mangeshkar was originally known as “Hema,” but after her father’s play “Latika,” she was renamed Lata Mangeshkar. She was the eldest of five siblings, including Meena, Asha, Usha, and Hridaynath, all of whom went on to become well-known vocalists.
Mangeshkar learned to sing from her father at a young age. However, his untimely death, when she was only 13, compelled her to sing for a living. She relocated to Mumbai and studied classical music with a number of masters before obtaining roles in Indian cinema.
Critics first criticised Mangeshkar’s voice as too weak (she could sing in three octaves), but by the late 1940s, she had made a reputation for herself by singing Hindi film songs.
