Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar enthralled India for 70 yrs, was feted with Bharat Ratna, Dada Saheb Phalke and Padma awards for her songs

Lata Mangeshkar was born in 1929 in Indore. She was the eldest daughter of Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar, a Marathi musician and a theater actor. A lesser-known fact about the singing legend is that Mangeshkar’s family’s last name used to be Hardikar but her father changed it to Mangeshkar in order to identify with his family’s native town, Mangeshi, in Goa.

She received her first musical lesson from her father who happened to be a classical singer. From a very young age, Lata Ji had a strong sense of right and wrong. The singing legend, as a child, had a habit of bringing her sister, Asha to school with her.

One day, the school authorities did not allow Asha to enter. That was when Lata Ji decided to walk out of school on the very first day. Such was her resolve.

At the age of five, Lata started working as an actress in her father’s musical plays. After he died of heart disease when she was 13, Master Vinayak of Navyug Chitrapat movie company took care of the kids. He helped kickstart Lata’s career as a singer and an actress.

She moved to Mumbai in 1945 and started taking music lessons from Ustad Aman Ali Khan. Lata sang "Paa Lagoon Kar Jori" for Vasant Joglekar's Hindi-language movie ‘Aap Ki Seva Mein’ (1946).

The new chapter in Lata's life was full of exciting opportunities and new endeavours, however it was full of challenges too.

The singing legend came from a humble background and had to face a lot of struggle in her initial years.. Losing her father at the age of 13 left a deep scar on Lata’s mind, and being the eldest among her siblings, she had to bear financial responsibility early on in life.

Her mentor, Vinayak, lost his life in 1948, which came as a big blow to Lata. She was then mentored by music director Ghulam Haider but struggled to find acceptance in the industry, and was often criticized by producers for her Maharashtrian accent. As Urdu had a huge influence on the music industry, Lata was forced to take Urdu lessons as well.

Lata’s first breakthrough film hit came with the song "Dil Mera Toda, Mujhe Kahin Ka Na Chhora" in the movie Majboor (1948) and the rest, as they say, is history.

One of Lata Mangeshkar’s first major hits was the song ‘Aayega Aanewaala,’ from the movie ‘Mahal’ (1949). Lata's song "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" from ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ (1960), Hawaii theme song ‘Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh’ from ‘Dil Apna Preet Parai’ (1960) won her critical acclaim.

These songs have truly left a mark on the Indian consciousness and have transcended the boundaries in time to become evergreen classics.

On 27 January 1963, against the backdrop of the Sino-Indian War, Lata sang the patriotic song "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo" which had reduced then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to tears.

Lata Mangeshkar delivered hits after hits in an illustrious career spanning over seven decades. She won several awards and honours, including the country’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.

The legend has also been feted with the Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Dadasaheb Phalke Award and three National Film Awards. She has also won the Filmfare Best Female Playback Singer awards on four occasions.

It may seem that Lata Ji's voice has fallen silent, but her melodious vocals will continue to live on with us long after she is gone.

Rest in peace, Lata Ji. There will never be another like you.