Legendary playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, who tested positive for Covid-19 recently, has passed away at the age of 92. Hindi cinema’s nightingale was admitted to Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai and was kept in ICU for precautionary measures considering her age after she tested positive for coronavirus. After being put on the ventilator, she was taken it off for a trial period last month on January 27 and was showing signs of improvement but was still being monitored in the ICU. However, her condition deteriorated and she breathed her last today.
Lata Mangeshkar, affectionately called as Didi, has left a deep void in the hearts of her fans, family and film fraternity. She was one of the best known and most respected playback singers of India. Lata Mangeshkar recorded songs in over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six Indian languages and foreign languages. However, she sung mainly in Hindi and Marathi. Besides Hindi films she also sang several devotional songs. She has been an idol for several playback singers.
She was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award by the Government of India in 1989. 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, the Officer of the Legion of Honour, in 2007.
The veteran and iconic singer has also received Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan for her exemplary service. 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 at the Royal Albert Hall, London.
