Born on 28th September 1929, Lata Mangeshkar is considered the greatest Indian female singer of all times. Over the past 50 years she has lent her voice to more than 35 Indian languages becoming a household name across the country.
She was wished from celebrities from various of life on her 89th birthday on Friday.
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Though she started her career in 1942 with the song ‘Mata Ek Sapoot Ki Duniya Badal De Tu’ in a Marathi film named Gajaabhaau, her first major break was with the song ‘Dil Mera Toda, Mujhe Kahin Ka Na Chhora’ for the film Majboor in 1948.
From there on the singing legend never looked back and earned the name the ‘Nightingale of India’.
She was awarded with the Bharat Ratna in 2001, the Padma Bhushan in 1696 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1999. Lata states in all her modesty that, it is only the immense love from die hard fans and love and respect from all corners of the country that made her the voice of India.
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Here are some interesting facts about the Nightingale of India-
1. Her original last name was Hardikar but her father, Deenanath, changed it to identify the family with their native place in Goa.
2. She was born as Hema Mangeshar but was later renamed as Lata after a character named Latika in one of her father’s plays.
3. She was allegedly poisoned by her cook in 1962. She was bed ridden for three months.
4. She has acted in 8 films as well from 1942- 48 but that was never her forte. She always kept music above all her interests.
5. In 1974, she became the first Indian to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London.
6. She has also composed music for at least 5 Marathi films, and also produced 4 films, latest being ‘Lekin’ in 1990
7. She held the Guiness World Record for for the most recorded artist in the world from 1974- 91. Now Asha Bhosle holds it.
8. At the beginning of her career, she faced many rejections because her voice was ‘too thin’
9. It is said that former PM Pandit Jwaharlal Nehru teared up when he heard Lata’s ‘Ae mere watan ke logon’ in 1962, the year of the dreaded Indo – China war
10. Two of her songs from the movie ‘Dil tujhko diya ‘- ‘tere sang pyaar mein’ and ‘wada na tod’ were used as background score in the movie ‘eternal sunshine of the spotless mind’ starring Jim Carrey.