Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar passed away on Sunday at the age of 92 after a prolonged illness. The megastar was admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital on January 8 after she was diagnosed with COVID-19 and pneumonia. Though having recovered from Covid, the singer was put on ventilator support after her condition worsened on Saturday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first ones to share the sad news and said he is “anguished beyond words”.
“The kind and caring Lata Didi has left us. She leaves a void in our nation that cannot be filled. The coming generations will remember her as a stalwart of Indian culture, whose melodious voice had an unparalleled ability to mesmerise people,” he tweeted.
PM Modi will attend the state funeral for the singer in Mumbai. “Will be leaving for Mumbai in some time to pay my last respects to Lata Didi,” he said.
I am anguished beyond words. The kind and caring Lata Didi has left us. She leaves a void in our nation that cannot be filled. The coming generations will remember her as a stalwart of Indian culture, whose melodious voice had an unparalleled ability to mesmerise people. pic.twitter.com/MTQ6TK1mSO
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 6, 2022
To mourn the death of iconic singer Lata Mangeshkar, the Maharashtra government has announced a public holiday on Monday.
“The state government has declared a public holiday in the state on Monday, February 7, 2022, to mourn the demise of Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar,” tweeted Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s Office on Sunday.
The state government has declared a public holiday in the state on Monday, February 7, 2022, to mourn the demise of Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar.
— CMO Maharashtra (@CMOMaharashtra) February 6, 2022
The Centre has already announced two days of national mourning after the death of the music doyen. During this period, the tricolour will fly at half-mast as a mark of respect for the Bharat Ratna-awardee who has mesmerised the Indian audience for decades with her soulful voice.
Ms Mangeshkar was a playback singer and occasional music composer and was popularly known as “Nightingale of India” for her melodious voice. Her oeuvre included devotional and classical albums and spanned around 27,000 songs in dozens of languages including English, Russian, Dutch and Swahili. Moreover, she was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honours, in 2001. She has also received several other awards which include the Padma Bhushan, the Padma Vibhushan, the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, and multiple National Film Awards.
