Born in Indore on September 28, 1929, Lata Mangeshkar became the most popular Indian playback singer in the world. She has sung for over 5 decades and recorded albums from all genres of music. Today, 6th February, 2022, marks as a very sad for the whole fraternity to have lost the Nightingale of India. In this post, we have assembled few lesser known facts and rare photos of Bharat Ratna recipient and Legendary Singer – Lata Mangeshkar.
1. Guinness Book of World Records listed her as the Most-Recorded Artist in the World
Till the year 1991, the Guinness Book of World Records listed Lata Mangeshkar as the most-recorded artist in the world with over 30,000 duet, chorus-backed songs and solo which were recorded in more than 20 Indian languages from the year 1948 to 1987. Today, that total count might be over 50,000!
2. Started Singing since early childhood, aged 5 years
Lata Mangeshkar’s father, Mr. Dinanath Mangeshkar was the owner of a theater company and a reputed classical singer himself. He began giving Lata classical singing lessons from the age of five. She was also a student of renowned singers – Aman Ali Khan Sahib and Amanat Khan. From the very young age she displayed her phenomenal vocal abilities and proved herself as a true musical God-Gift.
3. Began her career as a Child Actor in Films
After Lata’s father passed away in 1942, she became the sole earner to support her family. From the year 1942 to 1948 she acted in over 8 films in Hindi and Marathi to overcome her family’s economic difficulties. Few of her featured film includes – Pahili Mangalaagaur (1942), Chhatrapati Shivaji (1952), Mandir (1948), Maz Baal (1943) and Badi Maa (1945).
4. Lata Mangeshkar had an eternal love for Diamonds.
For the love of diamonds, she quoted, “I’ve been fond of diamonds from childhood. As a child, my father used to design jewelry. But we couldn’t afford them. He had a keen eye for jewelry and was fond of wearing precious stones. We kids were equally fascinated by jewels. But until I became a professional playback singer, I refused to wear jewelry. I had decided I’d wear only diamonds.”
5. Lata Mangeshkar was a Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha
Lata served as an MP in Rajya Sabha for a short tenure from the year 1999 to 2005. She was not at all happy about her tenure and that is the reason, she was unwilling to be nominated again.
Lata Mangeshkar – The Nightingale of India.. Her contribution to the music fraternity will remain unparalleled. Rest in Music Forever.
Insightful details about the legend.. Keep up the good work.. 👍
Thank you. Stay tuned for more updates !