Lata Mangeshkar

Dec 10, 2002, 23:57 IST

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Talk about music and her name automatically crops up. Lata Mangeshkar is a legend. The trademark white sari draped casually, hair plated into two, and the melodious tunes all combine together to make her the Star that she is. A Soprano she can sing in three octaves while other singer at best manage two.

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">Talk about music and her name automatically crops up. Lata Mangeshkar is a legend. The trademark white sari draped casually, hair plated into two, and the melodious tunes all combine together to make her the Star that she is. A Soprano she can sing in three octaves while other singer at best manage two. The undoubted queen of playback singing for almost 60 years now, she will be remembered for generations to come.

Starting her career at the age of 13 she has come a long way. In her long innings as the voice of almost all tinsel town actresses, she has done it all, receiving dozens of awards and holding the Guinness record for singing the highest number of songs, that''s more than 35,000. She is known for her total concentration and dedication towards music, which have been instrumental in her rise to fame. Though the energy and stamina has diminished due to old age, Lata is still actively involved with singing and keeps on giving a sensational song every year or two. No wonder at the age of 71 she is still a threat to her counterparts, which are young enough to be her grand daughters. Apart from music some of the other things that Lata is most interested in are perfumes and diamonds. Her fondness for perfumes has in fact resulted in a new Lata fragrance being launched recently. And what is the secret of her melodious voice? Lots of Kohlapuri mirchis to make it sweeter. -Akshat Kapil FACTFILE DOB: September 28, 1929 in Indore FAMILY: Father Dinanath Mangeshkar, noted actor-singer of Marathi theatre Sisters: Asha Bhosle, Usha Mangeshkar and Meena, both singers. Brother: Hridaynath Mangeshkar MILESTONES: 1942: After her father''s death had to look for work to support the family. She made her playback singing debut with Vasant Joglekar''s Marathi film Kiti Hasaal 1948: Ghulam Haider''s Majboor (1948) pushed Lata into prominence. 1949: With the release of Mahal and Andaaz she overtook her contemporaries like Shamshad Begum and Amirbai Karnataki. 1950''s and 60''s: The Nightingale of India reigned supreme in Indian cinema. Almost all music directors preferred her to anyone else. She made her forte in singing classical based songs. She won number of National and Filmfare awards 1970''s and 80''s: She sang for the second generation music directors like, Laxmikant Pyarelal, R D Burman and Kalyanji Anandji. From the mid eighties as the queen grew old she was ready to face competition from younger voices like Alka Yagnik and Kavita Krishnamurthy. Which she did well to maintain 1990''s: Even though the intensity has diminished, she is actively involved with singing and keeps on giving a sensational song every year or two. 2001: Chosen for Bharat Ratna, nation''s highest civilian award. </div> </div>

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