Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar died in Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital on Sunday. She was 92. She was cremated with full state honours at Mumbai's iconic Shivaji Park this evening. The funeral was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Lata Mangeshkar was taken to the intensive care unit on January 8 after testing positive for COVID-19. On Saturday, her condition had deteriorated again and she had to be put on ventilator support. She was under medical observation. Lata Mangeshkar was being treated for both pneumonia and COVID-19. Her symptoms were mild but she was in ICU because of her age, family said.
Over the next few weeks, Lata Mangeshkar showed signs of improvement. However, on Saturday, hospital authorities said that Lata Mangeshkar had been put back on the ventilator after her health deteriorated, news agency ANI reported.
Lata Mangeshkar, a recipient of the Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Dadasaheb Phalke Awards, was an icon of Indian cinema, having sung playback for an extensive list of Hindi films; she also sang in several regional languages including Marathi and Bengali.
Lata Mangeshkar, who belonged to a prominent musical family, also composed music as well as produced a handful of films. She was popularly known as the 'Nightingale of India.'
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.