Lata Mangeshkar Quiz: Test Your Melody Knowledge

Remembering Lata Mangeshkar: The Queen of Melody

Lata Mangeshkar was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer widely considered one of the greatest and most influential singers in India and the world.
She recorded songs in over thirty-six Indian languages and a few foreign languages, primarily in Marathi, Hindi, and Bengali.
Mangeshkar received several accolades and honors throughout her career, including the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, and Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honour from France.
She was the recipient of three National Film Awards, 15 Bengal Film Journalists' Association Awards, four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards, and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award, among others.
Mangeshkar was the first Indian playback singer to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England, in 1974.
Her last recorded song was "Saugandh Mujhe Is Mitti ki," released on 30 March 2019 as a tribute to the Indian Army and the Nation.
Mangeshkar's father, Deenanath Mangeshkar, was a Marathi and Konkani classical singer and theatre actor, and her mother, Shevanti, was a Gujarati woman from Thalner, Bombay Presidency.
Her first music lesson was from her father, and at the age of five, she started to work as an actress in her father's musical plays.
Master Vinayak, the owner of Navyug Chitrapat movie company and a close friend of the Mangeshkar family, helped her get started in a career as a singer and actress.
Mangeshkar's first major break was with the song "Dil Mera Toda, Mujhe Kahin Ka Na Chhora" in the movie Majboor (1948), which became her first big breakthrough film hit.
She brought a new signature style of singing to Indian film music, moving away from mehfil-style performances to suit both 'modern' and 'traditional' female protagonists.
Mangeshkar's songs, such as "Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya" from Mughal-e-Azam (1960) and "Ajeeb Dastaan Hai Yeh" from Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai (1960), remain famous to this day.Lata Mangeshkar's Career in Indian Music
Lata Mangeshkar is an Indian playback singer with a career spanning over seven decades.
She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has won numerous awards, including four National Film Awards and 15 Filmfare Awards.
In the 1950s, she became the most popular female playback singer in Hindi cinema, singing for composers such as C. Ramchandra, S. D. Burman, and Naushad.
She had a long association with composer Madan Mohan, singing for films like Anpadh (1962) and Woh Kaun Thi? (1964).
Laxmikant–Pyarelal became her most frequent collaborators in the 1960s, and she sang over 700 songs for them over 35 years.
She also recorded several Bengali songs for music directors like Salil Chowdhury and Hemant Kumar.
In the 1970s, she won two National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singer, one for "Beeti Na Bitai" from Parichay (1973) and the other for "Roothe Roothe Piya" from Kora Kagaz (1975).
She staged many concerts in India and abroad, transforming the way Indian music concerts were perceived in the West.
She released an album of Mirabai's bhajans, "Chala Vaahi Des", composed by her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar.
In the 1980s, she worked with music directors such as Shiv-Hari, Ram Laxman, and Rajesh Roshan, singing hits like "Zu Zu Zu Yashoda" from Sanjog (1985).
She also recorded songs for Tamil and Telugu films during this time.
Bappi Lahiri, Mohammed Zahur Khayyam, and Rahul Dev Burman were some of the other composers she worked with during the 1980s.The Life and Career of Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar is an Indian playback singer who has recorded over 30,000 songs in more than 20 Indian languages over a career spanning seven decades.
She has won four National Film Awards, 13 Filmfare Awards, and a Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.
Mangeshkar began her career in 1942 and rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s with songs composed by S. D. Burman, C. Ramchandra, and Madan Mohan.
She has collaborated with various music directors, including R. D. Burman, A. R. Rahman, and Anand–Milind, and sung for almost all the Yash Chopra films and films from his production house Yash Raj Films.
In 1990, she launched her own production house for Hindi movies, which produced the Gulzar-directed movie Lekin.... She won her third National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer for her rendition of the song "Yaara Sili Sili" from the film, which was composed by her brother Hridaynath.
Mangeshkar has also produced four films and composed music for Marathi movies under the pseudonym of Anand Ghan.
She has collaborated with various singers, including Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh, Udit Narayan, and Sonu Nigam.
Mangeshkar has sung in Bengali, recording hits such as "Jaare Ude Jare Pakhi," "Na Jeona," and "Ogo Aar Kichu To Noy," all composed by Salil Chowdhury.
She has performed at various concerts, including a charity concert in Toronto that raised $150,000 for the United Way of Greater Toronto.
In 2011, she established the Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Pune, managed by the Lata Mangeshkar Medical Foundation (founded by the Mangeshkar family in October 1989).
Mangeshkar died on 6 February 2022, at the age of 92, from multiple organ dysfunction syndrome after undergoing treatment for pneumonia and COVID-19.
The Indian government announced a two-day period of national mourning and that the national flag would fly at half-mast from 6 to 7 February throughout India out of respect for her.Remembering Lata Mangeshkar: Condolences, Last Rites, Awards, and Controversies
Lata Mangeshkar's death was mourned by several Indian politicians, celebrities, and fans, as well as leaders from other countries.
The Indian Cricket Team players wore black arm bands to mourn her loss during a match.
Her last rites and cremation were held with full state honors at Mumbai's Shivaji Park.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray paid their last respects.
Mangeshkar's sisters, Asha Bhosle and Usha Mangeshkar, and several other dignitaries and family members were in attendance.
Tributes to Mangeshkar were paid in Times Square and an Arizona newspaper.
Mangeshkar died the day after Vasant Panchami, a festival dedicated to Goddess Saraswati who represents music, knowledge, and the rest of the arts.
Her ashes were immersed in the Godavari River at Ramkund, Nashik, by her sister Usha and nephew Adinath Mangeshkar.
Lata Mangeshkar won several awards and honors, including the Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan, as well as several film awards.
She was included in the 'In Memoriam' segment at the 2022 British Academy Film and Television Awards (BAFTA).
Her singing was praised by several notable figures, including Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and actor Dilip Kumar.
There was controversy around her Guinness World Record for the most recorded artist in history, which was claimed by Mohammed Rafi, and the number of songs she actually recorded remains disputed.