Lata Mangeshkar, the "nightingale of India" who gave her voice to Indian movies for more than 70 years, died Sunday in Mumbai, according to her doctor. She was 92. "Lata Di died at 8:12 a.m. due to multi-organ failure after over 28 days of COVID-19 diagnosis," Dr. Pratit Samdani told reporters outside Breach Candy Hospital. One of India's most beloved singers, whose voice is the soundtrack to more than a thousand Bollywood films, had been admitted in January after testing positive for COVID-19. Mangeshkar had an extraordinary career spanning over half a century, singing more than 30,000 songs across 36 languages. But it was her work in Bollywood, India's Hindi film industry, that made her a national icon. The Indian government has announced two days of mourning from Sunday, during which the national flag would be flown at half-mast throughout the country. She will be given a state funeral. Her cremation would take place in Mumbai on Sunday evening. Mangeshkar was a playback singer — providing music to be mimed by actors —for innumerable Indian movies. Her soft voice, which could attain a high pitch with an unsurpassable ease became a part of almost every Indian household. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he was "anguished beyond words." "The kind and caring Lata Didi (sister) has left us. She leaves a void in our nation that cannot be filled," he wrote on Twitter Sunday. "The coming generations will remember her as a stalwart of Indian culture, whose melodious voice had an unparalleled ability to mesmerize people." As news broke, tributes began pouring in for Mangeshkar. President Ram Nath Kovind said the news was "heart-breaking for me, as it is for millions the world over" and added that in her songs "generations found expression of their inner-most emotions". Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted that Mangeshkar's voice was "immortal" and would "continue to echo in the hearts of her fans". Former Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli said her songs had "touched millions of people around the world". Several Bollywood stars also expressed their grief at the news. Actor Hema Malini said she was "lucky" to have performed to several songs sung by Mangeshkar. "No one can sing like her, she was very special. Her passing away is very saddening," she told news agency ANI. Actor Manoj Bajpayee was among several people who said Mangeshkar's passing marked the end of "a golden era" for India's music lovers. For decades, Lata Mangeshkar was the country's most in-demand singer, with every top actress wanting her to sing their songs. When she sang Aye mere watan ke logon (Ye, the people of my land), a haunting and soulful tribute to slain Indian soldiers in the disastrous 1962 war with China, at a public meeting, reports said India's then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru teared up. She sang for every female star from the 1940s to the 1990s and worked with almost all the leading Bollywood directors, from Raj Kapoor and Guru Dutt to Mani Ratnam and Karan Johar. A top lyricist once described her melodic voice and soulful singing as "pure and clear as the finest pearl of crystal". But she was also much more than her voice. Mangeshkar was a passionate cricket fan and had a love for cars and the slot machines of Vegas. She also rubbed shoulders with some of Bollywood's brightest stars — and at least one Beatle. Journalist Vir Sanghvi called Mangeshkar the "voice of a nation, who unified India by singing so well in so many languages". He pointed out the emotional connection millions of Indians felt to her songs: "We fell in love to her songs; we celebrated with her music and when there was sadness she voiced if for us." Singer Chinmayi Sripaada, comedian Aditi Mittal and many others described Mangeshkar's death as the "end of an era". "Even as as Lata ji passes on from this physical realm - she will always live on and her voice will always be with us," tweeted Sripaada. "How can one forget such a voice! Deeply saddened by the passing away of Lata Mangeshkar ji, my sincere condolences and prayers," wrote actor Akshay Kunar on Twitter. Memories of Mangeshkar took over social media in India as hundreds of people tweeted photos and videos of her, and shared their favorite songs by her. In 2001, she was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honor in India. She was also awarded the Padma Vibushan in 1999, the second-highest civilian award in India. Mangeshkar has performed in over five languages for different movie industries within India. In an interview with a news channel in 2009, Mangeshkar expressed one regret. "I was very keen to become a classical singer. But when I began work, I had so many responsibilities that I could not pay attention to classical music. I did not have time to practice," she said. Born in Indore city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Sept. 28, 1929, she began learning music at the age of five from her father, Deenanath Mangeshkar, who was active in theater. After her father's death, the family moved to Mumbai (then Bombay) where a teenaged Mangeshkar began singing for Marathi movies. She also did bit roles in a few films to support her family, but would say later that her heart wasn't in it. "I was happiest singing." she told interviewers. Her big break came in 1949 — a haunting song called Aayega Aanewala for the movie Mahal. "Soon every female actor wanted her voice. But she was always busy and only a few fortunate music directors got the chance to make her sing," music director Mohammed Zahur Khayyam later recalled. She was nominated to the upper house of India's parliament in 1999, but said later that she had been "reluctant" to take it up and that her tenure there was "anything but happy". In 2004, when she turned 75, one of Bollywood's biggest directors, Yash Chopra, wrote for the BBC that he saw "God's blessings in her voice". Her younger sister Asha Bhosle is also a celebrated Bollywood singer. The two always dismissed any hint of sibling rivalry, and even performed together occasionally. "We're very close — we have never competed with each other," Bhosle told the BBC in 2015. She won her first filmfare award for the song, "Aaja Re Pardesi" in the movie, "Madhumati" in 1958 and her first national film award in 1973 for the song, "Beeti Na Bitai" in the movie "Parichay." She gave her voice to the music and lyrics penned by great composers and lyricists of the time like Madan Mohan, R.D. Burman, Gulzar and A.R. Rahman. Music directors stalled their projects to accommodate her tight schedule and composers wrote their music with her voice in mind. Mangeshkar lent her voice to more than 1,300 movies and sang over 25,000 songs. Her music has been used in Hollywood films like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Life of Pi," "Lion" and "The Hundred-Foot Journey." Over the past two decases, Mangeshkar had slowly reduced her workload to just a couple of movies a year. Preferring to stay out of the limelight, she rarely spoke about her personal life. In an in interview, Mangeshkar was once asked what contributed to her success as a playback singer. "Natural talent contributes about 75% and the rest is hard work, practice and eating-drinking restrictions," she said. "I don't do the restrictions ... I have just been singing all my life." — Agencies
