Captivating the hearts of millions of her fans worldwide, the personification of Goddess Saraswati, the Nightingale of India, the melody queen, Lata Mangeshkar entered her 79th year on September 28.

Keeping upto her annual routine, she followed her daily schedule with the prayers at Mahalaxmi Temple which is right across her home in Prabhu Kunj, Mumbai. It was a usual day for her as she’s never celebrated her Birthday with fanfare. Though this time around, she might be going to Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital, in Pune which was built in memory of her father.

Lata Mangeshkar was born to a family of musicians at Indore, Madhya Pradesh on September 28th, 1929, but her life was not a bed of roses. After the demise of her Father in 1942 Dinanath Mangeshkar, a classical singer and theatre actor, she held the responsibility as being the eldest of five children alongwith her mother Shudhhamati. She was only thirteen then when she had to hold on and bring up her siblings Hridayanath, Asha, Usha, and Meena who were also endowed with musical talent.

Her saga of singing remains unparalleled with innumerable hit songs to her credit from her first super hit Aayega aanewaala to Jab pyaar kiya, to darna kya, to the most recent numbers. She has contributed to each and every genre of singing from bhajans to ghazals to contemporary music and holds the credit of singing in more than 20 languages and over 30,000 songs.

The most soulful song that she sung and still continues to reverberate the hearts of countrymen was the one to commemorate the martyrs of Indo- China War in 1962. ‘Aye mere watan ke logon’ brought tears in the eyes of our then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru such was the power of the emotionally laden song. 

No one can stop appreciating the charismatic voice of hers, as singer Anuradha Paudwal rightly says "Lata Mangeshkar is a perfect example of a playback singer who can modulate her voice according to various song situations and suit characters as per their age and social status." 

The Bharat Ratna awardee also holds the record in Guiness Book of Worlds Record, for having made the most recordings in the world during 1974 to 1991. In her long career, she has been showered upon by innumerous awards and recognitions. She has received three national awards and eight Filmfare awards. She also holds the credit of introducing the royalty system for singers as she protested that the singer’s name should be published on the Album.

As renowned film writer and lyricist Javed Akhtar opines, “Normally, artistes strive for perfection. Only Lata Mangeshkar has achieved it. There are no boundaries to her excellence and reach.” He is surely right in his comments as no one in the history of Indian cinema or maybe worldwide deserves huge appreciation as Lata ji does. With her 66 year long career and still going the legacy of singing continues. She is a talent personified and a role model for millions of her fans to emulate, she is the true ‘Nightingale of India’.