In the book, 'Lata In Her Own Voice', Lata Mangeshkar had recalled the time when someone was 'slowly poisoning' her, which had left her bedridden for three months.
Lata Mangeshkar’s death on February 6, 2022, came as a shock to her millions of fans across the nation. While heaven gained a nightingale, her fans are left with her melodious soundtracks to relish on forever. The 92-year-old singer was admitted to the Breach Candy hospital in January 2022 after testing positive for COVID-19. While battling with COVID, her condition had deteriorated, and she was put on a ventilator. On the morning of February 6, 2022, Lata tai breathed her last due to multiple organ failure.
Lata Mangeshkar was cremated at Shivaji Park in Mumbai with full state honour. Songs sung by her were played at her crematorium, and the central government had also announced two-day national mourning in memory of Lata tai. The nation and her fans were left teary-eyed as Lata’s mortal remains were cremated.
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In the year 1962, the nation was left shocked when the news of Lata Mangeshkar being ‘slowly poisoned' possibly by her servant had broken. In the book, Lata In Her Own Voice, the veteran singer had recalled the incident of being poisoned to London-based author, Nasreen Munni Kabir and had shared that she was left bedridden for three months. She had said in the book:
"In 1962, I fell very ill for about three months. One day, I woke up feeling very uneasy in my stomach. And then I started throwing up — it was terrible, the vomit was a greenish colour. The doctor came and even brought an X-ray machine home because I could not move. He X-rayed my stomach and said I was being slowly poisoned."
Further in the conversation, Lata Mangeshkar had recalled how she had felt so weak that she had thought she would never be able to sing again. She had added that after hearing the news of being slowly poisoned, her sister, Usha had gone straight into the kitchen and had told everyone that she would be cooking for Lata tai from that moment instead of the servants. The veteran singer had also mentioned that her servants had sneakily left the house “without collecting any pay,” and thus, they never got to know about the person behind it. Lata had shared:
"So we thought someone had planted him there. We didn't know who it was. I was bed-ridden for three months and was so weak."
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After her recovery, the first song that Lata Mangeshkar had sung was Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil for the film, Bees Saal Baad, composed by Hemant Kumar. The song had won Lata tai her second Filmfare Award for playback singing. For the unversed, Lata Mangeshkar was born in Indore and was the voice for many screen legends. She had started her singing journey at the age of thirteen in 1942. She had sung over 30,000 songs in her seven-decade long career. She was also a recipient holder of several awards including, Padma Bhushan, Dada Saheb Phalke and many more.
Lata Mangeshkar will always live on in our hearts!
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