The nightingale of India was born on Sept. 28, 1929 in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. She is the eldest daughter of Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar, a classical singer and theater actor and Shudhhamati, who was Deenanath’s second wife.

Given the name 'Hridaya' at birth, she was later renamed as 'Lata' by her father after a female character 'latika' in one of his plays.

Lata took her music lessons from her father and also started working in his plays at the age of five. On her first day of school, she was scolded by her teacher as she was teaching other students music. As a result Lata stopped going to school.

Lata Mangeshkar featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for singing more than 25000 songs. She is the second singer to have been honored with the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honor.

She is the elder sister of the talented singer Asha Bhosle, who has also carved a niche for herself in the music industry. Lata Mangeshkar never married and still keeps her family name. She has been dubbed with many names by her fans like Lata didi, the Nightingale of India and many more.

Of all the songs she has sung her best ever song, if one has to choose, will be the non-film patriotic song ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon’ which she sang during the Indo-Chinese War in 1962. It is believed that the song moved Jawaharlal Nehru to tears.

(By: Deepika Jayasurya)