On Sunday, February 6, Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar died at the age of 92. She succumbed to multi-organ failure at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai, India, where she was admitted after having tested positive for COVID-19 on January 11.
Some referred to her as the ‘Nightingale of Bollywood‘, the Indian film industry. In 2001, she was awarded the highest civilian honour in India: the Bharat Ratna. This was followed by being awarded the highest civilian honour of France, the Legion of Honour, in 2007.
The Government of India declared two days of national mourning in her memory, which started on Sunday. During this period, the national flag of India was flown at half-mast in the entire country to show respect to the fallen singer. Mangeshkar received a state funeral in Mumbai on Sunday.
Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi said Mangeshkar has left a “void in our nation that cannot be filled”. President of India Ram Nath Kovind said the news was “heart-breaking for me, as it is for millions the world over”, extending his condolences. The India national cricket team players wore black arm bands to mourn the loss of Mangeshkar in the India vs West Indies 1st One Day International match.
Pakistani Minister for Information and Broadcasting Fawad Chaudhry expressed his grief on her passing. Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina wrote a condolence letter to Modi, expressing her solidarity and adding the ‘people of Bangladesh mourn in solidarity with the people of India in this hour of grief’.
Image: Bollywood Hungama.
