• Thursday, March 28, 2024

ASIA

Lata Mangeshkar death unites South Asia in mourning

Soldiers from the Indian armed forces fold the Tricolour during the state funeral ceremony of the late singer Lata Mangeshkar in Mumbai on 6, February 2022. (Photo by SUJIT JAISWAL/AFP via Getty Images)

By: Shubham Ghosh

THE Indian subcontinent has lost a truly great singer the world has known with the demise of Lata Mangeshkar, top leadership of South Asian countries said on Sunday (6) as they paid their tribute to the “Empress of Music” who “touched billions of hearts through her golden and unparalleled voice”.

Mangeshkar, whose voice stirred millions of hearts everyday and who will forever be counted as one of India’s greatest ever artistes with an estimated 30,000 songs in a career that spanned for almost eight decades, died at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai on Sunday. She was 92.

ALSO READ: India bids adieu to ‘Melody Queen’ Lata Mangeshkar

Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina said Mangeshkar will remain alive forever in the hearts of the people in the region through her work.

Indian Nightingale’s death leaves Pakistani hearts shattered

“A great void has been created in the subcontinent’s musical arena with the demise of the ‘Sur Samraggi (empress of music)’,” Hasina said, praying for the departed soul and conveying her deep sympathy to the bereaved Mangeshkar family.

In a separate message, Bangladeshi president Abdul Hamid also expressed profound shock and sorrow at the death of the legendary singer and expressed condolences.

Taking to Twitter, Pakistani prime minister Imran Khan, who was on a four-day visit to China, said, “With the death of Lata Mangeshkar the subcontinent has lost one of the truly great singers the world has known. Listening to her songs has given so much pleasure to so many people all over the world.”

Expressing his condolences on the veteran singer’s demise, Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa said India’s “Queen of Music” “touched billions of hearts through her golden and unparalleled voice”.

Mangeshkar is a legend whose memory will remain in our midst for centuries through her melodious voice, he said in his tweet, sharing a photograph of Mangeshkar who was undergoing treatment at the hospital for almost a month and was put on ventilator support after her condition deteriorated on Saturday (5).

Mourning her demise, Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, the elder brother of the president, in a tweet said, “Rest In Peace Nightingale of #India, #LataMangeshkar. Thank you for the decades of entertainment that transcended borders & gave life to the phrase ‘music is a universal language’.”

Expressing his deepest condolences to her family and the people of India, the prime minister said Mangeshkar’s memory will live through her music.

Nepali president Bidya Devi Bhandari recalled the contribution of “genius” Mangeshkar to Nepali songs as she paid her tribute to the maestro.

“I am saddened by the news of the demise of famous Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar, who has also lent her melodious voice to many Nepalese songs,” Bhandari tweeted in Nepali language.

“I offer my heartfelt tribute to genius Lata Mangeshkar with extraordinary talent,” she added.

Dubbed as the ‘Nightingale of India’, Mangeshkar has lent her voice to many songs in Nepali films, including blockbuster ‘Maitighar’ which features yesteryear bollywood actress Mala Sinha in the lead role with Nepali actor Chidambar Prasad Lohani who she later married.

In a Facebook post, Nepali prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said he is shocked by the news of the demise of Mangeshkar, “who has given her voice to dozens of popular Nepali songs”.

“I pay heartfelt tribute on her demise and extend condolences to her family,” he wrote.

(With PTI inputs)

Related Stories

Loading