India’s top playback singer for over seven decades, Lata Mangeshkar, died in Mumbai at the age of 92 on Sunday. The veteran singer was admitted in a local hospital last month due to Covid and passed away after her multiple organs failed due to Covid.

Following the news regarding her death, the Indian government announced a two-day mourning period during which the national flag will be at half-mast throughout the country. Lata Mangeshkar not just belonged to a musical family, but she was the elder sister of Asha Bhonsle, Usha Mangeshkar and music director Hridaynath Mangeshkar. She leaves a legacy that precedes India, considering she started playback singing two years before India’s independence.

She was not just a popular playback singer but a mother figure for Bollywood; she began her Hindi film career in 1945 with Badi Maa and continued to sing in the 2010s, before bowing out of films in her final years. Her extraordinary career spanned nearly 70 years and she recorded thousands of songs in more than 36 languages.

She was affectionately known as ‘Didi’ throughout Bollywood, and was often referred to as the "nightingale of Bollywood" for her sweet as a nightingale vocal, and her perfect diction, no matter which language she was singing in. She did playback singing for nearly all the top heroines in Bollywood, and was loved all across the globe for her humble nature and attitude. Born in Indore on 28 September 1929, she began learning music at a very early age, on her father Deenanath Mangeshkar’s insistence who was himself a theater veteran himself. After his death she joined the Marathi film industry and within three years debuted as a singer/actress in Bollywood. Her big break came in 1949 when she sang Aayega Aanewala for horror flick Mahal which was followed by countless hits.

In the next five decades, she was on top of her game and delivered hits in every era no matter who the top heroine was, and who the music composer was. From Nargis to Nutan, from Madhubala to Vyjayanthimala, from Rekha to Dimple Kapadia, Zeenat Aman to Parveen Babi, from Tanuja to her daughter Kajol, and later Rani Mukerji and Kareena Kapoor, everyone benefited from her vocals throughout their careers.

When she began her career, Noor Jehan was the top singer in Bollywood, however after she migrated to Pakistan in 1947, Lata Mangeshkar had to compete for the top spot with Geeta Dutt. Her competition increased when younger sister Asha Bhonsle began her ascent, however Lata remained on the top because of her range and style.

Despite young singers taking the center stage in the 80s and the 90s, Lata didi remained every composer’s dream, and that’s why she had worked with all music composers in Bollywood, except OP Nayyar. From Naushad to SD Burman, from Roshan to RD Burman, from Laxmikant - Pyaarelal to Jatin – Lalit and Anu Malik and A R Rehman, Lata sang for all those who were able to compose songs around her sweet, high-pitched voice.

She not only received India's highest honour for civilians - the Bharat Ratna - in 2001 but also the Padma Bhushan (1969), Padma Vibhushan (1999) besides Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1989) for her services to the Indian film industry. She also received France's Legion d'Honneur in 2009 in recognition of her contribution to Indian music and cinema.

Here's what celebrities have to say about the beloved Lata Mangeshkar: