Tearful adieu to Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 6

The nation on Sunday bid adieu to Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar with President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the tributes.

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The 92-year-old legend, who lent her melodious voice to over 40,000 songs in a career spanning eight decades, died at Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital due to multi-organ failure this morning.

She was consigned to flames with full state honours at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park in the evening.

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‘Meri awaaz hi pehchan hai...’

She leaves a void that cannot be filled. Coming generations will remember her as a stalwart of Indian culture whose melodious voice had an unparalleled ability to mesmerise people. PM Modi

The national flag atop Rashtrapati Bhavan was at half-mast on Sunday as the Centre declared a two-day national mourning (February 6 and 7) and a state funeral for the icon.

The Rajya Sabha will be adjourned for an hour tomorrow after obituary references to the legendary singer with a similar decision likely in the Lok Sabha as the Budget Session is underway.

A host of celebrities from all walks of life were in attendance at Shivaji Park today to pay their last respects as the late singer’s mortal remains draped in the national flag were brought for the final rites.

Floral tributes were paid on behalf of President Ram Nath Kovind, who earlier said, “An artiste born but once in centuries, Lata didi was an exceptional human being, full of warmth, as I found whenever I met her. The divine voice has gone quiet forever but her melodies will remain immortal, echoing in eternity.... ”

At Shivaji Park, PM Modi was seen consoling the Mangeshkar family, including her sisters Asha Bhosle and Usha Mangeshkar.

The PM earlier said he was anguished beyond words. Tweeting recollections with the late singer, the PM said, “The kind and caring Lata didi has left us. She leaves a void in our nation that cannot be filled. The coming generations will remember her as a stalwart of Indian culture, whose melodious voice had an unparalleled ability to mesmerise people.” The PM described the late singer as a boon.

Lata Mangeshkar’s brother Hridaynath lit the funeral pyre, with Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, CM Uddhav Thackeray, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, actors Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan, MNS president Raj Thackeray and Sachin Tendulkar present among others. Actor Amitabh Bachchan earlier paid homage to the singer at her Mumbai residence.

Tributes poured in all day with former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his wife Gursharan Kaur describing the late singer as a great daughter of India.

“She was the Nightingale of India and through her songs made an immense contribution to the cultural integration of the country. Her passing away is an immense loss to our nation and the void is going to be impossible to fill,” Manmohan Singh said.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi said, “I am numbed that the voice of the Nightingale of India has fallen silent today. An era has ended. Her soulful voice, patriotic melodies and a life of struggle will always inspire generations.” Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla also paid condolences, saluting the singer’s journey.

In life as in death, Lata Mangeshkar united people and nations, with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai, Nepal’s President Bidya Devi Bhandari, the Embassies of US and Israel in India and the French and German Ambassadors to India paying rich tributes.

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