When Lata Mangeshkar said, 'It is a blessing that people like whatever I sing'

Lata Mangeshkar was admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai in January after testing positive for coronavirus.

For someone who has spent seven decades as a professional singer, the Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar had wowed fans recently when she revealed that she remembered every moment of her early days.

“That long journey is with me and that little girl is still with me. She has not gone anywhere,” said the 92-year-old in an interview last October when she released a new song.

“Theek Nahi Lagta”, a song with Mangeshkar’s favourite lyricist Gulzar, was believed to have been lost. Filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj, who also composed the song and had recorded it for a film he wanted to make, discovered it recently and called Lata Mangeshkar to seek her permission to release the song.

Read more: Lata Mangeshkar, Queen of Melody, dies at 92

“Vishalji told me that the song has been found and asked whether he could release it. I said, ‘Why would I mind? It is such a beautiful song. You should release it”. He also told Gulzar sahab about the song. He then mixed it again and that’s how the song came to be released,” the music icon said.

Reflecting on her career, Mangeshkar said that she considered it a blessing that people liked whatever she sang, especially when there were better singers in the industry.

“Some people call me ‘Saraswati’ or say that I have her blessings. I believe I have the blessings of my parents, our deity Mangesh, Sai baba and god,” she said.

“It is their blessing that people like whatever I sing. Otherwise who am I? I am nothing. There have been better singers than me and some of them are not even with us. I am grateful to god and to my parents for whatever I have today.”

Read more: Lata Mangeshkar: Awards and recognitions received by the legendary singer

The singing legend, who turned 92 last September, died at a Mumbai hospital, her sister Usha Mangeshkar told PTI.

The music icon, who tested positive for coronavirus, was admitted to the ICU of Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital last month.