Birthday Special: Lata Mangeshkar, The Voice of Seven Decades

The magnitude of Lata Mangeshkar cannot be possibly described in words.

Just imagine brilliance at its finest best and some more and you might just come close to appreciating her influence/embodiment on/as music.

Whether you were born in the 1940s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s or post 2000, there’s no way you’ve not been touched by her soulful voice.

For music lovers, the legend of melody is like the sun whose brightness has not merely enriched their love for music but shaped their taste. Even her harshest critics will not deny her devotion towards her art or the longevity of her career.

The befittingly decorated Nightingale of India and, quite literally, Bharat’s Ratna turns 84 on September 28.

In her enduring journey, the singer has performed in multiple languages, worked with every distinguished composer, sang duets with all the top male playback singers in the industry and embellished the careers of countless beautiful ladies -- new and iconic -- with her inimitable mithaas.

From Madhubala to Madhuri Dixit, we celebrate Lata Mangeshkar -- the voice of seven decades.

2000 onwards

At 70 plus, Mangeshkar’s sonorous timbre had seen better days. But filmmakers insisted on her celebrated voice gracing their movies and her loyal following savored it.

Aishwarya Rai, Rani Mukerji, Kareena Kapoor, Sneha Ullal and Konkona Sen Sharma can count themselves among the lucky few for whom the songstress has sung in her precious few assignments in the past couple of decades.

Though her songs Humko Humise Churalo (Mohabbatein), O Palanhare (Lagaan) Andekhi Anjani Si (Mujhse Dosti Karoge), Kabhi Khushi (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham), Tere Liye (Veer Zaara), Kitne Ajeeb (Page 3) Shayad Yehi Toh (Lucky: No Time For Love), Lukka Chuppi (Rang De Basanti) and Daata Sun Le (Jail) have met with a varying degree of reception, Lata Mangeshkar’s body of work (she's rumoured to have sung a track for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's upcoming epic, Ramleela) is much too vast, awe-inspiring and prized to disregard at any juncture.