Many Happy Returns of the Day – Lata Mangeshkar:

• 1942: She started singing when she was merely 13.
• 1949: Her first big hit was “Aayega Aanewala Aayega”…from Mahal
• 1950-1960: 
  • She sang the most songs in 1951 – #225.  Two Superhits: “Ghar Aaya Mera Pardesi” from Awaara and “Shola Jo Bhadke” from Albela
  • She was the most prolific in the 50’s decade singing at least one Hindi film song every other day
  • She sang for Madhubala and Nargis, two of the most prolific heroines of the decade
• More than half of her songs – 3,482 were Singles. The rest – 1,919 were either Duets or had multiple singers
• Of the Duets, she sang the most with Mohammed Rafi (450), then with Kishore Kumar (348), followed by Mukesh (161)
• She never worked with OP Nayyar, one the most successful composers of their time
• She worked most for L-P (Laxmikant Pyarelal – 689) followed by Shankar-Jaikishan (461) and RD Burman (355)
• In the 1990’s, when Lata ji sang for Kajol, she had completed a record for singing for three generations of the family, as Lata ji had sung for Shobhna Samarth, Kajol’s Grand Mother, Tanuja and Nutan (Kajol’s Mother and Aunt respectively)
• Lata ji last sang in 2015…her career spanning most of that of Bollywood that we know

Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was reportedly moved to tears when Lata Mangeshkar sang “Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon” in 1963 at New Delhi.  She sung this song to pay homage to Indian soldiers who laid their lives for the country in the 1962 war.

UdaipurTimes.com wishes the Legendary Nightingale Lata Mangeshkar a very Happy Birthday, as she turned 87 years today and still has the voice to echo an aura of vocal pleasure.

Lataji, though, has decided not to celebrate her Birthday, in honor of the soldiers who were martyred in Uri.  “Not when our soldiers have died so brutally in Uri. My sincere request to my well-wishers, please don’t waste money buying me flowers. Instead send money to the bereaved family of martyrs. Jo shaheed huey hain unki zaraa yaad karo qurbani,” she said.

There is hatred everywhere, especially between India and the neighbours. What is her message to her fans? Lata said: “Everything has changed. Human beings and even the climate is now unpredictable. Extreme weather conditions play havoc with our lives. I am deeply saddened to see children suffer in natural calamities and during war.”

Lata Mangeshkar was born on 28th September 1929 and began her more than 7 decade long singing career in 1942.  She sang in both Marathi and Hindi apart from various other regional languages.

As a mark of respect, we bring to you one of her famous yesteryear songs, sung by the Udaipur’s own Nightingale, Saina Dawood…