- By Mukul Sharma
- Sun, 06 Feb 2022 07:19 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Mumbai | Jagran News Desk: Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar’s mortal remains were merged in five elements on Sunday evening at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park where she was accorded a funeral with full state honors. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, actors Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan, Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar paid their last tributes to Mangeshkar, who passed away as one of the fewest Indians who were bestowed with all top civilian honors of the country when alive.
Politicians Raj Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, lyricist Javed Akhtar, singer Anuradha Paudwal and actor Vidya Balan among others also paid floral tributes to late singer at Shivaji Park.
Lata Mangeshkar’s nephew Aadinath Mangeshkar, son of her brother Hridaynath performed the last rites at Shivaji Park.
The government has announced a two-day "state mourning" for Mangeshkar, who in nearly eight-decade long career in the entertainment world, sang an estimated 25,000 songs in as many as 36 Indian languages, including Hindi, Marathi, Tamil and Kannada, and across classical and other genres.
The national flag will fly at half-mast from February 6 to February 7 throughout India. There will also be no official entertainment in this period.
The Indore-born Mangeshkar is survived by her siblings Meena, Asha, Usha and Hridaynath. Her coffin was draped in the tricolour and placed on the hearse draped in white flowers with a giant photograph of the singer known as “Nightingale of India”, “melody queen” or “Lata didi” to so many.
Sounds of “Lata Mangeshkar Amar Rahe” could be heard through the route of her funeral procession.
Many, including some the biggest musicians and actors, equated her voice with that of 'goddess Saraswati'. Incidentally, Mangeshkar passed away a day after Saraswati Puja.
Mangeshkar acknowledged the love but remained humble till the end.
"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 told PTI in October last year in what was probably her last interview.
“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,” she had said.
The megastar was admitted to Mumbai’s Breach Candy hospital on January 8 when she was diagnosed with COVID-19 and Pneumonia. Mangeshkar recovered from COVID-19 on January 27 but was put on ventilator support after her condition worsened on Saturday. She breathed last on Sunday morning due to multiple organ failure.