India’s nightingale Lata Mangeshkar has contributed a handful of good songs that filled the eyes and hearts of music lovers. There was a time in bollywood, when music composers could not have even thought of a film without Lata’s voice in it. That voice was so precious.

Lata, who was born in a small village in Indore as the daughter of Deenanath and Shevanti, did not have a colourful childhood. Even after being born into a family with artistic traditions, she had to endure a childhood of misery. She was burdened with her father’s sudden death, loneliness and the responsibility to take care of her sisters. All these factors have had great influence in the life of the singer. No one other than Lata could beautifully reflect human pains through the sorrows in her songs; a talent she might have acquired through her life experiences.

There are many music directors who rose to prominence in the world of music through Lata’s songs. From Khemchand Prakash, who once left the studio asserting that he will not compose music if Lata is not singing in the movie, to Shyam Sundar, the man who created a spring of melodies; Bengali music director Anil Biswas and several others such as K Datta, Husnlal Bhagatram, Hansraj Behl and Naushad Ali, are all musicians who laid the path to Lata’s growth, while reviving themselves in the process. The songs born out of Lata and Gazal emperor Madan Mohan partnership, were always the popular ones. It was during this period that the new tunes of melancholy music found its way into the world of Hindi cinema.