Lata Mangeshkar, one of India's biggest cultural icons and a singer who defined music and melody for generations across South Asia, has died at the age of 92, her doctor said.
Mangeshkar was hospitalised on January 11 after contracting COVID-19 and, according to Dr Pratit Samdani, she died of "multi-organ failure" at Mumbai's Breach Candy Hospital on Feb 6.
Together with her younger sister Asha Bhonsle – a superstar in her own right – the "Nightingale" Mangeshkar dominated Bollywood music for more than half a century and is considered by many to be the Indian film industry's greatest-ever playback singer.
Born in Maharashtra on September 28, 1929, Mangeshkar first sang at religious gatherings with her father Deenanath, who was also a trained singer.
In 1942, at the age of 13, she recorded her debut song for a Bollywood film.
