Lata’s voice will continue to live on: Gadkari

Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday said melody queen Lata Mangeshkar’s demise was a big shock for everyone, but her voice will continue to live on. Gadkari visited the Breach Candy Hospital, where Mangeshkar (92) breathed her last in the morning after undergoing treatment since last month. Speaking to reporters outside the hospital, Gadkari said Mangeshkar was the ”pride of India” and her voice gave pride and respect to the country in the world.

Mangeshkar’s voice was considered the ”seventh wonder of the world” and she held a record of singing maximum songs in several languages, the Union transport minister said. ”Her death is a tremendous loss to the country and the field of music…the vacuum will never be filled,” he said.

Gadkari recalled that the Mangeshkar family, comprising the singer and her siblings, had lent their voices to ”Sagara Pran Talmalala”, a composition of social reformer Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. He said Mangeshkar was proud of the country’s heritage and those who fought for its independence. NCP president Sharad Pawar also paid homage to the singing legend, and in a tweet said she will continue to live on through her melodious and immortal voice.

Earlier, Lata Mangeshkar’s younger sister Usha Mangeshkar told PTI: ”She is no more. She died in the morning.” The singer had tested positive for coronavirus with mild symptoms and was admitted on January 8 to Breach Candy Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) where she was being treated by Dr Pratit Samdani and his team of doctors.

Her condition had improved in January and she was taken off the ventilator but her health deteriorated on Saturday.