Lata Mangeshkar left behind a glorious collection of memorable songs to remember her by. In a career spanning seven decades, Lata Mangeshkar has been seen as the face of Indian music. But beyond the spotlight, she enjoyed a regular life and was a simple person at heart. Here’s exploring some lesser-known facets of the celebrated singer.
1. Did you know Lata Mangeshkar learned Marathi from her house help?
Lata Mangeshkar charmed all with her voice but did you know that she has attended school for only one day? The Nightingale of India took her younger sister Asha Bhosle, who was 10 months old, to school and after her teacher objected to the same, Lata Mangeshkar angrily returned home and never went to school again. Speaking about learning Marathi at home, the late singer had told filmmaker-author Nasreen Munni Kabir, “I must have been about three or four when I asked our servant, Vitthal, who was a teenager at the time, to teach me the Marathi alphabets and how to read and write the basics. I studied Marathi at home."
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2. Lata Mangeshkar had a weakness for chocolates
Waheeda Rehman, in an interview with ETimes, revealed how she convinced Lata Mangeshkar to do a show with the help of chocolates. “I had to organize a show for Bangladesh, after the 1971 war and I approached Lata ji and she said no. She kept refusing for 10 days, but then I found out a weakness that I decided to take advantage of. Lata ji had a weakness for chocolates and I sent her loads and loads of chocolates, every day. Eventually, she gave in and agreed to do the show, but she remarked, ‘Waheeda, you’ve figured my weakness and taken advantage of me. You’re very smart.’ I was just smitten by her warmth and her affable nature.”
3. Did you know Lata Mangeshkar loved to play on the slot machine in Las Vegas?
Lata Mangeshkar had traveled the world and enjoyed a global fan following. While speaking to BBC, the celebrated singer had revealed what she enjoyed the most in the US. She had told the British broadcaster, “This may sound strange but when I used to visit America on holiday, I loved spending time in Las Vegas. It's an exciting city. I really enjoyed playing the slot machines. I never played roulette or cards - but I used to spend the whole night at a slot machine. I was very lucky and won many times.”
4. Lata Mangeshkar loved photography
Lata Mangeshkar was a fan of photography and apparently owned a collection of professional cameras. Revealing this lesser-known fact, singer Chinmayi Sripaada had posted a picture of Lata Didi clicking AR Rahman and Prasoon Joshi on the sets of ‘Rang De Basanti’. She had revealed, “I don’t think too many people know now that she loved photography. She’s said to have had a pretty fantastic collection of professional cameras and on this particular day she was talking about a new camera purchase too.”
