Prime Minister Narendra Modi honors Lata Mangeshkar on her birth anniversary.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Lata Mangeshkar on her birth anniversary, praising her voice, influence on Indian music and enduring legacy. Mangeshkar, known as the “Nightingale of India,” recorded thousands of songs across many languages and received India’s highest civilian honor, the Bharat Ratna. Reports also describe a warm relationship between Modi and Mangeshkar, who called each other “Narendra bhai” and “Didi.” A separate tribute recounts that she performed without pay at a 1954 charity concert in Pune to raise funds for the liberation struggle against Portuguese rule in Goa and nearby territories.
Mangeshkar died in Mumbai in 2022, aged 92; she would have turned 97 on the birth anniversary marked in the report.
Her brother Hridaynath said Mangeshkar sent Modi a rakhi and kept in touch through calls and letters. Recalling a 2019 birthday call, he said Modi told her he should seek her blessings; she replied, “A person's greatness is reflected in his actions.”
The article says proceeds from the 1954 Pune charity concert went to armed liberation fighters and were used to buy weapons; it links the funds to the liberation of Dadra and Naroli in July 1954.
Beyond the Bharat Ratna, Mangeshkar received the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1989, the Padma Bhushan in 1969 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1999.
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