Why Lata Mangeshkar did not get married? Read 12 Untold Stories of the Melody Queen

The Bharat Ratna recipient passed away on February 6 this year. But her melodious songs and life stories will always inspire her fans. On Didi's death anniversary, we bring you 12 anecdotes from her life. Learn how her talent was discovered at the age of 5, why she left school, why her first song was deleted from the film, why she didn't marry, and how someone tried to poison her.

Story No. 1: Lata's talent came to light at the age of 5. Lata Mangeshkar's father, Pandit Deenanath Mangeshkar, was a classical singer and theatre artist. He ran a theatre company that produced musical plays. At the age of 5, Lata joined this company. This was the age when her father first saw her singing talent.

Story No. 2: The journey from Hridaya to Hema and then to Lata. Asha Bhosle told a newspaper that her elder sister Lata's childhood name was not Hema, but Hridaya. After the birth of her brother (Hridaynath Mangeshkar), she was named Hema.

Story No. 3: Left school for her sister. According to Asha Bhosle, she used to call Lataji 'Aai' (mother) in her childhood. She said in a conversation, "Didi is 4 years older than me. She loves me very much.

Story No. 4: The first song was deleted from the film. Apart from her father, Lataji also learned music from maestros like Aman Ali Khan and Amanat Khan. She recorded her first song 'Naachu Yaa Gade, Khelusari Mani Haus Bhari' for the 1942 Marathi film 'Kiti Hasaal'.

Story No. 5: When Lataji's voice was rejected. When Lata Mangeshkar stepped into the Hindi industry as a playback singer, powerful voices like Noor Jehan and Shamshad Begum dominated. Lataji was told that her voice was too thin.

Story No. 6: Madhubala insisted on Lata singing for her. Madhubala believed that Lataji's voice suited her perfectly, so she made it a condition in every contract that Lata should do the playback for her.

Story No. 7: When Lataji was poisoned. In 1962, Lataji became seriously ill. Investigations revealed that someone had slowly poisoned her. Her condition remained critical for three days.

Story No. 8: When Nehru wept on hearing Lataji's voice. It was 1962. India had lost the war with China. Many of our soldiers were martyred. At that time, when Lataji sang 'Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon' to pay tribute to the martyrs at a program, the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was also present.

Story Number 9: Lataji's love for cricket. Lataji's favorite sport was cricket. When India won the Cricket World Cup for the first time in 1983, Lataji was in London for a concert.

After returning to India, she participated in a concert organized by the BCCI to raise money for the winning team without charging any fees, which raised 20 lakh rupees, and each player was given one lakh rupees.

Story No. 10: This is why she didn't marry. In an interview, explaining the reason behind not getting married, Lata Ji said that she had thought of marriage many times, but she could not do so.

Story No. 11: The fight with Mohammad Rafi. It was the 60s. At that time, the news of Lata Mangeshkar's feud with Mohammad Rafi was much discussed. Didi explained the reason behind this in an interview.

Story Number 12: Special relationship with Madan Mohan. Of all the musicians Lataji has worked with, her relationship with Madan Mohan has been the most special. She mentioned this in an interview in 2011.

Extra Facts. > Born on September 28, 1929, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. > Sang more than 30 thousand songs. > The Government of India honored her with Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan, Bharat Ratna, and Dadasaheb Phalke Award.