Lata Mangeshkar health update: Veteran singer stable & alert post COVID; family not allowed to meet

Lata Mangeshkar is stable and alert, informed the veteran playback singer’s niece Rachna Shah after the former tested positive. The 92-year-old veteran, also known as the Nightingale of India, was admitted to the ICU of Breach Candy hospital in south Mumbai two days ago. She has mild symptoms and her condition is described as stable, with a team of senior doctors attending to her.

“Didi is absolutely stable and is alert. God has been really kind. She is a fighter and a winner and that is how we have known her for so many years. I would like to thank all the fans across the nation who have kept her in the prayers. We can see when everyone prays, nothing can go wrong,” News18 quoted Rachna Shah as saying.

“The doctors are doing a wonderful job. Dr Pratik Samdani of Breach Candy hospital has also given a statement earlier in the day. The best doctors are on call and are attending her,” she added.

Although the Bharat Ratan awardee is recovering well, the family members are not allowed to meet her at the moment.

Speaking to Time of India, Lata’s younger sister, Usha Mangeshkar, said, “We cannot go to see Didi as it is a COVID case. There are sufficient doctors and nurses there, though,” adding that the singer might have to stay a bit longer in the hospital. “The doctors have said that they would keep her for an extra day or two because of her age,” she said.

In November 2019, Mangeshkar was admitted to the same hospital after she complained of difficulty in breathing and was diagnosed with pneumonia.

She was discharged after 28 days.

Mangeshkar started her career at the age of 13 in 1942 and has sung over 30,000 songs in several Indian languages in an over seven-decade career.
Some of her most loved tracks are “Ajeeb dastan hai ye”, “Pyar kiya to darna kya”, “Neela asman so gaya” and “Tere liye”.

Considered one of Indian cinema’s greatest singers, Mangeshkar received the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, in 2001.
She is also the recipient of several other awards, including the Padma Bhushan, the Padma Vibhushan and the Dada Saheb Phalke Award, and multiple National Film Awards.