"My elder sister Meena's husband passed away recently and before that, Varsha, my younger sister Asha's daughter passed away. This is a terrible year for the family. In fact, not only family, but even outside, there is so much happening which is definitely not right because of which I see no reason to celebrate," said the birthday woman.
But, the singer shared her note of thanks to her fans for their blessings and good wishes. "I thank my fans for their love and blessings," she said by adding that she never liked to celebrate her birthday in any grand and prefer spending time with family members on the occasion.
Lata started her classical music training from Ustad Amanat Ali Khan in 1945 but he left for Pakistan after the partition. After that, Lata learnt classical music from Amanat Khan Devaswale and Pandit Tulsidas Sharma, a pupil of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.
Though she started singing at the age of 13, Lata got her first major break in Hindi cinema by composer Ghulam Haider. He asked her to sing 'Dil mera toda' in 1948 film 'Majboor'. But it was 'Aayega Aanewaala' from 1949 'Mahal' that catapulted her to success. Composed by music director Khemchand Prakash and lip-synced on screen by Madhubala, the song became a rage, announcing the arrival of Lata.
Lata has recorded songs for over a thousand Bollywood movies and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages.
