Lata Mangeshkar’s health critical, on ventilator support

Singing legend Lata Mangeshkar’s health has deteriorated and she has been put back on a ventilator, a doctor treating her said on Saturday.

The 92-year-old singer tested positive for Covid with mild symptoms and was admitted on January 8 to Breach Candy Hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) where she is being treated by Dr Pratit Samdani and his team of doctors.

“She is not doing well. She continues to be in the ICU under treatment and has been put on a ventilator again,” Samdani told PTI.

On January 29, Samdani had said Mangeshkar was showing signs of marginal improvement and was taken off the ventilator but continued to be under observation in the ICU.

Regarded as one of Indian cinema’s greatest playback singers, Mangeshkar started her career at the age of 13 in 1942 and has sung over 30,000 songs in various Indian languages.

In her over seven-decade career, she has sung a host of memorable tracks, including “Ajeeb dastan hai ye”, “Pyar kiya to darna kya” and “Neela asman so gaya”.

The singer — known as Melody Queen of India — has been given the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, as well as the Padma Bhushan, the Padma Vibhushan and the Dada Saheb Phalke Award.