Melody queen Lata Mangeshkar passes away, her music lives on in generations

The singer defined an entire epoch in Indian film music, influenced the contours that the big-screen heroine assumed.

Iconic, a word that is often bandied about way too casually, does not begin to sum up what Lata Mangeshkar was. She was, and is, India’s voice. Undisputed, untrammelled, unmatched, she held us in thrall for over seven decades. Does her passing, then, mark the end of an era? Well, time cannot imprison her. It loses meaning in the context of her peerless, transcendental singing career. It was never about how long, but how much, Lata Mangeshkar has mattered to us all – and that is beyond measure.   

Lata Mangeshkar will live forever because she is ingrained in our souls