Change is the only constant or so believes the 90-year-old Indian legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar who made her Instagram debut on September 30 with her trademark humility and has gathered 51.9k followers with just two succinct posts.
“Namaskar, Aaj pehli baar aap sabse Instagram pe jud rahi hun [Namaste, this is the first time that I am joining you all on Instagram],” posted Mangeshkar along with a picture of a book that chronicles her eventful life. No sooner had she posted that message, she got over 741 congratulatory comments.
“We love you. You have brought tears of sadness, pride and joy to all of us with your eternal songs. Thank you very much!,” said an Instagram user, who instantly followed her. She was also hailed as the ‘pride of India’.
The widely-adored singer was also seen holding a Hindi book, Didi Aur Main, written by her sister and playback singer Meena Khadikar.
“Namaskar. Kal meri choti behen Meena Khadikar ne mujhe uske dwara mujhpar likhi hui hindi Kitab “ Didi aur Main “ ki peheli copy bhent ki. [Yesterday, my younger sister gifted me a book based on my life called Didi Aur Main],” posted Mangeshkar. While she has been active on Twitter, with 13.9 million followers, it’s the first time that Mangeshkar decided to join Instagram.
She turned 90 a few days ago on September 28 and actors such as Amitabh Bachchan and Dharmendra gave her a glowing tribute. Bachchan went the extra mile and posted a seven-minute video on Facebook. He called his relationship with her as something that defies definition but is based on mutual respect and love.
“We are lucky to have been born in the times of Lata Mangeshkar,” Bachchan said in the video. “It is impossible to reciprocate some credits and blessings...and there are some credits that are just accepted by bowing your head to them,” he added.
Lata Mangeshkar, who has sung over 1,000 songs in over 36 regional Indian languages, has won several National Awards and been honoured with Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour and The Dadasaheb Phalke Award. France conferred on her its highest civilian award (Officer of the Legion of Honour) in 2007. The singer, whose songs such as Lag Jaa Gale are iconic, has also won multiple best singer awards, including Life Achievement honour.
