What Lata Says:

"In 2001 I won the Bharat Ratna and my long-cherished dream of opening a hospital in Pune in my father's memory was also realized. I don't know what 2002 has in store for me, but whatever I get I accept as the blessing of god, my parents and my fans."

"If you ask me I don't know how I've managed to remain professionally active for so long. It's a miracle that I can still give playback voice to today's heroines like Kareena Kapoor. I've no explanation for it."

What other says:

JAVED AKHTAR (film writer and lyricist)
The Earth hath but one sun, one moon and one Lata.

NAUSHAD (composer & poet)
The very heart of India throbs in her voice.

AMITABH BACHCHAN (actor)
When the voice achieves perfect harmony with a note(sur), it is as if the soul has soared up to become one with the Supreme Being. That is how I feel when I listen to Lata-ji.

YASH CHOPRA (Director/Producer)
Usually it is an artist who follows the art. But in Lata's case, it's the art that followed her.

ASHA BHONSLE (Sister / Singer)
"Have you ever seen a waterfall retrace its path?...I have seen it...rather heard it in didi's voice. The tinkling notes of her taan tumble forth like a waterfall plunging down a cliff and then go back exactly the same way."

MANNA DEY (Singer)
I have been an avid follower of Lata's voice. I was very attracted to it. Other singers had their limitations, but Lata was a singer who could sing everything. That was the best part of her singing.

SALIL CHOWDHURY ( Composer)
Practically all my songs have been sung by Lata. I've rarely felt the need to turn to someone else. Lata is a trained singer & so versatile. She can sing anything from classical,even frothy songs. Lata is a phenomenon. She is one of a kind.

USTAD BADE GHULAM ALI KHAN (Ssinger)
Kambakht Galti Se Bhi Kabhi Besura Nahi Gati. She is indeed ustadon ki ustad

DILIP KUMAR (actor)
Her voice is like a shaft of pure light, a glow that illuminates this world as it were.

HRISHIKESH MUKHERJEE (director)
Big joys come but once or twice in a lifetime. Why hanker after them? More important are those millions of moments of joy which Lata's songs give us everyday.

ANIL BISWAS (composer)
She had so much polish that she could sing for anybody. Music itself changed with her coming. She came, she saw and she conquered. She refined herself so much that she could sing anything and for anybody. I think it is superfluous to say anything about her. She was supreme and she still is. No one has reached her level.

KALYANJI ANANDJI (composers)
We think Lata Mangeshkar is the only singer who delivers 100 per cent of a music director's expectations -- and in more than just the technical sense of sur and taal.

GULZAAR (poet)

What can one say about Lata Mangeshkar? One shouldn't talk about her, one should just quietly listen to her. One cannot give an opinion about her -- who are we to give an opinion? One can just give one's reactions to her.
Primarily, she is a very fine human being. To me, one thing that is most important is a sense of humor because that is a perfect reflection of one's personality. If it isn't there, you don't get fresh air. And she has a great sense of humor.

KHAYYAM (composer)
What can one say about her? She's God's gift to us -- to the people of this country and indeed, to the world.

KAVITA KRISHANMURTHY (singer)
My love for film music arises because of Lataji's songs. Not just her voice, she is the ideal exponent of everything to do with music. For me, there cannot be anything greater than her... I'm not talking about the pure classical format, but the light music format with words in it.