The great vocalist, who has had a long and distinguished career in singing, began her professional career when she was just 13 years old. During her 78-year professional career, she has lent her voice to over 25,000 songs. Take a peek at these 5 lesser-known facts about the famous vocalist.

1) Lata Mangeshkar’s mother Shevanthi was her father Dinanath Mangeshkar’s second marriage. His first wife, Narmada, was Lata’s maternal aunt, and she died soon after they married. Dinanath married Shevanthi in 1927 after she died.

2) The singer is her parents’ first-born child. Meena Bhosle, Asha Bhosle, Usha Bhosle, and Hridaynath Bhosle are her four siblings.

3) Lata was given the name Hema when she was born, but her name was later changed to Lata after a character named Latika in her father’s play Bhaaw Bandhan.

4) While her singing ability is well-known, Lata also performed in one of her father’s plays when she was five years old. Under the alias Anandghan, the leading female playback singer also created music for various Marathi films.

5) On January 27, 1963, at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi, Lata’s patriotic song Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon brought Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to tears. The song was written in memory of the troops who died in the conflict of 1962. Ghulam Haider, the music director, is Lata’s Godfather, according to her. Ghulam gave entire trust in Lata’s skill, according to Lata.