Lata Mangeshkar briefly hospitalised for breathing difficulties; veteran singer reportedly recovering at home

Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar, who was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Breach Candy hospital in the early hours of Monday (11 November) is back at her home recovering, reports Asian News International (ANI). Hospital sources said that she was diagnosed with a chest infection.

It was previously reported that she was hospitalised after complaining of breathing difficulties. The singer, who turned 90 on 28 September, was in a critical condition, informed hospital sources.

Lata Mangeshkar. Image from Twitter

"She was brought to hospital at about 2 am. She is critical and in ICU," a hospital insider had told Press Trust of India.

Here is ANI's tweet

However, her niece Rachana Shah told Indian Express that the singer's condition was not as grave as it was reported. "Not at all true. Not critical. In fact stable and recovering. She was down with a viral infection. On path of recovery. She will be fine soon.”

Mangeshkar, who has lent her voice to songs in over 1,000 Hindi films, was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian honour in the country, in 2001.

On her 90th birthday, Mangeshkar released the Hindi translation of her sister Meena Mangeshkar-Khadikar's memoir. It traverses Meena Mangeshkar's journey from Lata's struggles to her raging success. It is replete with first-hand information and anecdotes from the legendary singer's 70-year-long musical career. The memoir also features candid pictures of the Mangeshkar family and a foreword by megastar Amitabh Bachchan.

In October, the singer joined the photo and video sharing app Instagram and garnered over 46,000 followers within a few minutes. In the same month, she was also a guest on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's radio address Mann Ki Baat.

(With inputs from Press Trust of India)