Sonu Nigam recalls how Lata Mangeshkar offered him motherly support

Mumbai, July 10 (IANS) Popular singer Sonu Nigam took a trip down memory lane as he recalled an emotional moment from 2013 when, grieving his mother’s loss, late legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar comforted him and gave him motherly support backstage.

Sonu took to Instagram, where he shared a throwback image. In the emotional picture, the singer is seen kneeling on a stage with his hands folded in. He is bowing towards Lata Mangeshkar, who is smiling warmly and has her hands folded too.

“This moment takes me back to 2013, just a few months after I lost my mother. I had the honor of performing at the Dinanath Mangeshkar Hospital fundraising show at Shanmukhananda Hall, Mumbai,” Sonu wrote as the caption.

He recalled how Lata Mangeshkar comforted him by saying she was there for him.

“Emotions overwhelmed me on that stage, and as I bowed down to Lata ji—grieving and vulnerable—she gently held me and said, "Main hoon na… Main hoon na…” In that instant, her words wrapped around my aching heart like a mother's embrace…” he added.

It was in February 2022 when Lata Mangeshkar, who was known as the "Queen of Melody", "Nightingale of India", and "Voice of the Millennium", died from multiple organ dysfunction syndrome at the age of 92. She had undergone 28 days of constant treatment for pneumonia and Covid.

Sonu’s songs vary from romantic to break-up, classical to devotional, Party to patriotic, ghazals to qawwali and rock to pop. He has recorded over 6,000 songs in more than 32 languages throughout his career.

Sonu has been awarded one National Film Award. He was honoured with the Padma Shri, India's fourth-highest civilian award in 2022.

Sonu Nigam is known as the "Modern Rafi", a title given to him after his musical idol Mohammad Rafi. Apart from Hindi and Kannada, he has sung in Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, Odia, English, Assamese, Malayalam, Gujarati, Bhojpuri, Nepali, Tulu, Maithili, and Manipuri.

--IANS

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