Those shy eyes did not meet ours, but they left an enigma behind forever. The sheepish smile lit up any room and made everyone notice the lady in that sparkling white sari with a few diamonds or pearls for company.
She loved the colour white and that was obvious from her choice of clothes and jewellery.
One of India’s most popular celebrity stylists, Isha Bhansali took a moment to remember the grace of the queen of melody, “One thing we can take from her style legacy is consistency and passion. Her signature bordered saris draped around both her shoulders with her signature twin braids and round bindi. All blended very well with her soothing and sweet voice,” remembers Isha.
“Not to mention her signature solitaires and pearl strings,” Isha feels Lata Ji will always be remembered for her graceful style.
Designer Gautam Gupta from the label Asha Gautam also expressed his condolences on the passing away of this legend. “Lata Mangeshkar was a legend and it’s a great loss to the nation. Her song, ‘Ae mere watan ke logon….’ is my all time favourite. Apart from being great in craft she always carried herself with elegance and class. She has inspired a lot of people like me to love and respect your work. She has left a legacy for many to get inspired from not only in singing but in every field,” says Gautam.
For all those who wonder why Mangeshkar never wore colourful saris, in 2013 she told Bollywood Hungama “The chorus girls laughed so hard I swore never to dabble in colour ever again,” reminiscing about a time when she was made fun of for experimenting with colourful saris.
While her rich closet full of white handloom saris was always written about, very few knew about her love for diamonds. “With my first income, I bought gold jewellery for my mother,” she told Telegraph India in 2005, adding, “For myself I got a…specially designed diamond and ruby ring with ‘LM’ on it. I still have that ring. It’s one of my most prized possessions.” According to reports, Mangeshkar paid INR 700 for the ring in 1947. It was her friendship with singer late KL Saigal and her Rakhi-brother, Tamil actor/musician Shivaji Ganesan that triggered her interest in diamonds.
“
𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘥 𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘫𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘮 𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘢𝘲𝘢𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰 𝘯𝘢 𝘩𝘰…”
Anguished by the demise of the Nightingale of India, Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar Ji, celebrated jewellery Designer Archana Aggarwal, shared a heartfelt message on the passing away of the doyen of Indian music. “Lata Ji’s golden voice is immortal and will resonate in our hearts forever. She leaves behind a huge legacy of songs which will be treasured for generations to come. Not just a legendary singer, she was a national icon, whose voice comforted and entertained generations. We were fortunate to have grown up listening to Lata Ji’s songs. We know the legendary singer for her voice, but the ‘nightingale of India’ was also a style icon and used to put considerable care and effort into her appearance. Her love for jewellery, particularly diamonds were evident. She turned a jewellery designer for a known brand and endorsed each piece of jewellery created in her fabled name. She once said, “After singing, diamonds are my grand passion.” Lataji lives on and will continue to entertain us until Music is alive!,” says Archana.
Susham Singla, Director, Jagdish Jewellers, Chandigarh also joined Archana is expressing his grief and said, “We will ever remain proud of the rarest of rare singing gems ” Lata ji “, whose passion for diamonds is well known . We pay our deepest condolences to her family and the entire nation for this huge loss.”
They say diamonds are forever, well one can say the same about Lata Didi, the lady whose red bindi and trademark braids will always remain unforgettable.
