NEW DELHI: Legendary Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar was taken to the intensive care unit of Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital with breathing troubles early morning on Monday, and her family said she was on “a path of recovery.”

“Lata didi suffered from a viral chest infection. Presently, she is on a path of recovery. We could have treated her at home, but we decided to get her to hospital. It’s close to our home plus treatment is thorough,” NDTV quoted her family as saying.

“She was brought to hospital at 2am. She is in ICU,” hospital sources told Press Trust of India. Ms Mangeshkar was visited in hospital by her sister Asha Bhonsle later in the day.

Usha Mangeshkar, her other sister, told the news agency: “Lata didi is still in hospital. She is under observation. She is doing absolutely well and is stable. She will be discharged by tomorrow.” She added: “We thought it’s better to treat her at a hospital because of the viral infection so she is there for today.”

Lata Mangeshkar, a recipient of the Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Dadasaheb Phalke Awards, is an icon of Indian cinema, having sung playback for an extensive list of Hindi films; she has also sung in several regional languages including Marathi and Bengali.

Ms Mangeshkar, who belongs to a prominent musical family, has also composed music as well as produced a handful of films.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2019