Mumbai: Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar was cremated with full state honours at Shivaji Park here on Sunday evening.
A galaxy of celebrities and VIPs attended the last rites of the Nightingale of India, who passed away on Sunday morning at the age of 92.
Thousands of mourning fans, many of them in tears, joined the legendary singer’s last journey. Her mortal remains draped in Tricolour, the coffin moved from her Peddar Road residence to Shivaji Park.
A 2,000 sq ft area of the famous Shivaji Park was barricaded for the cremation, with state minister Aditya Thackeray supervising preparations from the morning, soon after the Maharashtra government took the decision.
It’s not every day that a person’s mortal remains are consigned to flames at the Shivaji Park ground. The honour is reserved for larger-than-life personalities who are accorded state honour.
“We have granted temporary status of a cremation ground to Shivaji Park on security grounds,” Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani told The Indian Express on Sunday.
In 2012, Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray was cremated at the Shivaji Park grounds.
Among those who attended Lata Didi’s last rites were Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, NCP chief Sharad Pawar, state ministers, Shah Rukh Khan and dozens of Bollywood artistes, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar.
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