10 things you should know about Lata, who turned 83 today

New Delhi, Sep 28: As Melody Queen Lata Mangeshkar celebrates her 83rd Birthday, we would love to reveal 10 lesser known facts about India's Nightingale.1.Tha Bharat Ratna winner has sung maximum songs with the legendary Mohammed Rafi, tallying it to 440 songs, followed by Kishore Da with whom she sung 32 melodies.2.Overloaded with the responsibility of family, Lata went to school only for a day. Yet, six universities including New York University has awarded the honorary doctorate Degree to Lata Mangshkar.3.Before humming any track Lata writes the lyrics of the song in her own handwriting, and on she writes ‘Shree', an auspicious letter.4.Lata says, among the Bollywood stars, she always loved to lend her voice to Saira Bano, Dilip Kumar's wife.5.To maintain her sweet vocal, Lata eats lot of green chillies, especially Kolhapuri and also chews gum.6.Lata is never seen in a footwear, whenver she performs on stage.7.Lata's “kundali” is considered to be the most effective Kundali of the century.8.Bollywood showman Raj Kapoor was Lata's biggest fan. Raj Kapoor always used to be present whenever she recorded a song in the studio.9.A lot has changed in the film industry over the years but there are people Lata considers close to her : like Yash Chopra and Amitabh Bachchan.10.Once Dilip Kumar made fun out of Lata's pronunciation, after which the singer took Urdu lessons from an Urdu teacher named Shafi.There was an era when every flick was accompanied by Lata's melodious voice. She ruled over Bollywood for about six and a half decades.Lata lent her voice to several thousands of Indian flicks, humming about 25,000 solo, duet, and chorus-backed songs in 20 Indian languages. Yet the lady always looked shy and down to earth in nature.So devoted was Lata towards her work that she never married any one. Lata shared her golden voice with almost all generations of singers, right from Mohammad Rafi till Sonu Nigam. An inspiration for millions of singers, Lata has always kept a distance from reality shows.Though offered to judge numerous singing reality shows, Lata declined. Says Lata: “I watch these shows but I am not interested in being a part of them. Some of the singers are good and make it to films, but they vanish just as fast”.Lata has stopped singing from recent Bollywood films, as she feels that her voice isn't suitable to modern music. She even skipped Yash Chopra's directorial “Jab Yak Hai Jaan”, whose earlier flicks seemed incomplete without her vocal.Lata , like every year is out of town to celebrate her birthday. While the venue is undisclosed, it's for sure the celebration will include only her close family members.India TV salutes the living legend for her contribution to Indian cinema and music, and wishes her a very Happy Birthday.