Lata fan collects 7.6k gramophone records of her songs

A 69-year-old die-hard fan of melody queen Lata Mangeshkar has so far collected 7,600 rare gramophone records of her songs.

Mangeshkar, 90, who was born in Indore, has been undergoing treatment at a hospital in Mumbai on November 11 after she complained of difficulty in breathing on Monday.

Her sexagenarian fan, Suman Chaurasia, said his collection of records comprises songs that the iconic singer has sung in different languages.

"I am a fan of Lataji since childhood. I started saving gramophone records of her songs since 1965. Right now I have about 7,600 such gramophone records," Chaurasia told PTI on Sunday.

"These are rare songs that Lataji has sung in Indian and foreign languages and dialects," he added.

In order to keep his collection of gramophone records in an organised way, Chaurasia set up 'Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar Gramophone Record Museum' in 2008.

"One day I realised that there should be a museum named after the great singer in Indore, her birthplace, for the music lovers to enjoy her mesmerising and soothing voice. Since then I have been collecting gramophone records of her songs and never looked back," he added.

The museum, spread over 1,600 sq ft is located in Pigdambar area of the city. It also houses Mangeshkar's pictures and books written on her.

Mangeshkar has been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. As per the recent statement of her public relations (PR) team, her condition has improved.

"I am confident that Lataji will return home from the hospital shortly," Chaurasia said.

The melody queen was born on September 28, 1929 in Indore. Her journey in the world of playback singing began in 1942. Since then, she has sung over 30,000 songs in different languages.

She was honoured with the 'Bharat Ratna', the country's highest civilian honour, in 2001.