In South Asia, Lata Mangeshkar needs no introduction. The Indian singer, who died last year aged 92, was famous for her voice, which once prompted the American-born British celebrity violinist Yehudi Menuhin to remark: "How I wish my violin could sing like you!"
Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, was moved to tears by her rendition of the song "Ai Mere Watan Ke Logon (O People of My Country)." In neighboring Pakistan, the left-wing poet Habib Jalib claimed that Mangeshkar's songs, heard over the radio, helped him to survive a prison sentence. Parveen Shakir, another Pakistani poet, described seeing Indian and Pakistani border guards break off a skirmish on hearing one of her songs.
