With Lata Mangeshkar’s death the nation is in mourning. The Bharat Ratna and legendary singer will be cremated with full state honours and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be present at her funeral. However, with Lata Mangeshkar’s demise one of the lesser-known real-life love stories also came to an end. Lata Mangeshkar was not only known for her soulful and melodious voice but also for her grit, determination and will power. While her professional life is filled with countless awards, trophies, honours and accolades, her personal life is lesser known and the fact that why she remained unmarried all her life was because of her alleged relationship with Raj Singh Dungarpur.
While the singer never opened up about the reason behind her stance but reportedly there were two prime factors that made Lata Mangeshkar vow to never get married to anyone till the end of her life. The first one was the well-known fact that she had to become her family’s breadwinner at a young age and take care of her siblings- Meena, Asha, Usha and Hridayanath. From getting them educated to getting them settled, Lata ensured that she provided for them in her young days. However, when she thought of embracing marriage in her life with Dungarpur, fate and destiny came in between to break her dreams.
The late cricketer and former President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Raj Singh Dungarpur was a close friend of Lata ji’s brother, Hridaynath Mangeshkar. Dungarpur belonged to the royal family of Rajasthan and was the youngest son of late Maharawal Lakshman Singhji, the then ruler of Dungarpur. Dungarpur used to frequent Hridaynath’s residence and developed a friendly bond with Lata Mangeshkar which culminated in love. It was also reported that Dungarpur used to call Lata Mangeshkar by the name of ‘Mithoo’.
However, their love could not culminate in marriage because Dungarpur’s father was opposed to the alliance. The reason behind the rejection was that Lata ji wasn’t from a royal family. Hence, Maharawal Lakshman couldn't let his son, Raj Singh, marry a common girl. Dungarpur took Maharawal Lakshman Singhi’s firm decision to heart and although did not contest it but vowed to not marry anyone else in his life. Similarly, Lata Mangeshkar also vowed the same and the two remained friends for life.
On September 12, 2009, Dungarpur passed away in Mumbai due to his prolonged battle with Alzheimer ’s disease bringing down the curtains on this love story. However, neither Lata Mangeshkar nor Dungarpur ever commented or reacted on the reports of their possible relationship.
(Source: Patrika.com)
