What made Lata didi the greatest of all the singers?

 What made Lata didi the greatest of all the singers?

Timbre: The fundamental definition of music is 'कर्णप्रियता' - pleasant to listen to which begins with Timbre - the tone colour or tone quality. Lata Mangeshkar had a divine timbre.

Pitch: If man is a rational animal, music is the most rational activity ever done by human beings. The word 'rational' originates from the word 'ratio'. The musical notes (total of 12) are arranged and placed in an equidistant ratio.

No other singer could match Lata Mangeshkar's pitch perfection. Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle were close, though not at par.

Range: Lata Mangeshkar's ability to sing in 3 full octaves without altering the tone nor using falsetto, that too in perfect pitch, and with equal ठहराव was superhuman.

Clarity: Lataji had an amazing clarity. Every word, regardless of the higher or lower pitch, was crystal clear, making the pronunciation of lyrics most intelligible, and the musical notes most discernible.

फ़िरत - Movement: Lataji had great flexibility in her voice to render quick movements (तान, मुर्की, खटका, हरकत) that too in perfect pitch, in pleasant timbre and amazing clarity.

ठहराव (Thaharāv) - steady sustenance: Unfortunately there is no equivalent term for Thaharāv in western languages. We can explain this as lack of vibrato, or the steady sustenance of the musical note.

     Lataji was one of the rarest singers who had both, the exceptional thaharāv and the firat in her voice, that too with an exceptional range, clarity, and pitch-perfection.

Quick Grasping and efficiency of Execution: Lataji became so busy with her recordings that at times she would record 4 songs in a day. Therefore, getting her dates for rehearsals was too difficult. Many music directors would call her straight for recording and there and then would explain to her the composition of the song. Thousands of songs of Lataji have been recorded without rehearsals.

The saying in the studios was that though Lata was the most expensive singer, she made the recordings cheaper. Those were the days of simultaneously recording the singer and the live orchestra in sync. Lataji needed so few retakes that most of her recordings would be done and over within an hour or so.

न भूतो न भविष्यति - There was none before her and will be none after her:  All these qualities in one singer lasting for five decades is an exceptionally rare Divine phenomenon.