Lata Mangeshkar

The year was 1974. At London's Royal Albert Hall, the crowd had gathered in droves to watch Lata Mangeshkar, then 45, perform live for very the first time on an international stage. For someone who had started her playback-singing career nearly three decades before this, and was already on the cusp of becoming a legend, one would assume thatthe concert would have been a piece of cake. But, in a new book, Lata recalls this moment as one wrought with trepidation."When I stepped onto the stage and faced the audience, I felt a trembling sensation in my throat. I could not utter a sound. I did not know whatto do. I knew it was the daunting pressure of getting it right," writes Lata.