Thousands of people gathered to bid adieu to the Nightingale of India. Lata Mangeshkar breathed her last on Sunday at Breach Candy hospital in Mumbai.
The mortal remains of singing legend Lata Mangeshkar, draped in the national flag, were taken in a truck from her residence in south Mumbai to Shivaji Park in Dadar for the last rites.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will arrive in Mumbai shortly to attend the funeral.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to be present at Shivaji Park to receive PM Modi at the venue for Mangeshkar's cremation.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also announced a public holiday in the state on Monday, February 7, 2022, to mourn the demise of Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar.
A large number of people thronged the roads from where the cortege passed as the 92-year-old melody queen embarked on her final journey.
The police and the Army gave a ceremonial salute and a band played the national anthem before her mortal remains of Mangeshkar were kept in the truck decked with flowers and a huge photograph of the singer.
Some of her family members, including sister and veteran singer Asha Bhosale, accompanied the mortal remains in the truck.
Maharashtra Protocol Minister Aaditya Thackeray was present on the occasion.
The truck, escorted by a military police jeep, will move through the Haji Ali junction, Worli Naka, Poddar Hospital Chowk, Old Passport Office, Siddhivinayak temple, Cadel Road and later reach the Shivaji Park in Dadar, where the singer's funeral will be held with full state honours.
Nightingale of India dies aged 92
Mangeshkar's high-pitched melodies were an instantly recognisable feature of Indian cinema, with her work appearing in more than 1,000 films. News of her passing prompted an outpouring of grief from industry luminaries.
Fans gathered outside her home in Mumbai while fellow Bollywood titan Amitabh Bachchan and other celebrities arrived to pay their respects.
"Heartbroken, but blessed to have known & loved this incredible soul," said actor Anil Kapoor, best known internationally for his role as a game show host in Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire".
"Lataji holds a place in our hearts that will never be taken by anyone else. That's how profoundly she has impacted our lives with her music."
Mangeshkar was born in 1929 in Indore, central India, and started her musical training under the tutelage of her father Deenanath, singing in his theatrical productions when she was just five years old.
Her father's death when she was 13 forced her to take on the role of breadwinner for four younger siblings, and the family eventually moved to Mumbai in 1945.
There she pursued a career as a playback singer, recording tracks to be mimed by actors, and her voice soon became a staple of Bollywood blockbusters.
In a move reflecting her huge following, she was invited by the government to sing a patriotic tribute to the soldiers killed in the 1962 Indo-China war at India's Republic Day commemorations in January 1963.
Her rendition of "Oh the People of My Country" reportedly moved then-prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru to tears.
In the following decades, composers and film producers vied to sign the prolific Mangeshkar for their movies.
"I composed keeping Lata Mangeshkar's range and voice quality in mind," composer Anil Biswas said in an interview.
"She had a wide range, and one could think of more complicated melodies than with the earlier untrained singers."
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