New Delhi, Sep 28 (IANS) Singing legend Lata Mangeshkar, who turned 77 Thursday, is still going strong and continues to lend her voice to the latest crop of actresses, some young enough to be her granddaughters.

From popular and light classical music to film songs, from ghazals to bhajans and pop, she has sung all kind of songs in her more-than-five decade-long career.

Lata has worked with almost all the top music composers and singers in the industry. She has sung more than 30,000 songs in over 20 Indian languages.

"I have sung thousands of songs and I feel there are many which are not good, but there are also many songs which are the best."

"Have you ever seen a waterfall retrace its path?... I have seen it... rather heard it in didi's voice. The tinkling notes of her taan tumble forth like a waterfall plunging down a cliff and then go back exactly the same way," Asha Bhosle, her sister and popular singer, was quoted as saying.

Lata brought in many constructive changes in Bollywood which proved to be extremely beneficial for singers in the long run. And not only her contemporary singers but the new generations are reaping the benefits from what she sowed decades ago.

Headstrong and confident, Lata had her way and introduced the royalty system for singers in the industry. In fact, she is the one who insisted that the singer's name should be published with the songs instead of actors.

Her revolutionary ideas irked many bigwigs who tried to stop her, but she continued with her move. For instance she stopped singing with Mohammed Rafi. She even refused to sing for S.D. Burman and from 1957 to 62 she didn't sing any song for the maverick composer. She had a tiff with Bollywood's biggest showman Raj Kapoor on the issue as well.