Who was the first Indian to perform at London's Royal Albert Hall?

Lata Mangeshkar became the first Indian to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in London, in 1974. The concert was a landmark in the history of Indian music abroad. At the concert, Dilip Kumar introduced her, and she performed some of her most famous Hindi film songs. A live album of the concert was later released.

About the Royal Albert Hall:

• It is a famous concert hall in South Kensington, London.
• It was opened by Queen Victoria in 1871 and is named after her husband, Prince Albert.
• It is a circular building with a capacity of about 5,000 people.
• It hosts the famous "BBC Proms" classical music concerts every summer and many other events.

About Lata Mangeshkar (1929-2022):

• She was born in Indore and was the eldest daughter of the singer and actor Deenanath Mangeshkar.
• She began singing in films in the 1940s and sang thousands of songs in more than 30 languages over about seven decades.
• She was called the "Nightingale of India" and the "Queen of Melody".
• Her honours include the Bharat Ratna (2001), the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1989) and the Legion of Honour, France's highest civilian award (2007).
• She was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in 1999.
• Her famous songs include "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo", "Lag Ja Gale" and "Ajeeb Dastan Hai Yeh".
• The Lata Mangeshkar Award is given by the Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra governments in her honour.

Other Indian musicians who have performed at the Royal Albert Hall include Pandit Ravi Shankar, A. R. Rahman and Zakir Hussain, among many others.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Pandit Ravi Shankar performed widely in the West, including at the Monterey Pop Festival (1967) and Woodstock (1969).
• ✗Mohammed Rafi also performed abroad, but Lata was the first at the Royal Albert Hall.
• ✗S. Subbulakshmi was the first Indian musician to perform at the United Nations General Assembly (1966).