In 1955, Lata started her career as an announcer for the All India Radio station in Vijayawada.
Her husband's medical condition, two difficult deliveries by caesarian section (First son Tenneti Narayana Rao was born in 1956 and the second son Tenneti Mohana Vamsi in 1963), as well as financial problems caused her to reflect on philosophy of life at an early age.