'Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon' -- one of the many nostalgic reminders of the 90s -- is no ordinary patriotic song. For many, the song served as an elixir -- that guaranteed to lay to rest mundane days of schooling by marking the Independence Day celebrations or Republic Day's.
The patriotic song has had many versions over the years, but the original -- sung by the legendary Lata Mangeshkar -- is our song in focus on September 28.
September 28, because it's the day India got lucky with the beautiful voice of Lata Mangeshkar.
'Ae mere watan ke logon' rang a bell with even the most non-patriotic person on the dais. Much of the credit, though, goes to Kavi Pradeep, who penned the song shortly after the 1962 Indo-China war as a tribute to the soldiers who had died defending the country. But with time, the song became synonymous with Lata Mangeshkar.
The song had once famously moved the then prime minister of India, Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru, to tears. For an entire nation agonising over the crushing defeat at the hands of a neighbour, the song acted as the wake-up call goading the citizens to rise in solidarity for the martyred souls.
An account says it was the sacrifice of Param Veer Chakra, Major Shaitan Singh Bhati that had moved Pradeep to write the hard-hitting lyrics of the song.
It is also said that Pradeep was adamant on Lata Mangeshkar for the voice of the song. He felt that hers was the only voice that could do justice to the melody.
When Lata Mangeshkar heard the song, she, it is said, broke down and agreed at once.
The first public performance that Lata Mangeshkar gave of the song was on January 27, 1963. She sang the song at the Republic Day celebrations at the National Stadium in New Delhi.
Chacha Nehru was moved to tears.
But as luck would have it, Kavi Pradeep never got to witness the moment in person as he was not invited to the event.
"I recall vividly that cold winter evening in Delhi in 1963 when I sang the song as part of the Republic Day celebrations in front of President S Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi among many other distinguished guests. When Pradeepji, the poet who wrote the song, asked me to sing it, I suggested that it be a duet with Asha. But he wanted it to be a solo," Lata Mangeshkar recalled, in an interview with Subhash K Jha.
She continued: "I went backstage to relax with a cup of coffee unaware of the impact the song had created. Suddenly I heard Mehboob Khan saab calling for me. He caught hold of my hand and said, 'Chalo, Panditji (Jawaharlal Nehru) ne bulaaya hai'. When I went out everyone including Panditji, his daughter Indiraji, Radhakrishnanji stood up to greet me. Panditji said, 'Bahut achcha. Mere aankhon mein paani aa gaya'."
When Kavi Pradeep wrote the song, he never anticipated it becoming such a rage. But it was probably the sheer magic of Lata Mangeshkar's voice that drove the entire nation into an unparalleled emotion.
"When I returned to Mumbai the next day, I had no idea that the song had already become a rage. The media was buzzing with how Panditji broke down and so on. Who was to know that the song composed for a Republic Day function would have such an enduring impact?" Lata Mangeshkar told Jha in 2015.
Kavi Pradeep believed in the power of his words. In recognition of his work, the government of India bestowed Pradeep with the honour of 'Rashtriya Kavi' (national poet).
"Only Pradeepji had faith in the song. He had said, ‘Lata, tum dekhna yeh gaana bahot chalega. Log hamesha ke liye issey yaad rakhenge.’ I didn’t take it that seriously," Lata Mangeshkar had said.
The legacy lives on. The song lives on. Lata Mangeshkar's voice and Pradeep's words will never resign from the history of Indian art.
ALSO READ | We tried listing top 28 songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar on Sep 28 -- her b'day
