Today, on 28th September, Lata Mangeshkar is celebrating her 88th birthday. Although there’s a lot to reminisce about the legacy of this blessed singer, we would like to single out a particular incident where she moved former Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru to tears. When she crooned the song ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logo’ at the Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on January 27, 1963, then Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru couldn’t hold his emotions. The song, which was written by Kavi Pradeep and composed by C. Ramachandra, hails the sacrifice made by Indian soldiers in the 1962 Indo-China war.
Lata Mangeshkar received a call from Kavi Pradeep, who requested her to give a voice to the song. She told Pradeep that she cannot sing the song at such a short notice, but Pradeep insisted on her to sing the song. She sang the song at the event and after her performance; she was called by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. She was shocked to meet him, as he had tears in his eyes.
He said, “Lata, tumne aaj mujhe rula diya”.
Pt. Nehru was very sad over the Indo-China war and was looking evidently miserable about it, Lata Mangeshkar said. Later, Indira Gandhi and her sons, Rajeev Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi came to meet Lata Mangeshkar. They even clicked pictures with her.
Today, Lata Mangeshkar is celebrating her 88th birthday. Twitter is flooded with wishes pouring in from all the corners of the country, wishing her good health and long life.
