Lata Mangeshkar, the fabulous songster, turned 92 recently. She has sung thousands of songs throughout the course of her nearly eight-decade career. Among them all, however, the nationalistic hymn Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon holds a particular position. Did you know that her interpretation of the song moved former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to gashes?
On January 27, 1963, Lata performed the song in front of former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi. It was written to honor the Indian dogfaces who died during the 1962 India-China War.
When Lata was requested to sing Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon with barely a day’s notice, she initially said she couldn’t. Kavi Pradeep, the lyricist, claimed on it, and she accepted. Before her performance, she could only rehearse formerly. According to The Indian Express, she made this commentary in 2014 during a Mumbai event commemorating the 51st anniversary of Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon.
Nehru wanted to talk with Lata after the festivity ended. At first, she was nervous, stewing she would make a boob. She saw gashes in Panditji’s (Nehru’s) eyes when she saluted him. ‘Lata, tumne aaj mujhe rula diya,’ she quoted him as saying.
SOURCE: www.HindustanTimes.com