On her 87th birthday on Tuesday, India’s Nightingale, Lata Mangeshkar received a barrage of calls. However, it was one of the earliest callers of the day that took her by surprise. It was none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling to wish India’s most beloved singer a Happy Birthday.
The two have been interacting off and on for some years now. Two years ago, the Prime Minister had invited Lataji for a function in Gujarat to celebrate 50 years of the Nightingale’s beloved patriotic song Ae mere watan ke logon.
Lataji, known to be highly selective about her public appearances, had gladly agreed to attend the event. Modiji, a die-hard fan of the nightingale, had invited her for his swearing-in ceremony when he was elected PM. “I am proud to say that I support his leadership qualities,” admits Lataji. “The entire credit goes to the aam junta of India, the common man, for bringing this amazing change of governance in the country. The country has voted for change,” noted the singer.
She denies all political aspirations. “I have absolutely no interest in politics,” she asserts, “I am just happy that the country voted for the better. Modiji gives me a lot of respect, and I reciprocate his warmth. When he asked me to be part of a function celebrating the completion of 50 years of Ae mere watan ke logon, I readily agreed. There was no political agenda in the event.I was there as an artiste. Since then we have been in touch on Twitter and in person. I was delighted to get a call from him on my birthday,” she concluded.
