Today is the 87th birthday of the celebrated singer of Subcontinent, Lata Mangeshkar but she says she won’t celebrate her birthday as 18 Indian soldiers recently died “so brutally in Uri”. She is saddened by the darkness all around, including the deteriorating relations with Pakistan. But she hopes they stay happy and live in peace, Indian Express reported.
“Not when our soldiers have died so brutally in Uri. My sincere request to my well-wishers, please don’t waste money buying me flowers. Instead send money to the bereaved family of martyrs. Jo shaheed huey hain unki zaraa yaad karo qurbani,” she said.
“Woh khush rahen shanti se rahen (I hope they stay happy and stay in peace). Aur humen bhi khushi aur shanti se rehne den (And let us also live in peace and be happy). I know the people there are just like us. They want peace. Only some elements don’t want peace,” She said when asked about her message to Pakistan.
“Everything has changed. Human beings and even the climate is now unpredictable. Extreme weather conditions play havoc with our lives. I am deeply saddened to see children suffer in natural calamities and during war.” she lamented.
Born on Septemer 28th, 1929; Lata began her career in singing at an early age and scored her first big hit in 1948 in which she lent her voice to the song “Dil Mera Toda, Mujhe Kahin Ka Na Chhora” from the movie ‘Majboor’.
Some of her hit songs include: “Lag Ja Gale”, “Tere Bina Zindagi Se Koi”, “Yeh Galiyan Yeh Chaubara” and “Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna” amongst others.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-deVZ8Sn3iM
Being a great admirer of Noor Jehan, she claims to have learnt a lot from the latter. In an interview, she revealed that she learnt accentual nuances of Urdu poetry from Noor Jehan. Whereas Noor Jehan claimed to be an avid listener of Lata’s songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4GlBiR2KZJM
Her talent has earned her many awards including ‘The Dadasaheb Phalke Award’ which is considered to be the most prestigious awards in India, was bestowed on her in 1989 by the Government of India. She is also the second vocalist to have been awarded the Bharat Ratna which is India’s highest civilian honor.
