Not wanting to disappoint a crowd of over 1 lakh people gathered at the Mahalaxmi Race Course in south central Mumbai to listen to her sing the immortal patriotic song Aye mere vatan ke logon, jara aankh me bhar lo paani, renowned singer lata Mangeshkar on Monday night rendered a few lines from the song in her mellifluous voice.
After singing the following lines of the song (written by poet Pradip) Aye mere vatan ke logon, jara aankh me bhar lo paani" lata asked the audiences to join her and rendered the lines again in chorus.
As she later rendered the last lines of the song: “Tum bhul naa jaao unako, iss liye kahee yeh kahaani, Jo shahid huye hain unaki, jara yaad karo kurbaani, Jay hind, jay hind ki sena”, the audiences broke into loud applause. After lata delivered a brief speech and rendered few lines of the song she was felicitated by BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi on the occasion of completion of 51 years since the legendary singer sang the patriotic song for the first time on January 27,1963.
In her speech preceding the song, lata said: “I am extremely happy that I have been felicitated by Narendra Modi. Now I have been requested to sing few lines of Ae vata … song for which I have not made any preparations… But I will still sing a few lines.”
She was felicitated on the occasion of the Shreshta Bharat Divas, organised by Shahid Gaurav Diwas and lodha Foundation. Mangeshkar, who had openly endorsed Modi as her choice for the PM at a function in Pune in November 1, 2013, recalled how she had no idea the song would acquire a cult status soon after she sang it, moving then PM Jawaharlal Nehru to tears.
Speaking at the function, Modi said that Ae Mere Watan Ke logon, composed by C Ramchandra and penned by Kavi Pradeep, always reminds the country of the martyrs who sacrificed their lives to enable its citizens to live in peace. “The words and melody of this son has a place in the hearts and minds of millions of Indians,” he said, paying tributes.
Modi said: “India is spending huge amounts of foreign exchange to import arms and ammunition. This could have been avoided if ruling Governments had the vision and proper policies. But the country has been badly governed and no one had the vision to develop indigenous production of weapons."
Castigating the UPA Government for soft approaches in dealing with Pakistan and China, Modi said, “look at our neighbours. Are their intentions not clearIJ Why are we not giving our soldiers the moral boot they need. Wars are won not just by the Army, but the army has to be backed by correct policies. Our soldiers are being attacked in their own country by terrorists and the Government seems helpless. This has to end.”
Emphasising that army's contribution during peace time operations also cannot be forgotten, Modi said: "How can we forget what the army did after the Uttarakhand floods. If the army wasn't there, how could we have saved so many lives. Similarly , army saved precious lives after the Gujarat earthquake in Bhuj, Anjar. It was not a war, but the army has played a stellar role in peacetime operations and humanitarian work."