Lata Mangeshkar once helped raise ₹20 lakh for the 1983 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team
An ardent cricket fan, Lata Mangeshkar performed at a fundraising concert for the Indian cricket team when it won the 1983 World Cup, without charging a single penny for it.
Lata Mangeshkar wasn't just one of India's greatest singers ever but also a huge cricket fan. The singer, had, on several occasions spoken about her love for the game and would even tweet about Indian cricket team's victories in recent years.
But Lata's love for cricket goes back decades- to before coloured clothing and when India wasn't a global cricketing superpower. In fact, the legendary singer had a role to play in the celebrations after India's first major global cricket triumph- the 1983 World Cup win.
After Kapil Dev and his team beat the mighty West Indies in the finals of the World Cup in 1983, the Board of Control for Cricket in India wanted to felicitate and honour the team. However, the cash-strapped board did not have enough funds for it. It was then that cricket administrator Raj Singh Dungarpur turned to Lata for help.
Union minister NKP Salve, who was President of BCCI then, revealed that in Dungarpur's biography, “Raj Singh came up with a brilliant idea of requesting Lata Mangeshkar to do a musical programme in Delhi to raise money for the purpose, as the BCCI was not flush with funds in those days.”
In an old interview with a radio station, Lata recounted the incident. "I said I will definitely do it. I reached Delhi on 17th August and I did a special show. Suresh Wadekar and Nitin Mukesh, son of Mukesh Bhaiya also supported in this show. Rajiv Gandhi was also present in that show," she said.
The concert's highlight was a special song composed by Pandit Hridyanath Mangeshkar, Lata's composer brother. The song --Bharat Vishwa Vijeta-- saw the cricketers also sing along on the stage. In the end, the concert ended up raising ₹20 lakhs, a princely sum in 1983, and enough for every player to receive ₹one lakh. And for her part, Lata did not charge a penny for the performance.
The concert's highlight was a special song composed by Pandit Hridyanath Mangeshkar, Lata's composer brother. The song --Bharat Vishwa Vijeta-- saw the cricketers also sing along on the stage. In the end, the concert ended up raising ₹20 lakhs, a princely sum in 1983, and enough for every player to receive ₹one lakh. And for her part, Lata did not charge a penny for the performance.|#+|
Lata Mangeshkar died on Sunday morning at the age of 92. The veteran artiste was diagnosed with Covid-19 and pneumonia last month.
Also read: Lata Mangeshkar passes away: The day music died
The news of her death was confirmed by N Santhanam, chief executive officer of Breach Candy Hospital, where she was under treatment. After a few weeks at the hospital and making minor recovery, hospital sources had informed the media on Saturday about Lata's worsening condition.
