AN INTERESTING fact one may not know. Nightingale of India, Lata Mangeshkar is an avid cricket fan. She even had the chance to watch the 1983 Cricket World Cup final from the galleries at Lord’s stadium.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has invited Lata Mangeshkar to grace the silver jubilee celebration of the World Cup feat to be held in Delhi on Sunday (June 22). Unfortunately, she had to turn down the invite due to ill health.
The jubilation ceremony is meant to partially thank her for her special concert that had helped pool Rs 20 lakh for Kapil Dev’s troops in 1983.
The Bharat Ratna awardee revealed that she watched the final match at the Lord’s stadium. The final spectacle was unbelievable to her as India beat the two-times champions, West Indies. It was a moment that not only she but the entire nation rejoiced and people swayed and crooned with sheer joy and pride. However, those moments of the victory and her renditions at the concert in Delhi, are still alive before her eyes.
She reminisces, "I had invited Kapil Dev and his players for a dinner before the match in the hotel where I stayed. I wished them all the best and after that our team created history."
At that time she was in London for a concert. But, her heart beat at the ground of Lord’s. She was desperate to watch the final as Indian cricketers won the semi-final against England. Mangeshkar smiles, "after clinching the trophy, Dev invited me for a dinner with the Indian team in London. I did go there and congratulated them."
After she was back in India, she agreed for a concert without taking any money in lieu, the due amount for her performance was meant for the fund to reward the Indian winners. Mangeshkar tells, "the duration of the concert was four hours and all the team members sung a song, specially composed by my brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar along with me. I remember, Sunil Gavaskar and Dev stood beside me."
The concert was orchestrated in Delhi’s Indraprashtha Stadium. It is said to have pooled Rs 20 lakh, of which each player was rewarded with a lakh rupees. However, she could not meet the players as she was scheduled to fly back to London for another concert.
She unhesitatingly mentions Sunil Gavaskar as her favourite striker. She avers, "Gavaskar was the number one. Kapil is also amongst my favourites and how can I forget Sachin!? I see him as the God of cricket."
Age has not deterred her from relishing the joys of cricket.
She tells that she watches all the matches, in which India plays. She gets dejected when our team is defeated. She says, "in the 2007 World Cup, India lost in the first round. I felt upset but anyway, one team has to be the runners up. It is a part of the game. I followed Indian Premier League also and backed Mumbai Indians."
About the changes brought about in the formats of cricket, she exudes positive reaction. "Why cricket only, everything has transformed, including music. I do not find any harm in it. It is obvious and healthy for its survival and success."
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